Breeders Cup to Santa Anita in 2013

The 2013 Breeders' Cup World Championship races will be run at Santa Anita for the second straight year, the organization said Thursday. Santa Anita also is the site of this year's $25 million, two-day event, set for Nov. 2-3 and broadcast live by NBC-TV and its affiliate networks. The World Championships were held at Churchill Downs in 2010 and 2011 and at Santa Anita in the two previous years. Monmouth Park in New Jersey was the last East Coast host site, in 2007. The event has not been run in New York since 2005, when it was at Belmont Park. Belmont and Monmouth reportedly were on the "short list" for 2013 and the selection of Santa Anita for a second straight year -- and fourth time in six years -- occasioned grumbling by East Coast fans on social media sites. Breeders' Cup officials, in making the announcement Thursday, noted Santa Anita's last two runnings of the World Championship produced records for both attendance and wagering. Timing of the races on the West Coast also allows live broadcast on NBC of the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic, the set piece of the event. The announcement added, "No decisions have been made on host sites beyond 2013 and ... the organization remains open to visiting markets that can accommodate its two-day event during its traditional fall timing, provide world-class hospitality for participants and guests and showcase the world's best Thoroughbred racing."