Breeders' Cup relents; Will fund Stakes..
 

Breeders' Cup Reverses; Will Fund Stakes
By Lenny Shulman and Ron Mitchell

BloodHorse.com Breaking News
http://www.bloodhorse.com/article/48462.htm

Five days after it announced it was suspending its North American Stakes program, the Breeders’ Cup has apparently reversed itself and decided to fund the program for 2009, according to two members of its board.

The organization has come under intense criticism from breeders across North America who had already contributed stallion and foal nomination fees to the Breeders’ Cup with the tacit agreement that the Breeders’ Cup would help fund 100-120 stakes races at some 40 tracks across the continent, as the organization has done since its inception 25 years ago.

According to the two members, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the funding will reportedly come from the approximately $30 million that Breeders’ Cup has in its coffers from nominations collections through the years. Breeders feel this is their money that they have contributed to Breeders’ Cup, although an investment committee of the Breeders’ Cup makes the decisions on where to invest funds, and the 13-member board of directors has say over if and how the funds will be allocated.

Breeders’ Cup senior vice president of operations Pam Blatz-Murff said Dec. 16 said she could not confirm that the decision to not fund the stakes program for 2009 had been reversed. "As you can imagine there has been quite a bit of discussion since the suspension, but as of now it is still suspended," she said.

Clowns....

unreal... I hope the same folks that said they we not going to nominate in the future stick to their guns and really put the screws to these guys.

They're like Clark's boss in National Lapoon's Christmas.

Too funny! "take whatever you got last year... and add, um, 20%." Can't wait for the next press release!

who is steering that sinking ship? must be capt queeg at the helm.

Listening to ATR replay today late now (first hour jumps right into it) - thank gawd John Nerud is still around to point fingers and comment.

Like how he keeps saying, "It's a marketing tool, the money wasn't supposed to go back into it as a profit for the breeders" ;)

GOOD RADIO, well done Steve!

OK, so are we any less pissed off now? Everything Steve and the other guys said about the Breeders' Cup people is still true. They are still clueless and are in a position to further hurt the sport -- at least the current personnel, not necessarily the organization generically should new leadership emerge.

Unless they commit to funding these races in 2010 and beyond, what's the point of this decision? The weanlings that were nominated this fall won't be racing until 2010 at the earliest.

just saw this..

http://news.bloodhorse.com/article/48548.htm


what i don't understand is why avioli talks only about the nominating fees going towards the bc purses, etc. what about the money from tv, what about the money from handle? or are we supposed to pretend they don't earn anything from that??

"We’re coming off what many people consider to have been one of the best, if not the best, Breeders’ Cup in history, with the two-day format and 14 races."

Um, what? Where are these many people?

Well, I did get to see my first :41 4/5 half mile.

These things are worth something, you know....