2012 Breeders' Cup

Last updated

The 2012 Breeders' Cup World Championships was the 29th edition of the premier event of the North American thoroughbred horse racing year, which took place November 2 and 3 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The winners were bred in the United States except where indicated. The Breeders' Cup is generally regarded as the end of the North American racing season, although a few Grade I events take place in later November and December. The 2012 Breeders' Cup results were highly influential in the Eclipse Award divisional championship voting.

Contents

Breeders' Cup Challenge series

The Breeders' Cup Challenge provides winners of the designated races with an automatic "Win and You're In" Berth in the Breeders' Cup. Races are chosen by the Breeders' Cup organization and included key prep races in the various Breeders' Cup divisions from around the world.

For 2012, the series consisted of 73 races in 10 countries, 52 of which were Grade / Group One events. Forty-five horses entered in the 2012 Breeders' Cup races qualified via the challenge series, including seven of the winners. These were: [1]

Results

The highlight of the 2012 event was generally considered to be Wise Dan's victory in the Mile, completed in an "eye-popping" 1:31.78, a new track record. [2] Although European horses were expected to be his biggest challengers, the 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom finished second despite not having raced since February. "It really hasn't hit me yet", said Wise Dan's trainer Charles Lopresti. "It's an incredible accomplishment, but it's really just the horse. He's done things in the morning that you just don't believe, and you work all your life to have a horse like this." [3]

Game On Dude came into the Classic as the favorite after a brilliant campaign that included wins in the Hollywood Gold Cup and Awesome Again Stakes. A win would likely have earned him Horse of the Year honors but he was sluggish and finished seventh. Longshot Fort Larned won in a front running performance, just holding off Mucho Macho Man at the wire. [2]

Rosie Napravnik became just the second female jockey to win a Breeders' Cup race after guiding Shanghai Bobby to a win in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. After the early leader tired, Shanghai Bobby inherited the lead, then lost his concentration and slowed down. He's Had Enough drew even before Shanghai Bobby responded to urging from Napravnik to prevail by a head. [4]

After capturing the Marathon, Calidoscopio became both the oldest horse to ever win a Breeders' Cup race and the first one trained in South America. [5] [6]

The biggest controversy of the 2012 Breeders' Cup related to the use of the anti-bleeding medication Furosemide (Lasix), commonly used in North America but not permitted elsewhere. To move towards international standards, the Breeders' Cup decided to eliminate the use of Lasix in the Juvenile races, with the intention of extending the ban to other races in subsequent years. However, there was considerable push back from a majority of American owners, trainers and bettors, who feared the form of American horses would be disrupted by the withdrawal of the drug. [7] The raceday ban on Lasix would eventually be removed for the 2014 event. [8]

In the 2012 Eclipse Award voting, nine of the eleven flat racing categories were awarded to horses who won at the Breeders' Cup. Wise Dan won three Eclipse Awards (Horse of the Year, Champion Turf Male and Champion Older Male), becoming the first horse since John Henry in 1981 to do so. The other winners were Shanghai Bobby (Champion 2-year-old Male), Beholder (Champion 2-year-old Female), Royal Delta (Champion Older Female), Zagora (Champion Turf Female), Trinniberg (Champion Male Sprinter) and Groupie Doll (Champion Female Sprinter). [9]

Friday

Race nameSponsorDistance/SurfaceRestrictionsPurseWinner (Bred)
Juvenile Sprint 34 mile (1.2 km)2-year-olds$500,000 Hightail
Marathon 1+34 miles (2.8 km)3 yrs+$500,000 Calidoscopio (ARG)
Juvenile Fillies Turf 1 mile2-year-old fillies$1 million Flotilla (FRA)
Juvenile Fillies Grey Goose 1+116 miles (1.7 km)2-year-old fillies$2 million Beholder
Filly & Mare Turf 1+14 miles (2.0 km)Fillies & mares$2 million Zagora (FRA)
Ladies' Classic 1+18 miles (1.8 km)3 yrs+ fillies & mares$2 million Royal Delta

Saturday

The Breeders' Cup races were part of a 12 race program with post time at 10:05 am PST for the first race. The post time of the first Breeders' Cup race was 11:51 am PST. [10] The attendance was 55,123. [11]

Race NameSponsorDistance/SurfaceRestrictionsPurseWinner (Bred)
Juvenile Turf 1 mile (Turf)2-year-old colts & geldings$1 million George Vancouver
Filly & Mare Sprint 78 mile (1.4 km)3 yrs+ fillies & mares$1 million Groupie Doll
Dirt Mile 1 mile (one turn)3 yrs+$1 million Tapizar
Turf Sprint About 6+12 miles (10.5 km) (Turf)3 yrs+$1 million Mizdirection
Juvenile Dirt Grey Goose 1+116 miles (1.7 km)2-year-old colts & geldings$2 million Shanghai Bobby
Turf 1+12 miles (2.4 km) (Turf)3 yrs+$3 million Little Mike
Dirt Sprint Xpressbet34 mile (1.2 km)3 yrs+$1,500,000 Trinniberg
Turf Mile 1 mile (Turf)3 yrs+$2 million Wise Dan
Classic 1+14 miles (2.0 km)3 yrs+$5 million Fort Larned

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breeders' Cup</span> Grade I Thoroughbred horse racing

The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, it expanded to two days. All sites have been in the United States, except in 1996, when the races were at the Woodbine Racetrack in Canada.

The Breeders' Cup Challenge is a series of Thoroughbred horse races in which the winner earns an automatic spot in a specified Breeders' Cup race. The challenge races change somewhat each year. The Challenge series began in 2007 with 24 "Win and You're In" races from 2 countries. By 2014, the series had grown to 71 races across 13 countries. During that period, 24 winners of Breeders' Cup races had qualified via the challenge series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosie Napravnik</span> American jockey

Anna Rose "Rosie" Napravnik is a former American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey and two-time winner of the Kentucky Oaks. Beginning her career in 2005, she was regularly ranked among the top jockeys in North America in both earnings and total races won. By 2014 she had been in the top 10 by earnings three years in a row and was the highest-ranked woman jockey in North America. In 2011, she won the Louisiana Derby for her first time and was ninth in the 2011 Kentucky Derby with the horse Pants on Fire. In 2012 she broke the total wins and earnings record for a woman jockey previously held by Julie Krone, and became the first woman rider to win the Kentucky Oaks, riding Believe You Can. She won the Oaks for a second time in 2014 on Untapable. She is only the second woman jockey to win a Breeders' Cup race and the first to win more than one, having won the 2012 Breeders' Cup Juvenile on Shanghai Bobby and the 2014 Breeders' Cup Distaff on Untapable. Napravnik's fifth-place finish in the 2013 Kentucky Derby and third in the 2013 Preakness Stakes on Mylute are the best finishes for a woman jockey in those two Triple Crown races to date, and she is the only woman to have ridden in all three Triple Crown races.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chad Brown (horse trainer)</span> American horse trainer

Chad C. Brown is an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer known for his expertise with turf horses and with fillies and mares. He has trained ten Eclipse Award winners including Stacelita, Big Blue Kitten, Lady Eli, Flintshire, and Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar. After receiving the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer of 2016, he won his first Triple Crown race with Cloud Computing in the 2017 Preakness Stakes. He also won the Eclipse Award in 2017, 2018, and 2019. He also won his first race outside of the United States when he won the 2024 edition of the Sandy Lane Resort Barbados Gold Cup in Barbados as an assistant trainer for the Gay Smith owned [[Edward Walcott Junior trained Portfolio Company

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wise Dan</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Wise Dan is a champion American Hall of Fame and Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. He is the first horse to win the same three Eclipse Awards in consecutive years, having been named American Horse of the Year, Champion Older Male and Champion Male Turf Horse in 2012 and 2013.

Fort Larned is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2012 Breeders' Cup Classic.

Shanghai Bobby is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. In 2012 he was unbeaten in five races including the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and was awarded American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt at the Eclipse Awards.

The 2013 Breeders' Cup World Championships was the 30th edition of the premier event of the North American thoroughbred horse racing year. It took place on November 1 and November 2 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The Breeders' Cup is generally regarded as the end of the North America racing season, although a few Grade I events take place in later November and December. The 2013 Breeders' Cup results were highly influential in the Eclipse Award divisional championship voting.

Charles LoPresti is an American race horse trainer best known as trainer of two-time Breeders' Cup Mile winner and Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year champion Wise Dan, who was also American Champion Older Male Horse and American Champion Male Turf Horse. Unusual for modern American horse trainers, he is based year-round at Keeneland Race Course and does not move his training stable from track to track throughout the year. He chooses to give his horses time off in the winter and does not race-year-round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Untapable</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Untapable is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. She showed promise as a two-year-old in 2013 when she won two of her four races including the Pocahontas Stakes and was placed in the Starlet Stakes. In 2014 she emerged as a top-class racehorse, winning the Rachel Alexandra Stakes, Fair Grounds Oaks, Kentucky Oaks, Mother Goose Stakes, Cotillion Handicap and Breeders' Cup Distaff and was named American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly.

The 2014 Breeders' Cup World Championships was the 31st edition of the premier event of the North American thoroughbred horse racing year. It took place on October 31 and November 1 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The Breeders' Cup is generally regarded as the end of the North American racing season, although a few Grade I events take place in later November and December. The 2014 Breeders' Cup results were highly influential in the Eclipse Award divisional championship voting.

The 2014 Breeders' Cup Challenge series provided winners of the designated races an automatic "Win and You're In" Berth in the 2014 Breeders' Cup. Races were chosen by the Breeders' Cup organization and included key prep races in the various Breeders' Cup divisions from around the world.

The 2012 Breeders' Cup Challenge series provided winners of the designated races with an automatic "Win and You're In" Berth in the 2012 Breeders' Cup. Races were chosen by the Breeders' Cup organization and included key prep races in the various Breeders' Cup divisions from around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Breeders' Cup</span> Horse race

The 2016 Breeders' Cup World Championships was the 33rd edition of the premier event of the North American thoroughbred horse racing year. A total of 185 pre-entries were announced on October 26 in what was considered a highly competitive year in most divisions. The races, all of which were Grade I, took place on November 4 and 5 at Santa Anita Racetrack in Arcadia, California and were telecast by NBC. The Breeders' Cup is generally regarded as the end of the North America racing season, although a few Grade I events take place in later November and December.

The 2013 Breeders' Cup Classic was the 30th running of the Breeders' Cup Classic, part of the 2013 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships program. It was run on November 2, 2013 at Santa Anita race track in Arcadia, California for a purse of $5,000,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Breeders' Cup</span> Horse race

The 2017 Breeders' Cup World Championships was the 34th edition of the premier event of the North American thoroughbred horse racing year. The 13 races, all of which were Grade I, took place on November 3 and 4 at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California and were telecast by NBC and NBC Sports. The Breeders' Cup is generally regarded as the end of the North America racing season, although a few Grade I events take place in later November and December.

The 2017 Breeders' Cup Challenge series provided winners of the designated races an automatic "Win and You're In" Berth in the 2017 Breeders' Cup. Races were chosen by the Breeders' Cup organization and included key prep races in the various Breeders' Cup divisions from around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Breeders' Cup</span> Horse race

The 2018 Breeders' Cup World Championships was the 35th edition of the premier event of the North American thoroughbred horse racing year. The 14 races, all but one of which were Grade I, took place on November 2 and 3 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The races were telecast by NBCSN on Friday and early Saturday, and by NBC later on Saturday. The Breeders' Cup is generally regarded as the end of the North American racing season, although a few Grade I events take place in later November and December. The event typically determines champions in many of the Eclipse Award divisions, although it was missing the eventual Horse of the Year, Triple Crown champion Justify, who was retired in July.

The 2019 Breeders' Cup World Championships was the 36th edition of the premier event of the North American thoroughbred horse racing year. The 14 races, all but one of which were Grade I, took place on November 1 and 2 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The races were telecast by NBCSN on Friday and early Saturday, and by NBC later on Saturday.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Breeders' Cup</span> Horse race

The 2022 Breeders' Cup World Championships was the 39th edition of the premier event of the North American Thoroughbred horse racing year. The 14 races, all of which were Grade I, took place on November 4 and 5 at Keeneland racetrack in Lexington, Kentucky. In the United States, the races were telecast on Friday and early Saturday by USA Network and FanDuel TV, with NBC covering the last three races on Saturday. In the United Kingdom, ITV broadcast all the races live, with day 1 on ITV3 and day 2 on ITV4.

References

  1. "Breeders' Cup makes changes to Challenge schedule – Handicappers' Edge". www.brisnet.com. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  2. 1 2 Beyer, Andrew (November 3, 2012). "2012 Breeders' Cup: Game on Dude flops while Wise Dan proves worthy of horse of the year". Washington Post. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  3. Wood, Greg (3 November 2012). "Breeders' Cup 2012, day two — as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  4. Pedulla, Tom (3 November 2012). "Shanghai Bobby and Rosie Napravnik Add Breeders' Cup Wins to Records". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  5. "9-Year-Old Calidoscopio Becomes Oldest Horse To Win Breeders Cup Race". losangeles.cbslocal.com. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  6. "Breeders' Cup 2012: Friday results, video replays". Daily Racing Form. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  7. Beyer, Andrew (November 2, 2012). "2012 Breeders' Cup: Lasix ban on 2-year-olds distracts from opening day of racing". Washington Post. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  8. "Lasix to be allowed in all 2014 Breeders' Cup races". Daily Racing Form. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  9. "2012 Eclipse Award winners". Daily Racing Form. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  10. "2011 Breeders' Cup Charts – November 3rd, 2012" (PDF). Equibase. November 3, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  11. Ron Mitchell (November 3, 2012). "Fort Larned Wins Thrilling BC Classic". Bloodhorse Breeders. Retrieved November 4, 2012.