As many expected, it was announced Thursday that the 2023 Breeders’ Cup will be coming to Santa Anita for a record 11th time and will be run Nov. 3-4.
Santa Anita first hosted the event in 1986 and last hosted it in 2019. Churchill Downs has hosted the Breeders’ Cup nine times, most recently in 2018. Hollywood Park hosted the inaugural Breeders’ Cup in 1984.
Santa Anita is still the only track to host the Breeders’ Cup in three consecutive years from 2012-14. It was the host site for five of the seven runnings beginning in 2008.
The 2023 event will be the 40th Breeders’ Cup, the Super Bowl of horse racing that attracts horses from around the world and features 14 races worth more than $31 million.
Breeders’ Cup officials expect the 2023 event to spur a near-$100 million impact on the Southern California economy, based on a 2017 study.
Some of the highlights from past Breeders’ Cups held at Santa Anita:
1993: Arcangues won the Classic at 133-1, still a record for the biggest longshot to win a Breeders’ Cup race. It is regarded by many as one of the biggest upsets in horse racing history. The French-bred son of Sagace had raced only on grass in Europe before being sent to Santa Anita for the Classic, which is run on dirt. Ridden by Jerry Bailey, Arcangues caught Bertrando in the stretch and returned $269.20 for a $2 wager. He was trained by Andre Fabre and won 6 of 19 starts for earnings of $1.9 million.
2003: Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella won a record four Breeders’ Cup races when it was a one-day event. It changed to a two-day event in 2007. Mandella’s winners included Action This Day in the Juvenile, Halfbridled in the Juvenile Fillies, Johar in the Turf and Pleasantly Perfect in the Classic. Brad Cox matched Mandella’s feat during the 2020 Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland.
2009: Zenyatta became the only female to win the Classic when she closed from far back to beat Gio Ponti as track announcer Trevor Denman exclaimed: “This is unbelievable!” Zenyatta would go on to race in the Classic at Churchill Downs the next year only to see her spotless 19-0 record fall victim to Blame, who held off her late charge to win by a head.
2016: In one of the most thrilling Breeders’ Cup races of all-time, Beholder and Songbird staged a stretch duel for the ages in the Distaff. Two Hall of Fame riders, Gary Stevens aboard Beholder and Mike Smith atop Songbird, put on a show that ended with Beholder prevailing by a nose.
Fans can sign up for ticketing and other information about the 2023 Breeders’ Cup by visiting breederscup.com/2023.
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