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Breeders Cup Returning To Arcadia's Santa Anita Park

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Breeders' Cup is returning to Santa Anita in 2012, three years after Zenyatta's stunning victory over male horses in the $5 million BC Classic.

The official announcement Wednesday confirmed last week's reports that the Arcadia, Calif., track had won the 2012 event over Churchill Downs in Kentucky and New York's Belmont Park. It will be run Nov. 2-3, 2012.

Santa Anita has hosted thoroughbred racing's richest event five times, mostly recently in 2008 and 2009, when attendance and wagering records were set.

In 2009, Zenyatta became the first female to win the Classic. That year, 34 starters came from outside the United States, which is the most in the event's 27-year history.

The announcement didn't go over well with Charles Hayward, president and CEO of the New York Racing Association.

"Congratulations to Santa Anita, but we are disappointed that Belmont Park was not selected to host the 2012 Breeders' Cup World Championships," he said in a statement. "The event was most recently held at Belmont in 2005, and since then, two different tracks -- Churchill Downs and now Santa Anita -- have hosted the Breeders' Cup three times. We remain hopeful that Belmont will remain a serious option for the 2013 Breeders' Cup."

Craig Fravel, president and CEO of Breeders' Cup, said Southern California is always a strong draw for horse racing fans from around the world. He was joined by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for the announcement at the LA Live complex downtown.

This year's event is Nov. 4-5 at Churchill Downs.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/more/08/10/breeders.cup.santa.anita.ap/index.html#ixzz1UfSavTlp

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