Breeders' Cup Mile History
The Breeders' Cup World Championship was the brainchild of pet-food heir John R. Gaines. He first shared his idea for the series of races, which included the Breeders Cup Mile, at a Kentucky Derby luncheon.
His idea was not a popular one initially, but after a very successful first event in 1984, that changed. Nowadays, the Breeders' Cup World Championship is one of the biggest horse racing events in the world. Every race in the series is a headline event, with the biggest being the Breeders' Cup Classic.
In the first running of the Breeders' Cup Mile in 1984, Royal Heroine won the race, and the jockey was Fernando Toro. The winning time was 1:32.60. The slowest time for Breeders' Cup turf mile winners was 1:43.60 when Ridgewood Pearl won, and that is the only year where the time was over 1:40.
In the first Breeders' Cup Mile, the purse was $1 million. It was raised to $1.5 million in 2003 and, in 2007, was increased again to $2 million, which is what the current purse is.
Notable Results
There have been four horses that have won the Breeders' Cup Mile twice, and Goldikova is the only horse that has won the race three times. Four of the five multiple winners of the race won in consecutive years, with Da Hoss the only one that did not do that, winning in 1996 and then in 1998.
One of the biggest upsets in the history of the Breeders' Cup World Championship came in the 2011 running of the Breeders' Cup Mile. Goldikova was the big-time favorite at 13/10 and was gunning for her fourth straight Breeders' Cup Mile win.
Court Vision was also a runner, but not expected to win, being offered at odds of 64.8/1. However, after Goldikova had the lead, Court Vision and Turallure pulled ahead down the stretch, and in one of the closest races ever for the Breeders' Cup Mile, Court Vision pulled off the shocking upset beating Turallure by a nose.
Breeders' Cup Mile Records
Here are some of the records for the turf Mile Breeders' Cup:
| Fastest Time | 1:34.55 (World Approval in 2017) |
| Most Wins | Goldikova (2008, 2009, 2010) |
| Most Jockey Wins | 3 (Olivier Peslierin 2008, 2009 and 2010; and John R. Velazquez in 1998, 2012 and 2017) |
| Most Trainer Wins | 3 (Freddy Head in 2008, 2009 and 2010) |
| Most Owner Wins | 6 (Flaxman Holdings/Niarchos family in 1987, 1988, 1997, 2002, 2003 and 2014) |
2020 Breeders' Cup Mile
The 2020 Breeders' Cup Mile at Keeneland in Kentucky by the Irish horse Order of Australia with a time of 1:33.73, and the jockey was Pierre-Charles Boudot. Circus Maximus came in second place, and Lope Y Fernandez came in third place. The complete finishing order of the runners in the 2020 Breeders' Cup Mile was as follows:
| 1 | Order of Australia |
| 2 | Circus Maximus |
| 3 | Lope Y Fernandez |
| 4 | Ivar |
| 5 | Uni |
| 6 | Halladay |
| 7 | Kameko |
| 8 | Factor This |
| 9 | Siskin |
| 10 | Raging Bull |
| 11 | Digital Age |
| 12 | Casa Creed |
| 13 | March to the Arch |
| 14 | Safe Voyage |
Order of Australia won the race at odds of 40/1, which gave horse racing fans another big-priced surprise to remember. The 12/1 shot Circus Maximus was beaten by a neck to finish in second, and Lope Y Fernandez, also priced at 12/1, was 3/4 of a length behind the winner.