The Breeders' Cup Mile is a Grade 1 Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up, run on a turf course. It has been conducted annually as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships since the event's inception in 1984. All Breeders' Cups to date have been held in the United States except for the 1996 event in Canada.
The purse was raised from $1.5 million US to $2 million in 2007.
Freddy Head has won this race twice as a jockey and three times as a trainer.
There is no official stakes record for the Breeders' Cup Mile as it is run on different racecourses each year, some of which are significantly faster than others. In 2012, Wise Dan set a then-course record at Santa Anita with his time of 1:31.78. Although Tourist ran faster than this with a time of 1:31.71 in 2016, he just missed the current Santa Anita course record of 1:31.69.
Beginning in 2007, the Breeders' Cup developed the Breeders' Cup Challenge, a series of races in each division that allotted automatic qualifying bids to winners of defined races. Each of the fourteen divisions has multiple qualifying races. Note though that one horse may win multiple challenge races, while other challenge winners will not be entered in the Breeders' Cup for a variety of reasons such as injury or travel considerations.
In the Mile division, runners are limited to 14 and there are up to eleven automatic berths. The 2022 "Win and You're In" races were:
Most wins:
Most wins by a jockey:
Most wins by a trainer:
Most wins by an owner:
â Indicates filly/mare