Breeders' Cup Classic
| Grade I race | |
The first turn in the 2007 Classic
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| Location | North America |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1984 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred |
| Website | www |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1 1⁄4 miles |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Track | Left-handed |
| Qualification | 3-year-olds and up |
| Weight | 4-year-olds and up: 126 lb (57.2 kg) 3-year-olds: Northern Hemisphere 122 lb (55 kg), Southern Hemisphere 117 lb (53 kg) Fillies and mares allowed 3 pounds. |
| Purse | US$6 million (for 2016) |
The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of 1 1⁄4 miles (2,000 m) on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October or early November. All of the races to date have been held in the United States except for the 1996 edition held at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The Classic is considered by many to be the premier thoroughbred horse race of the year in the U.S., although the Kentucky Derby is more widely known among casual racing fans. Once the richest race in the world, in more recent years, only the Dubai World Cup and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe have had consistently higher purses. Often, the winner of the Classic goes on to win U.S. Horse of the Year honors, including the four winners of the race between 2004 and 2007—respectively Ghostzapper, Saint Liam, Invasor, and Curlin. Due to the extremely high quality of horses in the event, the race is notoriously hard to predict. One notable example of an underdog winning the Classic is the victory of Arcangues in 1993. This was the biggest upset in Breeders' Cup history and his $269.20 payoff for a $2 wager remains a Breeders' Cup record.
The Classic is now regarded as the fourth leg of horse racing's Grand Slam—the traditional Triple Crown (Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes) plus the Breeder's Cup Classic. After American Pharoah's Triple Crown win earlier in 2015, the term became popular; the colt became the first horse to ever accomplish this feat. Sunday Silence in 1989 was the first to claim a "Small Slam" by winning three of the four legs (but not the Triple Crown).
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