An exciting first half to the year on the horse racing calendar drew to its conclusion on an action-packed weekend at Saratoga, which was rounded off by the 2024 running of the Belmont Stakes.
Once again, there wasn’t a Triple Crown horse crowned, with three different runners landing victories in each of the three races and going against the betting favorites in TwinSpires.com.
However, the results from the series this year have given a fascinating outlook to the remainder of the season, with Dornoch, Seize The Grey, and Mystik Dan all likely to be pointed toward some huge end-of-season races between now and the start of 2025. But, what are some of the biggest horse racing events to watch in the second half of the year?
Royal Ascot
The high-quality horse racing action continues throughout June, beginning with the 2024 edition of Royal Ascot. The five-day meeting is among the most attended in the world, and it is Britain’s most valuable meeting of the season. Some of the world’s best horses will compete at the royal meet, with a purse of around £7 million up for grabs.
An approximate total of 500 runners will take to the track during the meet, with a staggering 18 Group 1s contested on the hallowed turf at Ascot. As well as being a popular event to attend, it also attracts a huge global audience, with the racing streamed into homes in over 200 territories across the globe.
The standout race of the week comes in the form of the G1 Ascot Gold Cup, which is competed over a staying distance of two miles and three furlongs. Stradivarius was the dominant force in the race between 2018 and 2020, but Kyprios appears to be the standout contender for the Aidan O’Brien team to land a second career win in the Gold Cup this year.
Travers Stakes
A rematch between the runners that contested the Triple Crown races will be likely over the summer months as the Travers Stakes will be run over a distance of 1 ¼ miles in August.
The ‘midsummer Derby’ is the third-highest ranked race on the dirt based on international classifications, with the race being ranked higher than the Preakness Stakes. It is the oldest race in the United States to be run by only horses aged three, and it was named in honor of the president of the old Saratoga Racing Association William Travers.
The race is the highlight of the summer meeting at the Spa, and the purse for the contest this year will be set at $1.25 million. It has been a popular stepping stone for some of the most talented runners aged three that have aims of lining up in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at the end of the season. Recent winners showcase the quality of the contest, with Epicenter landing success in 2022, while other famous winners include Tiz The Law and Arrogate.
Pacific Classic Stakes
Del Mar will once again boast hosting responsibilities for this year’s edition of the Breeders’ Cup, meaning that there will be extra attention on one of the key trials for the Classic in the late summer.
The Pacific Classic Stakes has been staged annually since 1991, and it typically attracts a talented field of runners to run over the 1 ¼ mile distance in California. The winning runner is automatically assured of a place in the Classic, and it has been a Grade One contest since 1993. There have been some shock results in the race throughout history, including Cigar’s shock defeat in the 1996 edition. Meanwhile, Beholder became the first filly or mare to win the race in 2015.
Dominant runners have often caught the eye in the race, including in 2022 when Flightline won by a stunning 19-length margin on his way to winning the Classic. This year’s race promises to offer more clues with the Breeders’ Cup in mind.
Breeders’ Cup
The flat season in the United States will reach its final stages at the start of November, with the 2024 edition of the Breeders’ Cup set to take place at Del Mar.
It is one of the standout events on the racing schedule, with competitors from across the globe making the journey to North America in the hope of landing sizable purses. Nowadays, the event is a two-day meet, with juveniles taking centre stage on the Friday card, before the key championship races run throughout Saturday. It has been an extended meet since 2007, with all but one of the editions having been staged in the United States.
Over $30 million in prize money will be up for grabs at the meeting, with the Classic forming the standout race on the card. European runners will also target the Turf, meaning that leading trainers such as Aidan O’Brien and Charlie Appleby often bring strong travelling squads.
