Wed Feb 27 12:48:29 2008

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Females to be featured on Breeders' Cup Friday

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New York, NY (Sports Network) - Breeders' Cup officials have announced that the 2008 World Championships will be split with the five female races all taking place on the first day. The 25th Breeders' Cup will be conducted at Santa Anita Park on Friday, October 24 and Saturday the 25th.

The five races restricted to female thoroughbreds will be run on Friday and the remaining Breeders' Cup races will be held on Saturday. This year's Breeders' Cup has been expanded to 14 races from the 11 in 2007.

The five races to be conducted on the first day are the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf and $2 million Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic.

"The initial response from the Breeders' Cup family including ESPN, our marketing partners, nominators and Trustees has been extremely supportive and enthusiastic," said Breeders' Cup President and CEO Greg Avioli. "By shifting some of our traditional Saturday races to Friday, we ensure that Friday stands on its own as an international competition of the highest level. This new format provides a great stage to showcase the talents of the best female Thoroughbreds in the world."

The 2008 Breeders' Cup World Championships has a total purse of $25.5 million, Friday's five races constitute $8 million of that total.

Last year's Breeders' Cup was held at Monmouth Park for the first time and was the first to be conducted over two days.

The Breeders' Cup plans to develop a series of Championship festivities designed to promote the new Friday format. Among the activities will be cause- related programs focused on women's health.