The Breeders’ Cup Mile is a 1-mile (1.6 km) Grade 1 Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up….which is run on a grass course….and has been conducted annually as part of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships since the event’s inception in 1984…to which this video seen herewith is related….wherein the winner was Royal Heroine.
Royal Heroine (1980–2002) was a Thoroughbred Champion racehorse foaled in Ireland….who raced in England and France….and then in the United States….where she set a North American record for a mile on turf while winning the inaugural running of the Breeders’ Cup Mile in 1984….as her performances in 1984 earned her American Champion Female Turf Horse honors.
In winning the inaugural running of the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Hollywood Park Racetrack….Royal Heroine defeated a field of nine male horses…..and was ridden by Fernando Toro to a track record in the Mile race.
In this video herewith….NBC’s Dick Enberg provides a wonderful profile on the great horse and greatest sire of all time….Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990)….who was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse that won the 1964 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes….and then became one of the most successful sires of the 20th century. He is considered a Canadian icon….who was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1965…..and into the Racing Hall of Fame in both Canada and the United States followed in 1976. As a competitor, The Blood-Horse ranks him as one of the top 100 U.S. Thoroughbred champions of the 20th century….and a sire of sires….as he has been called the leading male-line progenitor of modern Thoroughbreds worldwide.
Additionally on this video, NBC’s Tom Hammond interviews legendary horse trainer D Wayne Lukas…..on how he deals with the “highs” and the “lows” of thoroughbred racing…..which provides wonderful insight into what is required for a winning philosophy in horse racing.
