breeders cup filly

The Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint is a 7-furlong (1408 m) Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred fillies and mares three years old and up. As its name implies, it is a part of the Breeders' Cup, the de facto year-end championship for North American thoroughbred racing, generally held in the United States (also held one time in Canada). The race is run on a dirt course (either natural dirt or a synthetic surface such as Polytrack).
The race was run for the first time in 2007 during the first day of the expanded Breeders' Cup at that year's host track, Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Because of technical requirements, the race is not eligible for classification as a graded stakes race in its first two runnings.[1]
The 2007 race was held at a distance of 6 furlongs (1207 m) instead of the normal distance of 7 furlongs because of the configuration of the dirt track at Monmouth Park.
A graded stakes race is a term applied by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to a Thoroughbred horse race in the United States to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay. These fees, to which the track adds an additional amount, constitute the total amount from which prize money is paid to the first, second, third, and (usually) fourth place finishers.
There are three different levels of stakes races, the top ranking, and therefore purse, being a Grade I Stakes. They are higher-class races for bigger prizes and often involve competitors that belong to the same gender, age and class. These races may, though, be "weight-for-age", with weights adjusted only according to age, and also there are 'set weights' where all horses carry the same weight. Furthermore, there are "conditions" races, in which horses carry weights that are set by conditions, such as having won a certain number of races, or races of a certain value.
The American Graded Stakes Committee uses as part of its criteria for the grading:
Purse Requirement: That the race has a purse of more than $75,000. Longevity: That the race has been run for two years under the same conditions. Drug Testing: That post race drug testing is managed by a governmental authority. Restrictions: That the race may be restricted only in age and gender. Anabolic Steroid Testing : Boldenone, Nandrolone, Stanozolol, and Testosterone are only allowed to be used*. Toe Grabs: Cannot be more than two millimeters long*. NOTE: *Goes into effect in 2009. As long as the race meets these requirements, the Committee grades on the overall quality of the previous fields and the performance of horses in the previous fields in stakes both prior to and after the race. For example: if the winner of the Breeders' Cup Classic raced in the Santa Anita Handicap then the race would almost certainly be a Grade One.
Horseracing in the United Kingdom refers to them as conditions races.
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. The location changes each year. All sites have been in the United States, except in 1996, when the races were at the Woodbine Racetrack in Canada.
The event was created as a year-end championship for North American thoroughbred racing, and also attracts top horses from other parts of the world, especially Europe. The Breeders' Cup was founded in 1982 by John R. Gaines, a leading thoroughbred owner and breeder. Before the Breeders' Cup expanded to two days, it was generally considered to be the richest day in sports. As of 2008, the second day of the Breeders' Cup is the second-richest. In 2008, a total of $17 million will be awarded on that day, down from $20 million in 2007 (two races were moved from Day 2 to Day 1). The richest single day in sports is now another Thoroughbred racing event, Dubai World Cup Night. It features six races with a combined purse of $21 million in 2008. In the past, those who considered poker a sport could argue that the final table of the World Series of Poker was the richest day in sports; the highest payout ever at the final table was $38 million in 2006. However, a change to the format of the final table in 2008 means that the final day of the WSOP is now behind both Dubai World Cup Night and Day 2 of the Breeders' Cup.
With the addition of three new races for 2008, a total of $25.5 million will be awarded over the two days, up from $23 million in 2007.
The Breeders' Cup is currently searching for a title sponsorA maximum of 14 starters are allowed in each of the 14 Breeders' Cup Championships races with the exception of the Dirt Mile, Juvenile Fillies Turf and Juvenile Turf which will each be limited to 12 starters. Breeders' Cup Limited has adopted a field selection system to select runners in the event fields are oversubscribed. This system ranks horses in order of preference based upon (1) performance in Breeders' Cup Challenge Races, (2) a point system, and (3) the judgment of a panel of racing experts. The field selection system will be implemented as necessary following the taking of pre-entries on October 14, 2008, to officially rank the oversubscribed fields. The Racing Directors/Secretaries Panel (the “Panel”) will rank all the horses pre-entered in the oversubscribed races as described below. After pre-entry, any vacancies in the fields will be filled by horses in order of panel preference.
Through 2006, there were eight races on the Breeders' Cup card, all classified as Grade I races. In 2007, three races — Dirt Mile, Filly and Mare Sprint, and Juvenile Turf — were added, all of them run the Friday before the remaining eight races. Three more new races — a Turf Sprint, Juvenile Filly Turf and Marathon — were also added for 2008.[2]
The order of the races on the card has changed many times throughout the event's history, but the Turf and Classic are traditionally the last two races. Starting in 2008, Day 1 of the event will be dedicated to races for fillies and mares, with Day 2 featuring all other races.