The 1984 Breeders’ Cup

The dream becomes a reality as the inaugural Breeders’ Cup was held at Hollywood Park in Los Angeles: 7 spectacular races, featuring the world’s greatest horses, jockeys and trainers competing on one stage for $10 million in purses, topped off by an unprecedented live four hour national broadcast on NBC.  Chief’s Crown was the winner of the first ever Breeders’ Cup race – the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. The climax of Racing’s Greatest Day was the world’s richest race – The $3 million Breeders’ Cup Classic - and hype lived up its billing. The favorite, Slew o’Gold, Preakness winner Gate Dancer and 31-1 longshot Wild Again drove and banged together down Hollywood Park stretch to wire. Wild Again crossed the wire first by a head, but the crowd of 68,000 and the national television audience had to wait another 10 dramatic minutes following a steward’s inquiry to officially declare Wild Again the winner.