This 4-5 November 39th Breeders Cup World Championships at Keeneland are the climax of a thrilling year in horse racing.
The Breeders Cup is a global equestrian sporting event.
The Breeders Cup is the final big event of the year for the horse racing industry. Over the course of the weekend’s 14 races, horses from all over the world will compete in the Breeders Cup Classic on Sunday.
The Breeders Cup Classic is what?’
The Breeders’ Cup Classic highlights the $6,000,000 weekend. The Classic is run over 1 and a quarter miles and accepts a field of up to 14 horses at least three years old. Knicks Go (2021), Authentic (2020), Curlin (2007), and Cigar (2005) are just a few examples of Breeders’ Cup Classic winners who went on to win Horse of the Year (1995)
Bob Baffert’s Authentic won the Breeders’ Cup Classic by 2 1/4 lengths at the last Keeneland Breeders’ Cup. Authentic was only the fourth horse in history to win the Kentucky Derby & Breeders’ Cup in the same year.
How to watch Breeders Cup 2022 Live
The 2022 Breeders Cup will be broadcast live on NBC and you can find it on the below link, with extensive pre-race, in-race, and post-race coverage and analysis. Additionally, the Breeders’ Cup Classic and much of Saturday’s coverage will be broadcast on Peacock.
Live Broadcast: Breeders Cup Live (Try it for free).
Breeders Cup 2022 Date & Time
On November 4 and 5, the Breeders’ Cup will take place. On Friday, coverage will be from 2-6 p.m. E.T. On Saturday, it will be from 1-6 p.m. The Breeders’ Cup Classic is scheduled to begin at approximately 5:40 p.m. Eastern Time.
In what location will the 2022 Breeders Cup be held?
Each year a different venue hosts the Breeders’ Cup; this will be Keeneland’s third turn in as many years to play host (most recently in 2020). Keeneland, in Lexington, Kentucky, is the best Horse racing track in the United States and has been recognized as a U.S. National Historic Landmark for its significance to the development of the horse racing industry.
Breeders Cup History
In 1984, the first Breeders’ Cup was a championship for North American Thoroughbred horses and their breeders to determine the best of the year. The Breeders’ Cup is an annual horse racing event created by and for the breeders of Thoroughbred horses. It was the brainchild of the late John Gaines, who owned Gainesway Farm.
The Breeders’ Cup used to only last for one day, but that changed in 2007. Many of the sport’s most promising colts and fillies now compete on the first day of the weekend, a day dubbed Future Stars Friday. More than $22 million will be paid out in nine races on Championship Saturday, with the Classic alone worth $6 million.
How do jockeys and trainers choose horses to race in the Breeders’ Cup?
All horses competing in Breeders’ Cup races must first be nominated. Any foal sired by a selected stallion at stud can compete in a Breeders’ Cup race. The nomination fee for a stallion is equal to his advertised breeding fee per year, and it covers the first 50 foals he sires in that year at no additional cost. Stallions residing in foreign countries are also welcome to be nominated, as are foals, at the expense of $400 each. The money raised goes back into the host track and helps pay for the Breeders’ Cup prizes.
It’s important to note that nomination for the Breeders’ Cup is no guarantee of participation.
Every winner of a race in the “Win and You’re In” Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series will be entered into that year’s Breeders’ Cup race at no additional cost to the winning horse’s owner (with entry fees paid).
The remaining spots are filled by the horses with the most points at the end of the season, regardless of whether or not they qualified through the Challenge Series. A panel of experts will choose the remaining participants in each race.
