The Breeders' Cup Mile is a

Grade 1 First grade (also called Grade One, called '' Year 2'' in England or Primary 2 in Scotland) is the first grade in elementary school and the first school year after kindergarten. Children are usually 6–7 years old in this grade. Examples by ...

Weight for Age {{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Weight for Age (WFA) is a term in thoroughbred horse racing which is one of the conditions for a race. History The principle of WFA was developed by Admiral Rous, a handicapper with the English Jockey Club. Rou ...

stakes race for

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

s three years old and up, run on a

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...

course. It has been conducted annually as part of the

Breeders' Cup World Championships The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, i ...

since the event's inception in 1984. All Breeders' Cups to date have been held in the United States except for the 1996 event in Canada. The purse was raised from $1.5 million US to $2 million in 2007.

Freddy Head Freddy Head (born 19 June 1947, in Neuilly, France) is a retired champion jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing and currently a horse trainer. Known also as "Freddie", his grandfather was a jockey as was his father Alec Head who also became a succes ...

has won this race twice as a jockey and three times as a trainer. There is no official stakes record for the Breeders' Cup Mile as it is run on different racecourses each year, some of which are significantly faster than others. In 2012,

Wise Dan Wise Dan (foaled February 20, 2007) is a champion American Hall of Fame and Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. He is the first horse to win the same three Eclipse Awards in consecutive years, having been named American Horse of the ...

set a then-course record at Santa Anita with his time of 1:31.78. Although

Tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...

ran faster than this with a time of 1:31.71 in 2016, he just missed the current Santa Anita course record of 1:31.69.

Automatic berths

Beginning in 2007, the Breeders' Cup developed the

Breeders' Cup Challenge The Breeders' Cup Challenge is a series of Thoroughbred horse races in which the winner earns an automatic spot in a specified Breeders' Cup race. The challenge races change somewhat each year. The Challenge series began in 2007 with 24 "Win and Y ...

, a series of races in each division that allotted automatic qualifying bids to winners of defined races. Each of the fourteen divisions has multiple qualifying races. Note though that one horse may win multiple challenge races, while other challenge winners will not be entered in the Breeders' Cup for a variety of reasons such as injury or travel considerations. In the Mile division, runners are limited to 14 and there are up to eleven automatic berths. The 2022 "Win and You're In" races were: # the L'Ormarins Queen's Plate, a Group 1 race run in January Kenilworth Race Course in South Africa # the Gran Premio Club Hipico Falabella, a Grade 1 race run in May at Club Hipico in Chile # the Shoemaker Mile, a Grade 1 race run in May at

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races ...

in California # the

Yasuda Kinen The Yasuda Kinen (English: Yasuda Memorial, Japanese and Chinese language: 安田記念) is a Japanese International Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at the Tokyo Racecourse in Tokyo. Raced annually each June, the Yasuda Kinen is run at a di ...

, a Grade 1 race run in June at

Tokyo Racecourse is located in Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan. Built in 1933 for horse racing, it is considered the "racecourse of racecourses" in Japanese horseracing. It has a capacity of 223,000, with seating for 13,750. Tokyo Racecourse hosts numerous G1 (Grade 1) r ...

in Japan # the Queen Anne Stakes, a Group 1 race run in June at

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races a ...

in England # the

Sussex Stakes The Sussex Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and ...

, a Group 1 race run in July at

Goodwood Racecourse Goodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House. It hosts the annual Glorious Goodwood meeting in ...

in England # the

Fourstardave Handicap The Fourstardave Handicap is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for horses that are three years old or older over a distance of one mile on the turf course scheduled annually in August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. ...

, a Grade 1 race run in August at Saratoga in upstate New York # the

Prix Jacques Le Marois The Prix Jacques Le Marois is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred colts and fillies aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 ...

, a Group I race run in August at

Deauville Racecourse Hippodrome Deauville-La Touques is a race track for thoroughbred horse racing located in Deauville in the Calvados département, in the Normandy ''région'' of France. Originally called Hippodrome de la Touques, it was named for the Touques River ...

in France # the

Woodbine Mile The Woodbine Mile is a Grade I stakes race on turf for Thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up held annually in mid September at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Canada. Currently sponsored by Ricoh, the Woodbine Mile offers a purse of Can ...

, a Grade 1 race run in September at

Woodbine Racetrack Woodbine Racetrack is a race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group, Woodbine Racetrack manages and hosts Canada's most famous race, the King's Plate. The tra ...

in Canada # the

Coolmore Turf Mile Stakes The Coolmore Turf Mile Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for three year olds and older over a distance of one mile on the turf held annually in October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky during the fall meeting. ...

, a Grade 1 race at Keeneland in Kentucky # the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, a Group 1 race at Ascot in England

Records

Most wins: * 3 – Goldikova (2008, 2009, 2010) Most wins by a

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

: * 3 –

Olivier Peslier Olivier Peslier (born 12 January 1973 in Château-Gontier) is a French thoroughbred horse racing jockey. Peslier competes in flat racing mainly in France but travels often around the world for the big international races. He was a retained joc ...

(2008, 2009, 2010) * 3 – John R. Velazquez (1998, 2012, 2017) Most wins by a trainer: * 3 –

(2008, 2009, 2010) Most wins by an owner: * 6 – Flaxman Holdings / Niarchos family (1987, 1988, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2014) * 3 –

Wertheimer et Frère Wertheimer et Frère is a Thoroughbred horse racing and breeding business partnership between brothers Alain and Gérard Wertheimer of France. The Wertheimer brothers are the owners of the House of Chanel in Paris. They inherited that company and ...

(2008, 2009, 2010)

Winners

† Indicates filly/mare

References

Racing Post ''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing and sports betting publisher which is published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of ...

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External links

Ten Things You Should Know about the Breeders' Cup Mile at Hello Race Fans!Three Great Moments: Breeders' Cup Mile at Hello Race Fans!
{{BreedersCup

Mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 Engli ...

Open mile category horse races Grade 1 turf stakes races in the United States 1984 establishments in California Recurring sporting events established in 1984

Automatic berths

Records

Winners

See also

References

External links