Led by four 2022 Breeders' Cup winners back to defend their titles, the 205 pre-entries for the 2023 edition of the World Championships match the number of last year's event and are up 9% from the previous visit to Santa Anita Park in 2019.
The four Breeders' Cup winners back to defend their 2022 titles are Caravel in the Turf Sprint (G1T), Cody's Wish in the Dirt Mile (G1), Elite Power in the Sprint (G1), and Goodnight Olive in the Filly & Mare Sprint (G1).
Pre-Entries by race for 2023 Breeders' Cup
In surpassing 200 pre-entries for a second straight year, Breeders' Cup again saw strong support from its Breeders' Cup Challenge Series, domestic and overseas. This year's pre-entries saw 46 horses that earned automatic starting positions into the World Championships races through the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series penciled in for this year's event Nov. 3 and 4 at Santa Anita.
"Once again, an outstanding group of horses has been pre-entered for this year's Breeders' Cup World Championships and we look forward to two days of fantastic racing at Santa Anita Park," said Drew Fleming, president and CEO of Breeders' Cup. "The competition has never been stronger and the prestige of entering the Breeders' Cup winner's circle has never been higher."
There were 59 international runners pre-entered, including 11 Japan-based horses.
"We want to thank the talented men and women across the globe who provide the ecosystem of care that enables these magnificent Thoroughbreds to compete at the top of their game. We also thank our extraordinary host, 1/ST Racing and their beautiful venue, Santa Anita Park, and want to recognize our breeders and nominators for their commitment to help underwrite the World Championships," Fleming said. "We also want to thank the bettors and fans around the world for their constant support. We can't wait to gather next weekend to watch the world's best Thoroughbreds put on a spectacular show."
About 29% of this year's pre-entered runners are from overseas as Shadwell Estate Company's Mostahdaf, winner of the Aug. 23 Juddmonte International Stakes (G1) last out and a key contender for the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T), and four-time group 1 winner Paddington in the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T), lead a stellar slate of 59 pre-entered international contenders.
Leading the way in the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) are Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Arcangelo , Pacific Classic (G1) winner Arabian Knight , and Japan-trained Dubai World Cup (G1) winner Ushba Tesoro.
The 40th Breeders' Cup World Championships will feature 14 races with purses and awards totaling more than $31 million Nov. 3-4 at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif. It's a record 11th time the event has been held at Santa Anita.
"Future Stars Friday" will offer five World Championships races exclusively for 2-year-olds. There will be nine Breeders' Cup Championship races on the Saturday program.
Fans can learn more about their favorite runners via the contender profiles at BreedersCup.com, which provide extensive statistics, race replays, news, photos, and more.
The Breeders' Cup will be televised live domestically on NBC, Peacock, USA Network, and FanDuel TV. The NBC coverage includes an expanded network window from 3:30-7 p.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 4. Fans can visit BreedersCup.com/Watch for a detailed broadcast and streaming schedule.
International live coverage is led by ITV, Sky Sports, and RacingTV in the UK and Ireland, along with Green Channel in Japan, who will be broadcasting live from Santa Anita for the first time. Additionally, the NBC World Feed will be sent to more than 150 countries around the globe.
Final Fields
In the days ahead, the fields will fully take shape with the draw scheduled for Monday. A maximum of 14 starters are allowed in each of the 14 Breeders' Cup World Championships races (all grade 1) except for the Juvenile Turf Sprint, the Turf Sprint, and the Dirt Mile, which are limited to 12 starters.
Breeders' Cup has adopted a field selection system to select runners in fields which are oversubscribed. This system ranks horses in order of preference based on (i) Breeders' Cup Challenge race winners, (ii) a point system, and (iii) the judgment of an independent international panel of racing experts. The field selection system was implemented following the taking of pre-entries Oct. 23 to officially rank the oversubscribed fields.
The Racing Secretaries and Directors Panel ranked all the horses pre-entered in the oversubscribed races as described above. After pre-entry, any vacancies in the fields will be filled by horses in order of panel preference.
There will be up to four (4) also-eligible horses for each Championship race, except for the Juvenile Turf Sprint, Turf Sprint, and the Dirt Mile, which will have up to six (6). The also-eligible horses will be designated in accordance with the panel's order of preference for each Championship race that was oversubscribed at the time of pre-entry.
Scratch time for Friday Championship races will be 8 a.m. PT on Friday, Nov. 3, and scratch time for Saturday's Championship races will be 8 a.m. PT on Saturday, Nov. 4.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
