Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile

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Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile
Grade I race
LocationUnited States
Inaugurated2007
Race typeThoroughbred – Flat racing
Websitebreederscup.com/worldchampionships.aspx
Race information
DistanceOne mile (8 furlongs)
SurfaceDirt
Trackleft-handed
QualificationThree-years-old & up
WeightWeight for Age
PurseUS$1,000,000

The Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile is a 1-mile (1.6 km) Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up. As its name implies, it is part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, the de facto year-end championship for North American thoroughbred racing, and is run on a dirt course (either natural dirt or a synthetic surface such as Polytrack). This contrasts with the similar Breeders' Cup Mile, run on grass. All Breeders' Cups to date have been conducted in the United States, with the exception of the 1996 event in Canada.

The race was run for the first time in 2007 during the first day of the expanded Breeders' Cup at that year's host track, Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. It became a Grade I event in 2009.[1]

Occasionally, various track configurations require minor changes in the distance of the race. The 2007 race at Monmouth Park was held at a distance of 1 mile 70 yards (1673 m) instead of the normal distance of 1-mile (1.6 km). The 2015 Breeders' Cup was held at Keeneland, which does not regularly hold 1–mile dirt races. To get the proper distance, the starting gate was set 70 yards (64 m) in front of the one-mile pole, where the timer would start, and the finishing line was set at the track's alternate finish line at the 1⁄16 mile pole. Thus the race was slightly longer than a mile for the horses.[2]

Automatic berths[]

Beginning in 2007, the Breeders' Cup developed "The Breeders' Cup Challenge," a series of races in each division that allotted automatic qualifying bids to the winners of defined races. Each of the thirteen divisions has between two and twelve of these "Win and You're In" qualifying races.

In the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile division, the number of runners is limited to 12 with two automatic berths. The current "Win and You're In" races are:[3]

  1. the Metropolitan Handicap, a Grade 1 race run in June at Belmont Park in New York
  2. the Pat O'Brien Stakes, a Grade 2 race run in August at Del Mar Racetrack in California

Records[]

Most wins:

Most wins by a jockey:

Most wins by a trainer:

Most wins by an owner:

  • 2 – W. C. Racing (2013, 2014)

Winners[]

Year
Winner
Age
 Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Time
Purse
Grade
2021 Life Is Good 3 Irad Ortiz Jr. Todd Pletcher WinStar Farm & China Horse Club 1:34.12 $1,000,000 I
2020 Knicks Go 4 Joel Rosario Brad H. Cox Korea Racing Authority 1:33.85 $1,000,000 I
2019 Spun to Run 3 Irad Ortiz Jr. Juan Carlos Guerrero Robert P. Donaldson 1:36.58 $1,000,000 I
2018 City of Light 4 Javier Castellano Michael W. McCarthy William K. & Suzanne Warren Jr. 1:33.83 $1,000,000 I
2017 Battle Of Midway 3 Flavien Prat Jerry Hollendorfer Don Alberto Stable / WinStar Farm LLC 1:35.20 $1,000,000 I
2016 Tamarkuz 6 Mike Smith Kiaran McLaughlin Shadwell Stable 1:35.72 $1,000,000 I
2015 Liam's Map 4 Javier Castellano Todd Pletcher Teresa Viola Racing Stables 1:34.54 $1,000,000 I
2014 Goldencents 4 Rafael Bejarano W. C. Racing (Glenn Sorgenstein, managing partner) 1:35.19 $1,000,000 I
2013 Goldencents 3 Rafael Bejarano Doug O'Neill W. C. Racing (Glenn Sorgenstein, managing partner) 1:35.12 $1,000,000 I
2012 Tapizar 4 Corey Nakatani Steven M. Asmussen Winchell Thoroughbreds 1:35.34 $1,000,000 I
2011 Caleb's Posse 3 Rajiv Maragh Donnie K. Von Hemel McNeil Stables/Cheyenne Stables 1:34.59 $1,000,000 I
2010 5 Joel Rosario Jerry Hollendorfer Todaro / Halo Farms / Carver / Hollendorfer 1:35.29 $1,000,000 I
2009 Furthest Land 4 Julien Leparoux Michael J. Maker Ken & Sarah Ramsey 1:35.50 $1,000,000 I
2008 4 Garrett Gomez Brandon & Marianne Chase 1:33.41 $1,000,000
2007 Corinthian 4 Kent Desormeaux James A. Jerkens Centennial Farms (Don Little, managing partner) 1:39.06 $1,000,000

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Six New Grade I Races for 2009 – bloodhorse.com
  2. ^ Angst, Frank (9 October 2015). "Jockeys Find Keeneland Mile Race Challenging". The Blood-Horse. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  3. ^ "Breeders' Cup Challenge". Daily Racing Form. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
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