Breeders' Cup Winners

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Last updated: November 2, 2024 at 8:15 p.m. EDT

What is the best post position in the Breeders' Cup?

The graphs below visualize the most successful post positions that Breeders' Cup winners started from. Note that not all races have 14 entrants and some races have been added since the inaugural 1982 running.

Winners of the Breeders' Cup

While some may scoff at calling the Breeders’ Cup the “World Championships” there is no denying that the event is a major determining factor for crowning the U.S. Champions each year at the Eclipse Awards ceremony.

Perhaps no race shows that better than the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. Only four winners since the inaugural running in 1984 have not gone on to be named Champion two-year-old filly. She’s a Tiger, the 2013 Eclipse Award honoree, actually finished first in that year’s Juveniles Fillies, but was disqualified to second and Take Charge Brandi, and continued the trend of race winner-to-Eclipse Award winner in 2014.

Also, it’s not uncommon for Breeders’ Cup winners to span different Eclipse categories.

Wise Dan captured the 2012-13 editions of the Breeders’ Cup Mile and was named Horse of the Year, champion turf male and champion older male for those seasons. Main Sequence capped off a perfect four-for-year in the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Turf to be honored as both Champion Male Turf Horse and Champion Older Male. Pebbles (1985) and Miss Alleged (1991) were both honored as Champion Turf Females after beating the boys in the Turf.

When it comes to countries in the Breeders’ Cup, nobody comes close to the numbers the United States has produced. Out of 2,814 starters the United States horses have won a staggering 242 races at the world championships.

Unsurprisingly, the state of Kentucky has produced the most Breeders’ Cup winners with 196 out of 2,093 starters. No state comes close in generating these kinds of results. Florida is second at 26 winners with 336 starters, while California has produced just 6 winners out of 119 starters.

The state of New York has produced two winners in the Breeders’ Cup with 71 starters. Maryland has produced 3 winners out of 35 starters, while Illinois has generated 2 winners from 15 starters as well. The state of Pennsylvania has a somewhat surprising amount of winners with 4 out of 39 starters.

Several states have sent starters to the Breeders’ Cup but yielded no winners.

These include Virginia (52), Texas (9), Ohio (6), West Virginia (4), Arkansas (2),  Minnesota (1), New Mexico (1), Indiana (1) and Georgia (1).

International Breeders’ Cup Winners, By Place of Origin

The Breeders’ Cup is widely known as the World Championships, and invites competitors from all over the world. With the recently minted Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series expanding across the globe, the two-day event in the United States inevitably welcomes competitors from all corners of the world.

Due to the large number of turf races that occur at the Breeders’ Cup every year, the United Kingdom has a large contingent competing every year. Since 1984, 202 British competitors have participated in Breeders’ Cup event with 16 winners.

Ireland has sent 275 horses to the gates in the World Championships and produced 28 winners, which is the most of any non-American country. The notable winners from Ireland include 1991 Classic winner Black Tie Affair and three-time Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Goldikova (2008-10) and two-time Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Conduit (2008-09).

Canada has also put forth a large contingent of contenders with 107 entries winning 6 races total. France is another successful competitor in the Breeders’ Cup with 68 contenders taking 7 titles. Both Japan and Germany have submitted 9 runners and scored in a single race each.

Argentina is the biggest provider of runners from South American having submitted 24 starters with 5 horses scoring victories, including 2005 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Invasor.

Several countries are still waiting for the first Breeders’ Cup Champion.

Countries like Brazil (9), Chile (4), Australia (3), United Arab Emirates (2), Peru (2), South Africa (2) and Venezuela (1) have all competed in the season finale but never won a race.

Breeders' Cup: Top 12 international winners

For all the top winners, read the full story by Kellie Reilly

• Pebbles - 1985 Breeders' Cup Turf
  • The first British-based Breeders’ Cup heroine, Pebbles had made history at home as the first female ever to win the Eclipse. Her brilliant turn of foot also propelled her to victories in the 1000 Guineas in 1984 and Champion in 1985, but she’d never attempted 1 1/2 miles until the Turf. Pebbles proved just as devastating over the longer trip. Bursting through on the rail, she set an Aqueduct course record that stood for almost 37 years.
• Ouija Board – 2004 and 2006 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1)
  • A homebred for Lord Derby, Ouija Board turned the 2004 Epsom/Irish Oaks double, finished a mighty third in the Arc, and crowned her sophomore season in the Breeders’ Cup at Lone Star Park. She was on the comeback trail the following fall, getting in just one prep before placing second to front-running Intercontinental in the 2005 Filly & Mare Turf at Belmont Park.
• Found – 2015 Turf
  • Then the exceptionally hardy daughter of Galileo crammed five starts in barely more than two months, culminating in her upstaging Golden Horn in the Turf at Keeneland. Golden Horn was all the rage after sweeping the Derby, Eclipse, Irish Champion, and Arc, beating Found in the latter two. But Found was a different proposition in softer conditions in their Breeders’ Cup rematch, outdueling Golden Horn by a half-length.

The Legacy of Breeders’ Cup Winners

Since its inception in 1984, the Breeders’ Cup has seen many of the world’s most prestigious and notable horses go down in the record book as Breeders’ Cup Champions. Throughout the years, we have been privy to watching Breeders’ Cup winners sire progeny who would eventually win their own Breeders’ Cup championships.

Below is a list of past Breeders’ Cup winners who sired Breeders’ Cup winners:

• A.P. Indy (1992 Breeders’ Cup Classic) – Sires: Tempera (2001 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies), Eldaafer (2010 Breeders’ Cup Marathon)
• Awesome Again (1998 Breeders’ Cup Classic) – Sires: Wilko (2004 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile), Ghostzapper (2004 Breeders’ Cup Classic), Round Pond, (2006 Breeders’ Cup Distaff), Ginger Punch (2007 Breeders’ Cup Distaff)
• Capote (1986 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile) – Sire: Boston Harbor (1996 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile)
• Cherokee Run (1994 Breeders’ Cup Sprint) – Sire: War Pass (2007 Breeder’s Cup Juvenile)
• Chief’s Crown (1984 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile) – Sire: Chief Bearhart (1997 Breeders’ Cup Turf)
• Cozzene (1985 Breeders’ Cup Mile) – Sires: Tikkanen (1994 Breeders’ Cup Turf), Alphabet Soup (1996 Breeders’ Cup Classic)
• Ghostzapper (2004 Breeders’ Cup Classic) – Sire: Judy the Beauty (2014 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint)
• Gulch (1998 Breeders’ Cup Sprint) – Sire: Court Vision (2011 Breeders’ Cup Mile)
• High Chaparral (2002 and 2003 Breeders’ Cup Turf) – Sire: Wrote (2011 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf)
• Macho Uno (2000 Breeder’s Cup Juvenile) – Sire: Mucho Macho Man (2013 Breeders’ Cup Classic)
• Pleasantly Perfect (2003 Breeders’ Cup Classic) – Sire: Shared Account (2010 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf)
• Royal Academy (1990 Breeders’ Cup Mile) – Sire: Val Royal (2001 Breeders’ Cup Mile)
• Tiznow (2000 and 2001 Breeders’ Cup Classic) – Sire: Folklore (2005 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies)
• Unbridled (1990 Breeders’ Cup Classic) – Sires: Unbridled’s Song (1995 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile), Anees (1999 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile), Halfbridled (2003 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies)
• Unbridled’s Song (1995 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile) – Sires: Unbridled Elaine (2001 Breeders’ Cup Distaff), Midshipman (2008 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile), Unrivaled Belle (2010 Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic), Liam’s Map (2015 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile)
• Uncle Mo (2010 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile) – Sire: Nyquist (2015 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile)
• War Chant (2000 Breeders’ Cup Mile) – Sire: Chamberlain Bridge (2010 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint)
• Wild Again (1984 Breeders’ Cup Classic) – Sire: Elmhurst (1997 Breeders’ Cup Sprint)

Below is a list of Breeders’ Cup winners who have produced Breeders’ Cup Winners:

• Hollywood Wildcat
  • Hollywood Wildcat won the 1993 Breeders’ Cup Distaff. 
    • Her colt, War Chant, won the 2002 Breeders’ Cup Mile. 
      • War Chant’s son Chamberlain Bridge won the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.
• Personal Ensign
  • Personal Ensign won the 1988 Breeders’ Cup Distaff. 
    • Her daughter, My Flag, won the 1995 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. 
      • My Flag’s daughter, Storm Flag Flying, won the 2002 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.

And, finally, below is a list of Dams who have produced more than one Breeders’ Cup winner:

• Primal Force
  • Awesome Again (1998 Breeders’ Cup Classic)
  • Macho Uno (2000 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile)
• Sweet Life
  • Sweet Catomine (2004 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies)
  • Life is Sweet (2009 Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic)
• Hasili
  • Banks Hill (2001 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf)
  • Intercontinental (2005 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf)

Past Breeders' Cup Odds, Winners, Jockeys, Trainers and Times: