2016 Breeders' Cup Classic

Last updated
33rd Breeders' Cup Classic
Breeders' Cup Classic
BCC2016-race-5.jpg
Arrogate chases down California Chrome in the 2016 Breeders' Cup Classic
Location Santa Anita Park
Date November 5, 2016 (2016-11-05)
Winning horse Arrogate
Jockey Mike E. Smith
Trainer Bob Baffert
Owner Juddmonte Farms
Conditions fast
Surface Dirt
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The 2016 Breeders' Cup Classic was the 33rd running of the Breeders' Cup Classic, part of the 2016 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships program. It was run on November 5, 2016 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California with a purse of $6,000,000.

Breeders Cup Classic American Thoroughbred horse race

The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of 1 1⁄4 miles (2,000 m) on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October or early November. All of the races to date have been held in the United States except for the 1996 edition held at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

2016 Breeders Cup

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.

Santa Anita Park thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States

Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races including both the Santa Anita Derby and the Santa Anita Handicap as well as hosting the Breeders' Cup in 1986, 1993, 2003, 2008, 2009, and from 2012 to 2014, plus 2016. In 2010, Santa Anita's ownership was moved to MI Developments Inc. (MID).

Contents

California Chrome, who was the top-ranked Thoroughbred racehorse in the world, was the favorite for the race after an undefeated season. He led for most of the race but was caught near the finish line by Arrogate, a late developing three-year-old.

California Chrome American Thoroughbred racehorse

California Chrome is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was named the 2014 and 2016 American Horse of the Year. He won the 2014 Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the 2016 Dubai World Cup. In 2016, he surpassed Curlin as the all-time leading North American horse in earnings won.

Arrogate American Thoroughbred racehorse

Arrogate is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2016 Travers Stakes in a track record in his first stakes appearance. He then won the Breeders' Cup Classic and was named the American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse and World's Best Racehorse of 2016. To start his four-year-campaign, he won the 2017 Pegasus World Cup in a new track record followed by a win in the Dubai World Cup. On returning to the United States however, he suffered three straight defeats and retired with a record of seven wins from eleven starts. Despite having only four stakes race wins, the large purses for these wins made him the all-time leading money earner in North America.

The Classic is run on dirt at one mile and one-quarter (approximately 2000 m). It is run under weight-for-age conditions, with entrants carrying the following weights: [1]

Contenders

California Chrome before the Classic California Chrome before 2016 BCC.jpg
California Chrome before the Classic

California Chrome (program #4) was the even money favorite on the morning line for the Classic after a perfect season of six wins from six starts, including the Dubai World Cup, Pacific Classic and Awesome Again Stakes. He was ranked number one on the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings and held the North American earnings record. California Chrome was also the 2014 Horse of the Year after winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. His trainer Art Sherman said, "He's more mature, bigger, stronger, and you can see it in the way he's running. He's pretty well focused. He's kind of awesome to watch, to be honest with you." [1] [2]

Dubai World Cup Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and contested at the Meydan Racecourse

The Dubai World Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and contested at the Meydan Racecourse (Arabic:ميدان) which in Arabic suggests a place where people congregate and compete, a sort of meeting point in the Emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The race is operated through the Emirates Racing Authority (ERA) whose Chairman is Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Presidential Affairs of the United Arab Emirates. It offers nine races, consisting of eight Thoroughbred contests and one Purebred Arabian contest.

The Awesome Again Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race run annually since 1982 during the Oak Tree Racing Association at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California.

The Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings (LWBRR), known as World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings (WTRR) before 2012, are horseracing's equivalent to World Rankings by other major sporting organizations such as ATP Tennis Rankings, World Golf Rankings, FIFA World Rankings for soccer and IRB Rugby World Rankings. The Longines Rankings are based on the rating earned by horses running worldwide from North and South America, Europe, Middle East, South Africa, Asia through to Australia and New Zealand.

Arrogate before the Classic Arrogate-BCC2016-1.jpg
Arrogate before the Classic

Arrogate (p #10) was the second choice at 5-2 on the morning line, based on his record-setting win in the Travers Stakes in late August. The lightly raced three-year-old was trained by Bob Baffert, who won the Classic in 2014 with Bayern and in 2015 with American Pharoah. The Classic was only his second stakes race appearance. [2] [1]

Travers Stakes

The Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Mid-Summer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds according to international classifications, behind only the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. First held in 1864, it was named for William R. Travers, the president of the old Saratoga Racing Association. His horse, Kentucky, won the first running of the Travers. The race was not run in 1896, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1911, and 1912.

Bob Baffert American horse owner and trainer

Robert A. "Bob" Baffert is an American racehorse trainer who trained the 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify. Baffert's horses have won five Kentucky Derbies, seven Preakness Stakes, three Belmont Stakes and three Kentucky Oaks.

Bayern (horse) American Thoroughbred racehorse

Bayern is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. In 2014, he won the Grade I 2014 Breeders' Cup Classic, following wins in the Haskell Invitational and the Pennsylvania Derby. He is owned by Kaleem Shah, who purchased him as a two-year-old, based upon the advice of his teenaged son. He was named after Shah's favorite soccer team, FC Bayern Munich. The horse was trained by Bob Baffert, and was retired in 2015.

Frosted (p #2) was the third choice at 3-1 on the morning line. Beaten by California Chrome in the Dubai World Cup, Frosted rebounded with noteworthy wins in the Metropolitan Handicap and Whitney before being upset in the Woodward. [2] [1]

Frosted (horse)

Frosted is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. In 2016, he set a stakes record while winning the Metropolitan Handicap in a "dazzling performance" and followed up with a win in the Whitney Handicap. Prior to that, despite winning several stakes races, he was best known for finishing behind American Pharoah four times, including a runner-up performance in the 2015 Belmont Stakes.

The Met Mile is one of the most prestigious American races outside of the Triple Crown and Breeders' Cup. It is known as a "stallion-making race" as the distance of a mile often displays the winner's "brilliance", referring to an exceptional turn of foot. Winners of the race who went on to become notable stallions include Tom Fool (1953), Native Dancer (1954), Buckpasser (1967), Fappiano (1981), Gulch (1987-88), and Ghostzapper (2005).

The 9-horse field also included: [2] [1]

Shaman Ghost, winner of the Brooklyn and Woodward, scratched the day before the race. [3]

Race Description

California Chrome broke well and was urged by jockey Victor Espinoza to the early lead. Arrogate broke poorly from the outside post position but quickly moved to the middle of the pack, then up to third. With a quarter of a mile remaining, Arrogate moved into second, trailing California Chrome by a length and a half. Espinoza looked back at the field then set California Chrome down for the stretch drive. Arrogate was also urged on by his jockey Mike Smith and started to draw clear of the remaining horses, but did not initially make up any ground on the leader. Entering the last sixteenth of a mile, California Chrome still led by about a length but Arrogate had hit his best stride and was gaining. Arrogate finally assumed the lead in the final strides and won by half a length. The time of 2:00.11 was very good on a fast track that was playing slower than normal, earning Arrogate a Beyer Speed Figure of 120. [3] [4]

It was trainer Bob Baffert's third consecutive victory in the Classic, one he doubted Arrogate could pull off turning into the stretch. "I thought there was no way. California Chrome is a great horse. I didn't think we could run him down", he said. "I thought he'd get second. I'm thinking, 'At least he showed up.' But then I saw Mike getting down on him, and that big stride of his. That was an incredible race by two incredible horses." [4]

"That winner is the real McCoy", said Art Sherman, trainer of California Chrome. "I knew he was the one we had to beat, but I didn't know how good he was." [5]

Results

FinishProgram
Number		Margin
(lengths)		HorseJockeyTrainerFinal
Odds		Winnings
1st10​1⁄2 Arrogate Mike Smith Bob Baffert 1.703,300,000
2nd4​10 3⁄4 California Chrome Victor Espinoza Art Sherman 0.901,020,000
3rd3NeckKeen Ice Javier Castellano Todd Pletcher 32.60540,000
4th9​4 1⁄4Hoppertunity John Velazquez Bob Baffert 18.10300,000
5th6​3 1⁄2Melatonin Joe Talamo David Hofmans 17.50180,000
6th2​4 3⁄4Frosted Joel Rosario Kiaran McLaughlin 8.4060,000
7th1​1 1⁄4Effinex Flavien Prat James Jerkens 34.7060,000
8th7War Story Scott Speith Mario Serey Jr.104.7060,000
DNF5Win the Space Gary Stevens George Papaprodromou74.30

Source: Equibase [3]

Times:​1⁄4 – 0:23.28; ​1⁄2 – 0:47.15; ​3⁄4 – 1:10.96; mile – 1:35.72; final – 2:00.11.
Fractional Splits: (:23.28) (:23.87) (:23.81) (:24.76) (:24.39)

Payout

Payout Schedule: [3]

Program
Number		HorseWinPlaceShow
10Arrogate5.402.802.60
4California Chrome2.602.40
3Keen Ice5.80

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Classic Entries". www.equibase.com. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Angst, Frank. "California Chrome Targets Perfect Ending". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Chart for the 2016 Breeders' Cup Classic". Equibase.com. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  4. 1 2 Privman, Jay. "Arrogate rallies past California Chrome in epic Breeders' Cup Classic". Daily Racing Form. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  5. ↑ "Arrogate Upsets 'Chrome' in BC Classic". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
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