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The richest race through the weekend is the Breeders’ Cup Classic run at Del Mar on Saturday.
An all-time great Flightline scored easily recently so the 2024 Breeders' Cup Classic (2012m) at Del Mar on Saturday has something to live up to?
2024 BREEDERS' CUP CLASSIC - RACE HISTORY AND BACKGROUND
The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade 1 race run under Weight For Age conditions for three year olds and up conducted by the Breeders' Cup Limited.
In 2024 the races were run at Del Mar.
The Breeders' Cup Classic is run over a mile and a quarter (2012m) on dirt. It was first run in 1984 and won by Wild Again.
The concept of the Breeders' Cup was inaugurated in 1984. It was an idea based around being a so-called World Championships and is moved around leading American race tracks on a rotational basis.
The Breeders' Cup has been held at many tracks since its inception in 1984. Hollywood Park, Aqueduct, Santa Anita Park, Churchill Downs, Gulfstream Park, Belmont Park, Woodbine, Arlington Park, Lone Star Park, Monmouth Park, Keeneland and Del Mar Thoroughbred Club have all held the meeting.
The Breeders' Cup Classic, like the other international features, is designed to see mainly the Europeans take on the locals. The issue of running on the anti-bleeding medication Lasix is always a factor.
The race record is held by Ghostzapper at Lone Star Park at 1:59.02.
There have been some rough results in the Breeders' Cup Classic including the first running as Wild Again was a 30-1 chance and Arcangues scored at well over 100-1 in 1993.
However Zenyatta, who had won in 2009, was back to hopefully end her illustrious unbeaten career in 2010. She was 8 lengths last out of the straight the first time, had to make such a long run and missed by a nose.
In 2015, it was the first time since its inception that the Triple Crown winner could complete the grand slam by winning the Classic. American Pharoah did just that.
Despite the mixed up racing year due to coronavirus, the Kentucky Derby winner Authentic was able to stay up and score a strong win in 2020.
Flightline would not only confirm himself as the best in the US but around the world with a sparkling near 9L victory in 2022, sitting on the pace and burning away from them late.
Two jockeys have won the race on five occasions – Chris McCarron and Jerry Bailey.
The trainer with most wins is Bob Baffert with four.
The Breeders' Cup Classic was worth US$7,000,000 in 2024. It is the richest race on the Breeders' Cup weekend.
Some famous Breeders' Cup Classic winners include Aysheba (1988), Sunday Silence (1989), AP Indy (1992), Cigar (1995), Tiznow (2000/2001), Curlin (2007), Raven's Pass (2008), Zenyatta (2009), Mucho Macho Man (2013), American Pharoah (2015), Arrogate (2016), Gun Runner (2017), Accelerate (2018), Authentic (2020), Knicks Go (2021) and Flightline (2022).
The 2023 Breeders' Cup Classic was won by White Abarrio from Derma Sotogake and Proxy.
