The Breeders’ Cup was conceived in the early 1980s as a year-end championship for North American thoroughbred racing. Longtime owner and breeder John R. Gaines presented the idea to the industry during the 1982 Kentucky Derby Festival and after initially receiving some pushback, the concept was accepted, and the first event was held in 1984 at Hollywood Park.
Based on stallion eligibility nominations and foal payments, in 1983 initially, 1,083 stallions, representing more than $10.9 million in fees were nominated to the Breeders’ Cup program. That number has grown significantly.
In North America, stallion owners/managers/farms pay an annual nomination fee which is equal to the stallion’s advertised stud fee, plus an additional amount if the stallion has more than 50 foals that year. European stallion nominations are the equivalent of 50 percent of their stud fee, while South American stallions are 25 percent.
Also, breeders must pay a one-time nomination fee per foal by October 15 of the year foaled.
Breeders’ Cup: A Look at Its Transformation from 1983 to Today
By the end of 1983, Breeders’ Cup had signed an exclusive broadcasting deal with NBC Sports to cover multiple years of the then seven-race, single-day event. Some of the initial corporate sponsorships for the inaugural event included Mobil Oil Corporation, De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd., Chrysler Corporation (Chrysler-Plymouth and Michelob (Anheuser-Busch, Inc.).
Today’s sponsors include FanDuel, The Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund, Thoroughbred Charities of America, Longines, Big Ass Fans, NetJets, Qatar Racing, TVG, Maker’s Mark, Prevagen and PNC Bank.
For the first time this year, two races will be held after the Breeders’ Cup Classic, which is normally the finale of the two-day event. This year the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) and the $2 million GI Qatar Racing Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) will complete the World Championships and will be shown live on FanDuel TV.
The inaugural Breeders’ Cup was held with 64,254 in attendance at Hollywood Park. Chief’s Crown won the first Breeders’ Cup race, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, while longshot Wild Again won the Breeders’ Cup Classic in a thrilling stretch duel with Slew o’ Gold and Gate Dancer and after surviving a lengthy inquiry into bumping in the stretch drive. The Classic purse was $3 million,
From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event and switched to two days in 2007.
Breeders’ Cup Classic Odds and Post Positions
| 2 | Zandon | 12-1 | Chad C. Brown | Lafranco Dettori |
| 3 | White Abarro | 4-1 | Richard E. Dutrow, Jr. | Irad Ortiz,Jr. |
| 4 | Missed The Cut | 30-1 | John W. Sadler | Luis Saez |
| 5 | Derma Sotogake | 20-1 | Hidetaka Otonashi | Christophe Lemaire |
| 6 | Saudi Crown | 12-1 | Brad H. Cox | Florent Geroux |
| 7 | Clapton | 20-1 | Chad Summers | Tyler Gaffalione |
| 8 | Ushba Tesoro | 4-1 | Noboru Tagaki | Yuga Kawada |
| 9 | Senor Buscador | 30-1 | Todd W.Fincher | Geovanni Franco |
| 10 | Dreamlike | 30-1 | Todd A. Pletcher | Jose L. Ortiz |
| 11 | Bright Future | 10-1 | Todd A. Pletcher | John Velazquez |
| 12 | Arabian Knight | 3-1 | Bob Baffert | Flavien Prat |
| 13 | Proxy | 12-1 | Michael Stidham | Joel Rosario |
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
