The Breeders’ Cup announced Thursday that the 30th Breeders’ Cup World
Championships will be held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, on
Friday, November 1 and Saturday, November 2, 2013.
The Breeders’ Cup World Championships, Thoroughbred racing’s most prestigious
global event, annually attracts the best horses from around the world. The
Breeders’ Cup consists of 15 races with purses totaling more than $25 million
over the two-day event.
Santa Anita, which will be the site of this year’s Breeders’ Cup on November
2-3, has hosted the Breeders’ Cup World Championships five times, most recently
back-to-back editions in 2008 and 2009, both of which set new records for
attendance and wagering.
The 2013 Breeders’ Cup will be televised on the NBC Sports Network, and the
$5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic will be shown live and in primetime on NBC from
8-9 p.m. (EDT). The NBC Sports Network is also televising this year’s Breeders’
Cup with primetime coverage of the Classic on NBC.
“We are delighted to extend our partnership with Santa Anita, to celebrate
the 30th edition of our Championships in Southern California and for the
unprecedented opportunity to showcase the Breeders’ Cup Classic in primetime for
a second consecutive year. We are equally looking forward to bringing racing
fans a world-class event at one of the world’s greatest racing venues,”
Breeders’ Cup President and CEO Craig Fravel said. “Southern California and the
greater Los Angeles community are always exceptional hosts for fans and horsemen
alike from the event’s launch in 1984 and, most recently, at the 2008 and 2009
World Championships.”
Mike Rogers, President of The Stronach Group’s Racing Division said: “We are
pleased the Breeders’ Cup has chosen to stay at Santa Anita for the 2013 World
Championships. This underlines the commitment of The Stronach Group to present
world-class racing at its venues around the country. Santa Anita’s back-to-back
runnings of the Breeders’ Cup in 2008 and 2009 produced some of the top
performances in the event’s history and we are looking forward to again
showcasing the world’s greatest athletes in the entertainment capital of the
world.”
The 2013 running of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships marks the 10th time
the event will be held in Southern California over its 30-year history.
According to a study by Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, the
Breeders’ Cup generated in excess of $60 million in economic impact in the Los
Angeles area in both 2008 and 2009. Next year’s running will mark the seventh
time that Santa Anita will host the Breeders’ Cup, after hosting the event in
1986, 1993, 2003, 2008 and 2009 and this year.
“We are very proud that California has once again been selected to host the
Breeders’ Cup and we will take all the steps necessary to ensure that the
Breeders’ Cup this November and next year at Santa Anita will be of the highest
caliber for our racing fans and horsemen in our state and for our guests
attending from around the world,” California Horse Racing Board Chairman Keith
Brackpool said.
“The Thoroughbred Owners of California is happy to support the return of the
Breeders’ Cup World Championships to California and Santa Anita Park,” TOC
Chairman Mike Pegram said. “In addition to providing a much-needed boost to the
state and local economies, the event gives California horsemen an opportunity to
compete against the world’s best at one of our sport’s most outstanding
racetracks.”
Breeders’ Cup officials indicated that no decisions have been made on host
sites beyond 2013 and that the organization remains open to visiting markets
that can accommodate its two-day event during its traditional fall timing,
provide world-class hospitality for participants and guests and showcase the
world’s best Thoroughbred racing.
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