Big Evs was the winner of the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Santa Anita, hosing the event for the 11th time. (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire)
An Op/Ed by Lillian Davis
Since its inception in 1984, the Breeders’ Cup Championship has grown from a one-day, seven race event to 14 races over two days.
Breeders’ Cup races have come and gone. The Breeders’ Cup Marathon was introduced in 2008 but lost its official championship race status after the sixth running in 2013. But the long-distance race didn’t leave the Breeders’ Cup scene entirely. Under a multitude of names since 2014, the race has continued to be part of Breeders’ Cup weekend as an undercard race. Nowadays, it is run as the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes.
The most recent addition to the championship race roster is the Juvenile Turf Sprint—which has already been successful at producing great older turf sprinters. Looking at you Golden Pal.
I propose a new addition to the Breeders’ Cup catalog. The Small Track Championship Invitational. A $100,000 race run over 1 1/16 miles for three-year-olds and up on the Breeders’ Cup undercard or as a Thursday feature race. The best small track and state-bred racehorses would be attracted from all over the country. What’s not to like about a race celebrating the little guys of the sport?
Midnight Lute won the swampy 2007 Breeders’ Cup Sprint the one and only time the event was held at Monmouth Park. (TheBluZebra,via Wikimedia Commons)
A $100,000 purse should be included so that the race is eligible for graded stakes or listed status. The horses that would be competing don’t have many opportunities for black type. $100,000 is the minimum in North America for a Grade 3 race. I don’t expect this race to gift a racehorse from Arapahoe Park a Grade 1 win, but Grade 3 or listed status would be a nice tribute to the small track horsemen.
My hope is that this race would attract state-bred horses from state-bred programs, but I do not want to exclude Kentucky-breds who compete at these small tracks. If this race had existed when Washington fan favorite Barkley was competing and he was excluded simply because he was bred in Kentucky, despite never racing outside of Washington, it would be a shame.
Tyler’s Tribe who had been a four-consecutive stakes success in his home state of Iowa qualified for the Juvenile Sprint but sadly did not finish the race. (Courtney Snow/Past The Wire)
The invitational format of the race would allow the race to be strictly limited to horses and state-breds from small tracks and prevent the race from being an easy spot for fast horses from bigger tracks to swoop in and steal an easy purse. A “Win and You’re In” series for eligible race horses could be created with the most prestigious races at small tracks. For example, the Butch Gleason Classic at my home track Arapahoe Park in Aurora, Colorado. Or the Longacres Mile at Emerald Downs. The Bosselman Pump and Pantry/Gus Fonner at Fonner Park. The Genesee Valley Breeders’ Stakes at Finger Lakes. This would produce additional coverage on smaller tracks throughout the year.
According to the Jockey Club’s 2021 statistics on the distribution of registered foals by state, non-Kentucky-breds make up almost 55% of the total US foal crop. Florida, California, and New York each produced over 1,000 foals in 2021. With the ever-declining foal crop, state-breds should be celebrated on the biggest of stages.
Touchuponastar with jockey Timothy Thornton aboard pulls away to win the 32nd running of the $150,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic at Fair Grounds. (Hodges Photography/Lou Hodges, Jr.)
These state-breds and small track race horses also produce great stories. Tyler’s Tribe, although ill-fated, was one of the biggest feel-good stories of the week at Keeneland in 2021. From 2014 to 2017, California Chrome, the People’s horse, rallied the nation with his brilliance. One of the greatest and most popular horses of the 21st century is a state bred. Louisiana-bred Touchuponastar has to be one of the coolest state-breds running right now. He’s 12 for 17. Never out of the top three. It’s unlikely he’d end up in any Breeders’ Cup race off his form, but he’d be an incredible story for Breeders’ Cup week and a major contender in a race like this.
Small racetracks are at risk. Due to weaker competition, they receive less media attention, smaller wagering pools, and less race dates. Many of these smaller tracks are at risk of going out of business for good. It wasn’t too long ago that Illinois racing was significantly harmed by the closure of Arlington Park. We need to celebrate these states while we still can.
Arlington Park last hosted the Breedes’ Cup in 2002 when Volponi was the 40-1 upset winner in the Classic over Medaglia d’Oro.
Although I do not wager on racing, such a race would be a good wagering opportunity. Classy horses from all around the country competing against horses they’ve never seen before. It would be a difficult challenge to pick the best form lines and could produce plenty of shock winners.
I became a hardcore fan of racing after watching American Pharoah win the Triple Crown, but my all-time favorite racehorse is Colorado-bred Collusionist. A winner of 22 of 45 starts, he has won stakes from two to six. Sprinting, route, state-bred restricted, open company, he does it all. He is the modern embodiment of the old school warhorse. He just earned his first win outside of Colorado at Wyoming Downs in the Inaugural Handicap. Longevity rather than short glimpses of brilliance before the breeding shed beckons.
Small track stars deserve the spotlight.
Lillian Davis
About the Author Lillian Davis is a contributing writer and photographer who has taken pictures at Arapahoe Park since 2019. Lillian also works as the Photography Editor at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, student-run newspaper The Scribe. Lillian has written stories about Ben’s Cat and Collusionist as well as other horses and, the history of Colorado racing. Click here to read more of Lillian’s writings. Her racetrack photos can be viewed, along with the rest of her portfolio here.
