2006 Breeders' Cup
The 2006 Breeders' Cup World Championships was the 23rd edition of the premier event of the North American thoroughbred horse racing year. It took place on November 4 at Churchill Downs in Lexington, Kentucky. The Breeders' Cup is generally regarded as the end of the North America racing season, although a few Grade I events take place in later November and December. The 2006 Breeders' Cup results were highly influential in the Eclipse Award divisional championship voting.
For 2006, the total purse money offered at the Breeders' Cup increased from $14 million to $20 million. The Classic, Turf, Filly and Mare Turf, Sprint, and Juvenile Fillies all had their purses increased by $1 million. The Mile and Juvenile had their purse increased by $500,000. The purse increases made Breeders' Cup day the second richest in racing, behind Dubai World Cup day with total purses of $21 million.
The event was broadcast by ESPN for the first time, with Trevor Denman calling the races.
The heavy favorite for the Classic was Bernardini, who had won six straight races including the Preakness Stakes, Travers and Jockey Club Gold Cup. Next choice at 6-1 was Lava Man, who had a seven race winning streak in California. The third choice was Invasor, an Argentinian-bred colt who had won the Uruguayan Triple Crown before being purchased by Shadwell Stable and moved to Dubai then America, where he won three straight Grade I races. Invasor had lost only once in his career but had not run in the three months leading up to the Classic after spiking a fever. In the Classic, Bernardini hit the lead at the top of the stretch but Invasor closed rapidly in the center of the track, eventually winning by a length. Lava Man had a troubled trip and finished seventh. Invasor was named Champion Older Horse and Horse of the Year, while Bernardini was named Champion Three-Year-Old Male.
Ouija Board, who won the Filly & Mare Turf in 2004 then finished second in 2005, justified being the heavy favorite in the 2006 renewal with an "explosive" stretch run that swept her to a 2 1⁄4 length victory over Filmmaker. "I was very fortunate to have ridden her", said jockey Frankie Dettori. "She's the best filly in the world, without a doubt." The win made Ouija Board the leading money-earning female horse in history and earned her a second Eclipse Award for Champion Turf Female, despite having only the one start in America in 2006.
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