The Breeders' Cup Mile | Race Profile

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Breeders' Cup Mile

Breeders’ Cup Mile

The 2019 Breeders’ Cup Mile will be held at Santa Anita on Saturday, November 2nd.

Bet the race here!

Key summer and fall “Win and You’re In” Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series races to the Mile:

L'Ormarins Queen's Plate
The Star Doncaster Mile
Gran Premio Club Hípico Falabella Breeders’ Cup
Shoemaker Mile
Yasuda Kinen
Queen Anne S.
Qatar Sussex Stakes
Prix du Haras de Fresnay-Le Buffard - Jacques Le Marois
Ricoh Woodbine Mile
Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes

The BC Mile History

The world’s best grass milers compete in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile. The turf race is for three-year-olds and up, and Goldikova has won the race a record three times (2008, 2009, 2010). The Breeders’ Cup Mile boasts more multiple winners than any other Breeders’ Cup race. Five horses (Miesque, Lure, Da Hoss, Goldikova, and Wise Dan) have won multiple renewals of the Breeders’ Cup Mile.

The 1984 winner of the first Breeders’ Cup Mile was Royal Heroine. He started as the race favorite at 8-5 odds. In the 33 runnings of the Breeders’ Cup Mile, 11 post time favorites have won the race, and the most recent was also the heaviest bet favorite when Wise Dan (4-5) rallied in the deep stretch to overtake a pair of long shots and win the 2013 edition for his second consecutive Breeders’ Cup Mile win. Wise Dan won a sensational 23 of 32 lifetime races and more than $7.5 million in career earnings.

The Breeders’ Cup Mile record time is 1:31.71 set by Tourist in 2016 at Santa Anita. Joel Rosario was the jockey for trainer Bill Mott.

The 2017 edition saw Europe’s best miler Ribchester face Irish Champion Churchill. Two other top challengers were expected to be Woodbine Mile winner World Approval, and another Irish Champion Decorated Knight.

As you handicap the contenders for the Breeders’ Cup Mile, note that a contender’s final prep race is a key indicator of how well a horse will run in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Since the year 2003:

Four Breeders’ Cup Mile winners also won their final prep race.
Four Breeders’ Cup Mile champions finished in 2nd-place in their final prep race.
Three Breeders’ Cup Mile victors finished in 3rd-place in their final prep race including 2016 winner Tourist.
Miesque’s Approval, Court Vision and Karakontie (JPN) were the only Mile winners who did not finish in first, second, and third in their final prep race (the median win odds for the three of them was 14/1).

These stats should provide you with a helpful blueprint for horses to consider for the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Mile Championship. A first, second, or third place effort in your final Breeders’ Cup prep race has led to 77% of the winners of the Breeders’ Cup Mile (since 2003).