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Saturday September 8, 2007 |
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The
Horse-Race-Handicapping.com
Breeders Cup 2007 Series The Breeders Cup Foal Nomination Program Breeders Cup Limited administers the Breeders Cup World Championships. This year's culminating event is the two-day World Championships (October 26 and 27) staging 11 races (at Monmouth Park, New Jersey) worth $23 million in purses. Three new $1 million races will be introduced on Friday, October 26. They are the Breeders Cup Dirt Mile (for 3-year-olds and up), the Breeders Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (for 3-year-olds and up fillies & mares), and the Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf. So where does the money for the extravagant purses come from? The Breeders Cup Foal and Stallion Nomination programs are integral in funding the purses for the pre-Championship Breeders Cup Stakes program and the Breeders Cup World Championships. Where does it all start? That would be the breeding farm, of course. It starts when a breeding farm spends $500 to nominate a promising weanling for future Breeders Cup purse distributions. This year Breeders Cup Foal nominators pay a one-time fee of $500 per foal by October 15, 2007 (or $1,500 by December 15 for late nominations) which makes their foals eligible to the Breeders Cup program for their entire racing careers. Last year (2006) foal nominations generated about $8.3 million in revenue. The revenue figure for the 2005 foal crop was $8.2 million, and in 2007 another modest increase in revenue is expected. Over 16,200 foals were nominated in 2006, and about half of them were nominated online by virtue of an interactive nomination system (started in 2000).The 2007 pre-Championship Breeders Cup Stakes program features 137 races across the U.S. and Canada. The breeder will receive Breeders Cup Awards distributions [5% of the Breeders Cup portion of the purse] every time the nominated foal finishes first, second, or third in future pre-Championship Breeders Cup Stakes races (not to be confused with the World Championships). And the breeder receives a [5%] award if the foal finishes from first to fifth in a Breeders Cup World Championship race. The breeder continues to be eligible to receive Breeders Cup purse distributions even if he no longer owns the horse. In a typical Breeders Cup Stakes race about 2/3 of the purse money is put up by the racetrack [and its sponsors] and about 1/3 is put up by Breeders Cup Ltd. If a Breeders Cup nominated horse wins then the winning connections get the winner's share of the entire purse, and the breeder gets [an award equal to] 5% of the Breeders Cup portion. If a non-nominated horse wins, the winning connections get the winner's share of only the racetrack sponsored portion of the purse. This is a huge incentive for the breeders and owners to continue to cultivate the Breeders Cup Foal Nomination program. In the 137 races in the 2007 pre-Championship Breeders Cup Stakes program, a total of $26 million in purses will be paid out, and $8 million of the total are allocated from the Breeders Cup Foal and Stallion Nomination programs. The Breeders Cup Stallion Nomination Program Not just the foal gets nominated, but the stallion gets nominated also. In fact, a foal cannot be nominated [under the Foal Nomination program] unless the stallion has also been nominated. Of the over 3,000 stallions standing each year, some 1,200 are nominated annually. Stallion nominations must be renewed every year to maintain eligibility. For most stallions, the annual stallion nomination [and renewal] fee is equal to the going stud fee but not less than $1,000. Stud fees range from less than a thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars. As 2007 began, Bernardini commanded a $100,000 stud fee, and Storm Cat commanded the celestial fee of $500,000. Reserve Your Breeders Cup Report From Horse Race Handicapping.com To Order Breeders Cup 2007 Report Click Here
A total of
18 stallions standing in North America commanded stud fees of $100,000 or
more. Recently stallion nomination fees were increased for the most prodigious
stallions (50 or more live foals in the year) to as much as twice the going stud fee, depending on how many
live foals the stallion produces.
If a nominated stallion's progeny finishes first,
second, or third in a pre-Championship Breeders Cup Stakes race,
or from first to fifth in a Breeders Cup World Championship
race, Breeders Cup awards distributions are presented to
the nominating breeder
for which the
stallion stands. The [5%] award
amounts are the same for the Stallion Nomination program
and the Foal Nomination program.
Breeders Cup Limited collected just under $9 million in 2005 from the
Stallion Nomination program, increasing to $14 million in 2006.
This works out to an annual average of $7,200 per nominated
stallion in 2005, increasing to roughly $11,000 in 2006. These monies are separate from the Foal Nomination fees.
The Foal and Stallion Nomination fees together are crucial in funding purses for not only the pre-Championship Breeders Cup
Stakes program, but the Breeders Cup World Championships.
How Do The Dollars Add Up? How many dollars are wagered on Breeders Cup World Championship day? In 2006 the total dollars wagered on the Breeders Cup [staged at Churchill Downs] from all outlets worldwide was an amazing $140.3 million. This represents a $16.4 million increase (13.2%) over 2005 [Belmont Park] when $123.9 million was wagered worldwide. Expectations are high, for good reason, in Monmouth, New Jersey for the 2007 Breeders Cup program. The 2007 World Championships At Monmouth Park
This year's culminating event is
the two-day World Championships (October 26 and 27) staging 11 races at
Monmouth Park, New Jersey worth $23 million in purses. Three new $1
million races will be introduced on Friday, October 26. They are the
Breeders Cup Dirt Mile (for 3-year-olds and up), the Breeders Cup Filly &
Mare Sprint (for 3-year-olds and up fillies & mares), and the Breeders
Cup Juvenile Turf.
The
Breeders Cup
2007
Edition
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