The Breeders’ Cup is the place where owners bring their horses to make their money for the year. The NFL has the Super Bowl and Major League Baseball has the World Series. The horse racing equivalent to those events is the Breeders’ Cup.
The event is held over a two day period and it is hailed as the championships for thoroughbred racing. Horses and owners not only come from all over the US, but all over the world to see if they have what it takes to become the sports ultimate champion.
The Breeders’ Cup is different from the Triple Crown races that are rich in tradition. Unlike the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes, the Breeders’ Cup has no place to call home. It is run in different states every year.
In 2007, the event moved to two days. Before that, it was hailed as the richest day in sports. Over the past several years, however, there have been other sporting days that have surpassed the Breeders’ Cup when it came to a one day payout. In 2008, the combined purse was $21 million.
We say combined purse, because there is a series of races, six, to be exact. Each race has different criteria for the horses, but the overall outcome is that these horses are making their owners very rich during the Breeders’ Cup if they win.
Some within the sport believe that it is more important to have their horses ready to go at the Breeders’ Cup than the Triple Crown races. The winning horses receive a garland of flowers draped over them.The trophy goes to the owners.
