Not going this year.

Churchill sucks. It is cold. It is miserable, and they treat you like shit.

Belmont? I'm from Nebraska and there is no effing way I'll go to a Breeder's Cup at Belmont. While I do need to go to Belmont, it definitely won't be a Breeder's Cup in November.

1. I don't think we should assume that the Del Mar BC made money until they award another one there. The place was empty. There's good reason to be skeptical about the press releases. Bear in mind, the BC people know the actual numbers.

2. My guess is Keeneland was a one-off. They got a Triple Crown winner so definitely don't assume their numbers will be as good next time


3. No matter how many times people say this, the idea actually wasn't move it around a lot. It was to hold most of them in California's good weather and move it around occasionally. 3 of the first 4 were in California. They got away from that after management changed, nut that was the original idea.

agree unless they put a retractable roof over Churhill:D

Sunny locations in November is fine with me. With Gulfstream raping their turf course year round I say no to that venue though!

Changes announced
 

So the Breeders' Cup has decided to add a Juvenile Turf Sprint as an official event, and to boost the purse of the dirt sprint. I think whoever is on their board needs to be reevaluated because IMHO, their ideas continue to stink.

Part of the reason they added the turf sprint was because the juvenile turf races routinely oversubscribe. Well yeah, if you're putting up 7 figures for a mediocre race, you're probably going to get a lot of interest. Maybe the BC can sponsor some of those maiden claiming events at 7 1/2 furlongs that Gulfstream seems to use to conclude every day.

The BC people complain handle isn't rising fast enough & they wonder why, and their response is to water down races & introduce the most impossible ones to handicap. My general sense from handicappers is that turf sprints rank #1 in least favorite races to play, so let's start with that, add in a bunch of Europeans with indecipherable form & make it a field of 14 2yo's, just what everyone wants to deal with! They'll probably make it the wraparound race for pick 4's, 5's & 6's since this is clearly the race people are clamoring for. Also they say the distance will be 5 1/2 furlongs, which I believe essentially zero BC host tracks can use as their sprint distance.

Also adding $ to the Sprint purse? The race with the least amount of entrants the last 2 years, despite being the race that apparently all US horses are supposed to be bred to run in, that's the race that deserves the purse boost? You've got to be kidding me with these ideas, not to mention the earlier ones which they considered & shelved.

BC Sprint
 

BC Limited hurt the Sprint when they added the Dirt Mile.
(the DM also hurts the Classic every year)

Boosting the purse might encourage a larger field. At least that's what they're probably thinking.

Having a FM Dirt Sprint hurts too. remember when great female sprinters used to run - and even beat the boys!

It's a shame what's become of one of the original BC races, the Sprint.

Thats why I told a friend of mine when they went to the two day format the races really lost that lack of quality.

The BC is never giving up the second day, it is a cash cow and they charge you almost as much as they do for the Saturday.

It wasn't that long ago turf sprinters had no races at the BC. If you wanted to sprint, you tried dirt. Giving 2yo turf sprinters a BC race is ridiculous.

juvenile turf sprint seems pathetic. I am sure they asked the fans and gamblers about this before being implemented:rolleyes: I agree w/you, I hate turf sprints

The idea behind the BC has been lost.
What' next, the BC Beaten Claimers? The BC Starter Allowance?

Horse used to race all year and then have a championship day.
Now, many just show up late in the year and run the big one.
Might as well rename the Classic the Breeder's Cup Cameo.

BC starter allowance @6f dirt-I'm in-should be a great trifecta race

dont give them any ideas................please :ThmbDown:

I know people here will laugh, but a BC starter allowance- a sort of claiming horse championship- would be a decent idea.

dilanesp,
We already have that - it's called the Claiming Crown.

No, do it as part of the BC with a half mil puse.

Their mistake wasn't adding a second day, but making them BC races. They should've made a card of high dollar purse races for all the non-champ divisions they wanted for Friday. Hell, add another day on Thursday too. But they really screwed up making them BC races, and splitting them up over the 2 days, and taking it off network TV.

The BC adds these races (and big purses) when all they had to do was keep the Original 7 (or even the 8th). They claim they're doing all this to earn more money. Earn more money FOR WHO? The elite owners and Breeders? Their own salaries? Who? Why do they need more money when they were making plenty to fund the First 8, even after increasing their purses? Why does no one ask this?

I think the network TV thing is key.

There is a reason major sports leagues try and get on network television. It means more exposure.

No doubt the second day is a cash cow. But what it cost them was wider promotion of the event. They thought ESPN would promote it, but ESPN has college football and didn't care.

I would put the main focus on a Pick 4 and have it on NBC.

Two Turf races - the Mile & the Turf

Two Dirt - the Sprint & the Classic.

All on the main network in a two hour broadcast.

Everything else goes on the sports network.

You could substitute something else for the Sprint if that race isn't as interesting.

I don't think you will ever see more than 1 race on the network again, because for that to happen the BC would have to offer the Distaff, and the Distaff anchors Friday.

LOL!

6.0 Furlongs, Purse $500,000, non winners twice since July 3,
Claiming price $6250

No a starter allowance.

Has the Fair Grounds ever been in consideration for the BC?

I don't know if it was in the past, but it is too small now IMO.

Lots of parking at Finger Lakes.
And we are dropping sod soon! :headbanger:

New marketing campaign will be THUMBS UP!!!

for horses who have started for a claiming tag of 50k or less-would be a bang up field

run all the turf races on Friday at SA and all the dirt races Saturday @OP-now that would be fun

Exactly.

:pound::pound::pound: Sharp post!!! :ThmbUp:

You know, we do have the best beef on weck in all of racing!
We wouldn't need Bobby Flay.
Just sayin'

Why not take the Breeders Cup to Europe for one time? I would love that. :headbanger:

No dirt, for one. Not real dirt anyway. The fake stuff didn't go over very well here. Lasix, for two.

Television, for three. Weather, for four. And actually those two reasons are much bigger.

Once upon a time (probably back when the BC was more actively moving to different venues, and when Ohio's 7/7 still existed), I used to entertain the fanciful notion that Turfway and River Downs could co-host one; River's turf and Turfless' lights, among other things, could have been worthwhile. :p