The marquee North American race for fillies and mares on the dirt has long been the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, a staple of the World Championships since the inception of the event in 1984.
The weekend racing fans wait for all year long is almost here as the top horses in the country and around the world travel to Keeneland for the 2026 Breeders’ Cup World Championships. The action kicks off on Friday, Oct.
Anyone who watched the 2022 Breeders’ Cup World Championships in person or on TV will always remember the Longines Classic first. A truly grand finale, the last of 14 World Championship races was a display of racing brilliance, as undefeated Flightline closed out his career with an 8 ¼-length runaway win.
U.S. Thoroughbred racing is the global leader when it comes to producing elite dirt sprinters, and that makes sense because sprint races on dirt have long been the meat and potatoes of the sport in this country.
Indeed, the only winner of the Breeders’ Cup Sprint who was bred or based outside of North America was Sheikh Albadou in 1991. He was bred in Great Britain and raced exclusively in Europe before the 1991 Breeders’ Cup, which he prepped for in France with a second-place finish in the Group 1 Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp.
