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.
Sam-Son Farm is a Thoroughbred horse racing stable with farms located in Milton, Ontario (Canada) and Ocala, Florida (U.S.). Established in the 1960s by Ernest L. "Ernie" Samuel, it began as a home for competition hunter/jumper horses. One Sam-Son horse won the 1967 Pan-American Games Individual Jumping Gold Medal and was a member of the 1968 Team Gold Medal for Canada at the Mexico Olympics.
The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse.
Miesque was a champion Thoroughbred racemare. At age three, she was a dual Classic winner in France and Britain, then went on to win the Breeders' Cup Mile in America. Her four-year-old campaign was highlighted by another win in the Mile, making her the first horse to win two consecutive Breeders' Cup races. She was a Group One/Grade I (G1) winner at two, three and four-years-old, for a total of 10 G1 wins. She was inducted into the American Racing Hall of Fame in 1999.
The Canadian Champion Male Turf Horse is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing honour that is part of the Sovereign Awards program awarded annually to the top male Thoroughbred turf horse competing in Canada. Created in 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada as a single award for Champion Turf Horse, it was split into male and female categories in 1995.
La Prevoyante (1970–1974) was a Canadian-bred thoroughbred race horse elected to the Racing Halls of Fame in the United States and Canada.
The Canadian Champion Female Turf Horse is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing honor that is part of the Sovereign Awards program awarded annually to the top female Thoroughbred horse competing in Canada in races on turf. Created in 1975, by the Jockey Club of Canada as a single award for Champion Turf Horse, it was first won by the filly Victorian Queen. In 1995, it was split into male and female categories.
Carotene is a Canadian Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse who holds the filly or mare record for winning the most Sovereign Awards. Bred by David Willmot's Kinghaven Farms, she was a daughter of the British sire Great Nephew, who also sired Epsom Derby winners Grundy and Shergar. Carotene's dam was Carrot Top, a mare David Willmot purchased in foal from the Whitney family at the 1982 dispersal sale of their bloodstock in the United Kingdom.
Vice Regent was a Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse and Canada's leading sire for thirteen years. Owned and bred by E. P. Taylor, he was from Northern Dancer's second crop and out of the mare Victoria Regina, a daughter of the French multiple stakes winner Menetrier whom E. P. Taylor purchased as a sire from François Dupré and imported to Canada.
The 2008 Breeders' Cup World Championships was the 25th edition of the premier event of the North American Thoroughbred horse racing year. It took place on October 24 and 25 during the Oak Tree meeting 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 2008 Breeders' Cup results were influential in the Eclipse Award divisional championship voting.
MacKenzie "Mack" Todd Miller was an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer and owner/breeder. During his forty-six-year career, he conditioned seventy-two stakes winners, including four Eclipse Award champions.
No Class was a Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse.
Jean (John) B. LeBlanc is a Canadian retired jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. He competed at many of the top racetracks in the United States but for most of his career was based in Ontario where he was commonly known as John, the English language translation for his name.
Eye of the Sphynx is a Canadian Champion Thoroughbred racehorse and successful broodmare.
The Eclipse Award Trophy is presented annually to recognize those horses and individuals whose outstanding achievements have earned them the title of Champion in their respective categories. Presently there are twenty categories that include American Horse of the Year, eleven Division Champions, five connection Champions and three miscellaneous awards.
Ogden Mills "Dinny" Phipps was an American financier, Thoroughbred racehorse industry executive, and horse breeder. Widely known by the nickname "Dinny," he was chairman of the family's Bessemer Trust until retiring in 1994, and served as its vice chairman.
The JRA Award (JRA賞) is given annually since 1987 by the Japan Racing Association (JRA) to the outstanding horses and people in Japanese Thoroughbred horse racing. The awards originally started as the Keishū Sha Awards (啓衆社賞) in 1954 and since 1972 the Yūshun Awards (優駿賞).
Gold Strike is a Canadian Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. Bred and raced by Dick Bonnycastle's Harlequin Ranches, she was out of the mare, Brassy Gold. Her sire was the outstanding Smart Strike, a two-time leading sire in North America who also sired Curlin, Soaring Free, and English Channel, among others.
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.
Luis Contreras is a Mexican thoroughbred jockey since 2006. After starting his career in Mexico, Contreras started competing in the United States and Canada during the late 2000s. For his graded stakes race career, Contreras has won thirty six Grade III races, twenty two Grade II races and four Grade I races. At the 2011 Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, Contreras won the Queen's Plate, Prince of Wales Stakes, and Breeders' Stakes. He became the first jockey to use two horses to win the Canadian Triple Crown. In 2014, Contreras came short of another Canadian Triple Crown after finishing tenth at the Breeders' Stakes following wins at the Queen's Plate and Prince of Wales.
