Breeders’ Cup Payouts and Purses

Key Takeaways:

• The Breeders’ Cup World Championships features 14 Grade 1 races with seven-figure purses, led by the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.
• Horses can earn a starting spot through a designated “Win and You’re In” race, graded-stakes points, or selection by a panel of racing experts.
• Purses vary by race, from $1 million to $7 million, with the Turf offering the second-largest purse at $5 million.
• Connections who don’t secure an automatic berth face substantial pre-entry and entry fees, though some horses can receive financial assistance through qualifying races.
• Breeders’ Cup races pay the top 10 finishers, with the winner earning the largest share of the purse and lower placings receiving smaller payouts.

There are few horse racing events on earth as lucrative as the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. All 14 races, scheduled for October 30 and 31 at Keeneland, are Grade 1 events with seven-figure purses. The Breeders’ Cup Classic, the most prestigious dirt race in the world, leads the pack with a $7 million purse. But, all divisions get a chance to shine: there are dirt and turf races, sprint and route races, juvenile and older-horse races.

This is how horses get into the races on the big day, and the purses that each horse’s connections earn for running in the races.

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Getting in the starting gate: the field selection system

There are multiple ways to get into the starting gate for the Breeders’ Cup.

The most straightforward way in is to win a designated Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series race. The catchphrase is “Win and You’re In”, and as long as a horse is nominated to the Breeders’ Cup, that’s how it works: winning horses in those races are guaranteed a spot, with their fees and, in many cases, even travel expenses paid. If a horse who wins an automatic qualifier is not nominated, connections will have to pay a late nomination fee to take advantage of the spot.

The next qualifier is a point system. Top-three finishers in graded-stakes races in the United States and Canada between January 1 and pre-entry day earn points for those efforts, and those points are used to rank the horses who pre-enter. Points are apportioned as follows:

Juveniles can earn points on any surface for any race, and must earn at least six points for an automatic spot. Horses aged three and up can only earn Breeders’ Cup points on the same surface as the Breeders’ Cup race in which they are being pre-entered, and must have at least eight points to earn an automatic bid based on points.

If there is a tie in points for the final automatic spot in an oversubscribed race, ranking of the tied horses is based on a Racing Directors/Secretaries’ Panel preference, with their ranking determining the top also-eligibles as well.

If not all slots are filled based on points, pre-entries with zero points are placed into the field or the also-eligible list based on panel preference order. The judgment of the panel of racing experts becomes especially important in light of international horses; they may not have been earning points in North American graded-stakes races, but experts on the panel can take into account major races worldwide to make sure that the classiest horses get their chance to prove it on Breeders’ Cup weekend.

Payouts and purses for Breeders’ Cup races

$7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic

With a purse of $7 million, the Breeders’ Cup Classic is the richest of the Breeders’ Cup championship races. In line with it having the richest purse, the race also has the steepest fees for horses who have not won an automatic berth through a Win and You’re In race: $75,000 to pre-enter and another $75,000 on final entry day. Pre-entries are due October 19, with entry-day payments due October 26.

The purses are lucrative – for connections who had to pay full price, any horses who finish fifth or better get their money back and then some. However, on the other hand, with a maximum field size of 14 – if the race fills to capacity, some horses’ connections will go home empty-handed since Breeders’ Cup races pay down to 10th place.

$5 million Breeders’ Cup Turf

The second richest of the Breeders’ Cup Championships races is the Turf, run at 1 ½ miles, the international classic distance on the grass. The sticker price is steep: $62,500 on pre-entry day and $62,500 on draw day for any horse who didn’t win an automatic qualifier. But, the purses make it worth it for any horse who can hold their own against the best in the world.

$2 million races

Six races at the festival offer a purse of $2 million. Those include the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, Breeders’ Cup Mile, Breeders’ Cup Sprint, Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. Connections of runners who didn’t win an automatic qualifier have to pony up $30,000 on pre-entry day and another $30,000 on entry day to ensure a spot in the starting gate. Horses who ran well in designated Dirt Dozen races will have part of their fees paid: $30,000 for a win, $15,000 for a second-place finish, and $7,500 for a third-place effort.

Horses run for these payouts:

$1 million races

Six of the races offer a $1 million purse: Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. For any horse who didn’t win a Win and You’re In race, the pre-entry fee is $15,000, and the entry fee is $15,000. For dirt races, horses who ran well in designated Dirt Dozen races have part of their fees paid: $15,000 for a win, $7,500 for place, and $3,750 for show.

The purse payouts are as follows:

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