U.S. Draws 79 International Horses to $30 Million Breeders' Cup
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Oct 31
U.S. Draws 79 International Horses to $30 Million Breeders' Cup
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Oct 31
Summary
Keeneland hosts the 43rd Breeders' Cup this weekend with 14 races and more than $30 million in purses, underscoring the United States' pull as horse racing's main global stage.
Seventy-nine international horses were pre-entered for Friday and Saturday, bred in nine countries across six continents, showing how far overseas owners and trainers are now willing to travel.
Sheikh Fahad Al Thani of Qatar Racing said the U.S. now offers the deepest pool of big-spending owners and the strongest day-to-day purse money, making regular stops such as Saratoga and Keeneland increasingly central.
That marks a shift from decades when Japanese, Australian, Irish and English horsemen mostly stayed within their own circuits because overseas purses rarely justified shipping costs.