Breeders' Cup Changes -- AGAIN!

[joeya]

"The 2008 Breeders’ Cup World Championships will hold all five of its races for female horses on the first day of the two-day event, Friday, Oct. 24, at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., the Lexington-based Breeders’ Cup announced today.

It marks the first time a major thoroughbred event in North America has focused an entire day on female championship racing.

Nine other Breeders’ Cup races will be contested on Saturday, Oct. 25. Seven are open to both male and female thoroughbreds, including the marquee event, the $5 million Classic.

The Breeders’ Cup will total a record $25.5 million in purses for 14 races, including $8 million on Friday’s card, more than doubling last year’s Friday program.

In another change, the Breeders’ Cup also announced that it has renamed the $2 million Distaff to the Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic, which will be the premier race on the Friday program.

The $2 million Filly & Mare Turf, $2 million Juvenile Fillies, the second-year $1 million Filly & Mare Sprint and the new $1million Juvenile Fillies Turf also will be Friday.

The Breeders’ Cup said it is developing a series of championship festivities designed to promote the new Friday format, including programs focused on women’s health.

“By shifting some of our traditional Saturday races to Friday, we ensure that Friday stands on its own as an international competition of the highest level,” Breeders’ Cup president Greg Avioli said in a release. ”This new format provides a great stage to showcase the talents of the best female thoroughbreds in the world.”

The 2007 Breeders’ Cup at Monmouth Park marked the first time that the event was conducted as a two-day format. It consisted of 11 races and $23 million in purses, with three new races Friday.

Added for this year are the Juvenile Fillies Turf, $1 million Turf Sprint and $500,000 Marathon. The second-year Juvenile Turf and Dirt Mile have been shifted from Friday to Saturday."

So now we have ungraded races as part of the Saturday card? They are going to keep going and going until they completely screw this up and completely diminish the importance (and interest) in this big day.
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[Marshall Bennett]

They already screwed it up by having it at Santa Anita . Hopefully between now and then they'll figure out what surface to use .

[DJofSD]

Wow.

Why is it the things I would like to see changed (colored saddle clothes), don't and then the things I think should be left alone are changed.

I will admit that fillies and mares are second fiddle to the boys but when it comes to wagering opportunities, I take 'em as I find 'em. If the turf races for the distaff side produce a betting opportunity, I guess I'll have to make adjustments -- maybe.

Is it just me or does it seem like the BC is becoming less of an event each year?

[Tom]

Let them play with their toys - the BS is meaningless this year. You do not run the championship races at a minor leauge track with a an unproven retread track. The JCG is the Classic this year. There will be no HOY.

And ALL of California racing is minor league now.

[46zilzal]

Originally Posted by DJofSD

Is it just me or does it seem like the BC is becoming less of an event each year?

Lone Star was the beginning of a big slide.

[added money]

Originally Posted by Tom

Let them play with their toys - the BS is meaningless this year. You do not run the championship races at a minor leauge track with a an unproven retread track. The JCG is the Classic this year. There will be no HOY.

And ALL of California racing is minor league now.

Agreed...Racing in California has been largely irrelevant for years so it makes perfect sense (not!) to hold the BC west of the Rockies not once but in two consecutive years. With most of the quality racing taking place in the Eastern and Central time zones the only way this decision makes any sense is if the BC board of directors watch an exclusive diet of TVG commentators breathlessly hyping the local product.

We pulled all of our stock out of there years ago discussed with the small fields and lack of opportunity to run.

[CyberBet]

I have been hearing some rumors and I am sure it is just posturing by Churchill but Santa Anita may lose the Breeder Cup THIS YEAR to Churchill. Churchill has said bring it on according to my source. Funny after they (CD) are the ones that said they can't keep losing money on the event.

I am sure this is just hot air but if my source is correct you will have heard it here first!

Do not ask me to reveal a name because that will NOT happen.

[46zilzal]

Originally Posted by CyberBet

I have been hearing some rumors and I am sure it is just posturing by Churchill but Santa Anita may lose the Breeder Cup THIS YEAR to Churchill.

That would be a welcome LOGICAL alternative.

[CyberBet]

Originally Posted by 46zilzal

That would be a welcome LOGICAL alternative.

Well then we know it won't happen!!! Logic and horse racing is about the same as oil and water.

I did tell my sourse to put down the crack pipe.

[rokitman]

Originally Posted by CyberBet

I have been hearing some rumors and I am sure it is just posturing by Churchill but Santa Anita may lose the Breeder Cup THIS YEAR to Churchill. Churchill has said bring it on according to my source. Funny after they (CD) are the ones that said they can't keep losing money on the event.

I am sure this is just hot air but if my source is correct you will have heard it here first!

Do not ask me to reveal a name because that will NOT happen.

Losing money on the event? Say who?

[CyberBet]

Says Churchill in a recent article. I will see if I can dig it up.

Something about the Breeders Cup keeps most of the profits and that Churchill is left with the scraps. That is why they did not go all out to get the '09 event.

Let's see if I can find the article now.

[CyberBet]

Here is one article.

Not the one I read but close enough. The article explains that the BC basically rents Chuchill for what they would normally make on a Friday or Saturday. I would say they need a new deal! Maybe my scraps comment was a bit overboard but that is a lot of money that Churchill does not recieve.

Who would want the headache of a BC for what you would make on any given Saturday? Not I my friend.

[toetoe]

Tom,

I submit the BC is meaningless, or close to it, PERIOD.

[TommyCh]

The talk of installing a dirt track is curious. What about the CHRA mandate? The track problems combined with granting the BC to Santa Anita for 2009, I have a sneaky feeling the 2008 edition will not be held at Santa Anita. Or they'll install dirt to KEEP the BC.

Monmouth was a predictable disaster. This "Girl Friday" junk, and Friday/Saturday instead of Saturday/Sunday only serves the purpose that if they don't care about me, the weekend warrior, then why should I care about them? And that spills over into Saturday.

Last year's Dubai festival was more fun than the Breeders Cup.

[Indulto]

Originally Posted by toetoe

Tom,

I submit the BC is meaningless, or close to it, PERIOD.

tt,
If there is a belated switch, I hope Belmont will be the beneficiary of the Breeders' Cup braintrust. As the idea of lumping all races for females on a single day is obviously an attempt to attract women to racing (A brainstorm lifted from Capital Offense's playbook? ), it would be interesting to see if New York were indeed fertile ground for this approach without an accompanying fur coat giveaway.

I'd like to hear Grits' opinion on whether this is actually insulting to women since those races are being relegated to the lesser of the two days.

Seems to me that re-grouping races based on surface would make more sense, especially from a handicapping standpoint.

I support the suggestion somewhere that carding all the BC races for Juveniles together on a Saturday subsequent to the Classic in order to showcase next year's potential champions and thus stifle the sadness of any newly-crowned HOY's sacrifice of superstardom to service on "Shed Row."

What a potentially perfect primetime Pick Four that would present!