2022 Breeders' Cup
| Championship Event Series race | |
 2022 Breeders' Cup logo | |
| Location | Keeneland, Lexington, Kentucky |
|---|---|
| Race type | Thoroughbred |
| Website | www |
| Race information | |
| Distance | See individual races |
| Surface | Turf, Dirt |
| Purse | Varies by Race; from $1 million to $6 million |
The 2022 Breeders' Cup World Championships will be the 39th edition of the premier event of the North American thoroughbred horse racing year. The 14 races, all of which are Grade I, will take place on November 4 and 5 at Keeneland racetrack in Lexington, Kentucky. In the United States, the races will be telecast on Friday and early Saturday by USA Network and FanDuel TV, with NBC covering the last three races on Saturday.[1] In the United Kingdom, ITV will be broadcasting all the races live, with day 1 on ITV3 and day 2 on ITV4.
The Breeders' Cup is generally regarded as the end of the North American racing season, although a few Grade I events take place in later November and December. The event typically determines champions in many of the Eclipse Award divisions.
Qualifying[edit]
A maximum of 14 horses (12 in the Dirt Mile and Juvenile Turf Sprint) are allowed to start in each race.[2] Horses can automatically qualify by winning one of the designated races in the Breeders' Cup Challenge series, which provide "Win and You're In" berths in a specified division of the Breeders' Cup. Other pre-entries are ranked by a points system and the judgement of a panel of experts.[3]
On October 26, 205 horses were pre-entered in the various races, 46 of which qualified via the Challenge series. The entries include 73 Grade/Group 1 winners and 45 horses from overseas. Most of the races were over-subscribed.[4][5]
Event preparation[edit]
Keeneland will host the Breeders' Cup for the third time. They first hosted the event in 2015 when American Pharoah finished his career by winning the Classic after having won the American Triple Crown. The 2020 event at Keeneland though was held without spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Fans who had purchased tickets for that event were given first preference for seating at the 2022 event.[6] Keeneland installed temporary seating, including five "chalets" and loge boxes, to increase their normal capacity of about 20,000 to 45,000 people.[7]
Races[edit]
The official sequence of the Breeders' Cup races was announced on October 26. The betting menu includes an All-Turf Pick 3 on Friday, an All-Turf Pick 4 on Saturday and three special daily doubles: Juvenile Fillies/Distaff, Juvenile/Classic and Juvenile Turf/Turf.[8]
Friday, November 4[edit]
| Race name | Post time (EST) |
Sponsor | Distance | Restrictions | Purse | Winner (Bred) | Odds | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juvenile Turf Sprint | 3:00 PM | 5+1⁄2 furlongs | 2-year-olds | $1 million | ||||
| Juvenile Fillies | 3:40 PM | NetJets | 1+1⁄16 miles | 2-year-old fillies | $2 million | |||
| Juvenile Fillies Turf | 4:20 PM | 1 mile | 2-year-old fillies | $1 million | ||||
| Juvenile | 5:00 PM | FanDuel | 1+1⁄16 miles | 2-year-old colts and geldings | $2 million | |||
| Juvenile Turf | 5:40 PM | 1 mile | 2-year-old colts and geldings | $1 million |
Legend:
Dirt
Turf
Saturday, November 5[edit]
| Race name | Post time (EST) |
Sponsor | Distance | Restrictions | Purse | Winner (Bred) | Odds | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Filly & Mare Sprint | 11:50 AM | 7 furlongs | 3 yrs+ fillies & mares | $1 million | ||||
| Turf Sprint | 12:29 PM | 5+1⁄2 furlongs | 3 yrs+ | $1 million | ||||
| Dirt Mile | 1:10 PM | Big Ass Fans | 1 mile | 3 yrs+ | $2 million | |||
| Filly & Mare Turf | 1:50 PM | Maker's Mark | 1+3⁄16 miles | 3 yrs+ fillies & mares | $2 million | |||
| Sprint | 2:30 PM | Qatar Racing | 6 furlongs | 3 yrs+ | $2 million | |||
| Mile | 3:10 PM | FanDuel | 1 mile | 3 yrs+ | $2 million | |||
| Distaff | 3:55 PM | Longines | 1+1⁄8 miles | 3 yrs+ fillies & mares | $2 million | |||
| Turf | 4:40 PM | Longines | 1+1⁄2 miles | 3 yrs+ | $4 million | |||
| Classic | 5:40 PM | Longines | 1+1⁄4 miles | 3 yrs+ | $6 million |
Legend:
Dirt
Turf
References[edit]
- ^ "Breeders' Cup World Championships". Breeders' Cup. 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
- ^ "Breeders' Cup Classic: Flightline fever gripping the racing world". www.drf.com. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
- ^ "How It Works". www.breederscup.com. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- ^ "Breeders' Cup pre-entries whet appetites for showdowns". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "2022 Breeders' Cup pre-entries". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "Tickets for the 2022 Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland on sale Monday, May 9 | Keeneland". www.keeneland.com. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "Keeneland construction more than doubles capacity for Breeders' Cup". LEX 18 News - Lexington, KY (WLEX). 26 September 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "Breeders' Cup announces 2022 race order, wagering menu". www.bloodhorse.com. Retrieved 30 October 2022.