The prestigious Breeders’ Cup horse racing event will return to Churchill Downs in 2010 for a record seventh time.
The global event currently consists of 14 races held over two days with $25.5 million in purses. The Breeders’ Cup will be held Nov. 5-6, 2010, and will be televised live on ESPN and ABC to a worldwide audience in more than 120 countries.
Churchill Downs has previously hosted the Breeders’ Cup in 1988, 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000 and 2006 and has been the site of six of the seven largest crowds in Breeders’ Cup history. In 1998, 80,452 fans attended the Breeders’ Cup, eclipsing the mark set in 1994 at Churchill, when 71,671 were on hand.
“The return of the Breeders’ Cup to Churchill Downs will complete an unforgettable year of international focus on our industry and the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” said Larry Hayes, secretary of the governor’s executive cabinet and interim secretary of economic development for Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear. “After an international audience views the Kentucky Derby in the spring, we will welcome the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games to the Kentucky Horse Park, and then focus our attention on Churchill Downs for the return of the international celebration of racing that is the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. It will truly be a ‘Year of the Horse’ in the state that is the horse capital of the world, and the return of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships will benefit businesses and citizens throughout Kentucky.”
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