Breeders’ Cup Classic - Win Records
The 2016 Breeders’ Cup Classic will be the grand finale of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships which take place Nov. 4-5. Back at Santa Anita Park again, this year’s Classic presents an opportunity for some to shatter Classic records.
Most wins by a horse: Tiznow is the only horse to ever win the Breeders’ Cup Classic twice. He won in both 2000 and 2001. The 2001 Breeders’ Cup was held at Belmont Park and was the first major sporting event since 9/11. Racing fans old and young revere Tom Durkin’s famous call, “Tiznow wins it for America!” Tiznow’s record is safe for 2016. All of this year’s contenders are hoping to win the Classic for the first time.
Most wins by an owner: Stronach Stables is also the only owner with two wins. The first win came with Awesome Again in 1998, who then sired the 2004 winner Ghostzapper. Stronach Stables has the chance to win a third Classic this year with its homebred line of horses. Grade 1 Woodward winner Shaman Ghost, by Ghostzapper, will take his shot at the big dance with hopes of upsetting California Chrome.
Most wins by a trainer: No trainer has won the Breeders’ Cup Classic more than twice. Charlie Whittingham, Jay M. Robbins, Bill Mott, and Bob Baffert are all tied with two Classic wins. Whittingham won with Ferdinand (1987) and Sunday Silence (1989), Robbins with Tiznow (2000-01), Mott with Cigar (1995) and Drosselmeyer (2011), and Baffert with Bayern (2014) and Triple Crown champion American Pharoah (2015). This year Baffert sends out Arrogate, who won the Grade 1 Travers by 13 ½ lengths, in hopes of getting his third Classic win. A victory this year would make it three in a row for Baffert, and would make him the leading trainer for most Breeders’ Cup Classic wins.
Most wins by a jockey: Chris McCarron and Jerry Bailey tie with five wins each in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. McCarron rode Alysheba (1988), Sunday Silence (1989), Alphabet Soup (1996), and Tiznow (2000-01) while Bailey was aboard Black Tie Affair (1991), Arcangues (1993), Concern (1994), Cigar (1995), and Saint Liam (2005). The 1996 Breeders’ Cup Classic turned into a stunner when Alphabet Soup took down the immortal Cigar. McCarron and Alphabet Soup crossed the wire first, while Bailey and Cigar finished third.
By Christine Oser