An incentive-based participation bonus program called Breeders’ Cup Dirt Dozen was announced by Breeders’ Cup this Thursday. The new program will award monetary credits, sponsored by Breeders’ Cups, to first- to third-place finishers in selected races for riders to use as entry fees in six races. race land of the Breeders’ Cup World Championship. looking for more information this.
Also this week, Breeders’ Cup announced that the scheduled Series Breeders’ Cup Challenge: Win and You’re In will feature 82 qualifying races in 11 counties. New for this year, the 2022 tournament in the US has been restructured into a regional qualifying program to balance out the competition between divisions across the country. looking for more information here.
The TDN spoke with Courtney Reid, Director of Racing and Industrial Relations at Breeders’ Cup, to learn more about these new programs ahead of this year’s Breeders’ Cup World Championship in Keeneland. The following has been edited for brevity and clarity.
TDN: How did the idea of Dirt Dozen come about?
Reid: Just like the Challenge series, we strive to make our races more engaging for our riders to participate in each year. We decided that offering bonuses to these 12 graded bet races was a great way to reduce the cost of participating in championship races. The incentives offered with this program will not only add starters to our Championship long-distance races, but will hopefully help increase the field size of the 12 selected races. for Dirt Dozen. We have received positive feedback so far from race secretaries included in the program.
TDN: How are the divisions in the program set up and how will the prize money be distributed?
Reid: Out of the 12 races, there are two for each division. So, for example, in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint division, the first Dirt Dozen race is the GIII Smile H. at Gulfstream Park on July 2. The first three finishers of this race will receive a level. credit fund’s bonus will go on target. fees for the championship race. The first person to finish will receive $30,000, half the entry fee. They will only need to pay the remaining $30,000 to run in the GI Qatar Racing Breeders’ Cup Sprint. The second-place finisher will receive $15,000 and the third-place finisher will receive $7,500.
With these races, a horse can technically get full free entry in the Championship if they run in both races in the division. With the Qatar Racing Breeders’ Cup Sprint example, if they run in the GIII Smile H. and the GII Santa Anita Sprint Championship, they can fully pay for entries if they win. both.
TDN: Do you think that in the past, the entrance fee prevented horses from participating in the Breeders Cup?
Reid: I don’t think the entrance fee is the main factor holding the horses back, but I would say that over the years banned favorites have discouraged certain outfits that might be in the fence. But if you take last year’s example, we had three favorite heavyweights in Jackie’s Warrior, Gamine and Letruska all defeated, so you never know. We hope that this new program will be an additional impetus for connections that may already be in the fence.
TDN: Why was it important to create this program specifically for dirt races?
Reid: We have 56 grass races in the Breeders’ Cup Challenge series, so we think there’s plenty of room to automatically qualify for the Challenge for a grass race. We want to give more opportunities to dirty races. Historically, land races around the country – especially in betting races – have not been filled with turf races. This is an opportunity to boost our dirt races.
TDN: Can you give an overview of this year’s restructuring for the US regional qualifiers?
Reid: The Breeders’ Cup Challenge series is in its 15th year this year. We will have 82 challenge races worldwide in 11 countries covering all divisions. We have 43 domestic and 39 international.
Domestically, we have restructured the program to establish a regional balance across the country with a division of East, West, and Midwest. In 11 of the 14 categories, there will be a Breeders’ Cup Challenge race for each region. We want to make sure that one part of the country has no advantage over the rest.
TDN: What are some of the most notable changes to races that will or will not be considered Win and Participate?
Reid: For example, in New York, the Jockey Club Derby, John A. Nerud S. and Personal Ensign S. are no longer Challenge races, however they have won Pilgrim S. and Miss Grillo S. Some of these categories There are also races in certain parts of the country, so this is an attempt to balance it out. For some dirt races that have lost the Challenge series designation, we can add them to the Dirt Dozen program.
GI Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic is an exception here. It’s our wealthiest and most poplar race, so we’re continuing to create more opportunities to earn auto-qualification in this division. With that, four of the six Classic U.S. division races will be televised nationally on NBC and CNBC for the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series.
TDN: With this new setup, do you expect regional competitors to form on the road to the World Championships?
Reid: Sure. Competitors are part of what makes sports fun and exciting. We want to see fans have a keen interest in the horses in their part of the country. There are sure to be racing fans in California who will start and bet on horses in their area to beat the best horses in the East and Midwest at Keeneland this fall. .
TDN: The Breeders ‘Cup Win and You’re In Challenge series have evolved since its launch 15 years ago. What do you think has made it so successful over the years?
Reid: Every year we evaluate the races and we had a lot of participation from our riders. We think it’s special to take part in a Challenge series race. We are grateful and proud of our owners and trainers, who put all their efforts into training the horses towards victory in the Challenge series so they can take advantage advantage of obtaining that automatic starting position. Riders always tell us that if they’re deciding between two races and one is a Challenge series race, they’ll usually just give the Challenge race.
TDN: As you plan the Breeders’ Cup World Championships in Keeneland this fall, you envision how entries will shape up for these new formats and programs.
Reid: We always have a significant number of our Challenge winners entering our Championship races and we hope that our Dirt Dozen program will have similar results. We expect it to add one or two, if not three or more starters to each dirty race. Our goal is to increase the field size for our races. We want to offer the most competitive betting races and provide entertaining races to our fans every year. We think this year at Keeneland will be a special experience.
TDN: What major changes or updates will there be this year, especially for international participation, given their amazing results last year?
Reid: The only international change related to the Challenge series is that at Royal Ascot, the King’s Stand S. will replace the Diamond Jubilee S. The King’s Stand is a five-stage race that is more suitable for runners in the division. Our Championship Sprint.
We hope to have another strong international controversy like we did last year. We are constantly reaching out to connections there. Josh Christian is going on a couple of trips abroad and we have our international liaisons, John Fulton in South America and Kate Hunter in Japan, who have done a great job for us in building awareness. knowledge and help recruit riders to the Championship.
