It could work, but you'd need a LOT of money with guaranteed appearance bonuses and free airfare, food, hotel, spending cash etc etc.  I'd set the distance at 1 3/16th

it would have to be an awful lot of money for me to send my horse out one more time after a long, hard campaign and it's after the Breeders Cup...time for the babies to get a rest and be a horse...there's only 8 weeks or so after the BC until January training for the next year, anyway...nope, horse would come first, I'm a believer in a nice winter vacation.

What a super idea!!  I think anything that puts the best horses out there to grab the attention of possible converts to racing is worth not only talking about but actually doing.  Horseracing needs to be seen - I can't help believing that the love will follow. (I know, "build it and they will come" but there is something to that statement)  Night racing is a development that should really go places - after all, people are actually available to go to the track in the evening.  Most of us work during the day.  This is a fantastic list of horses too - I love the variety.

Great Idea, but with the Breeders Cup just about 3-4 weeks prior to the race, and most of the horses will  probably be spent from all the travel and training for a big event like the Breeders Cup...i don't think alot of the connections would go for it. If the RA vs Z matchup can't get done, good luck with this. Only the 2nd tier horses I can see would go for this.

The method you are using is somewhat flawed if Pioneerof The Nile is anywhere near the top 10.

I have to agree with The Rock about only 2nd tier horses being able to compete that quickly after Breeders Cup weekend.

And I do agree that something needs to be held on Thanksgiving Day representing Thoroughbred racing.

So, how about this idea...

Televise the live coverage of The Breeders Cup Steeplechase on Thanksgiving Day.

And here's why for several reasons.

1)   It's still Thoroughbreds who compete in it.

2)   It still brings attention to the fact that it is a Breeders Cup / Horse racing event.

3)   Since the BC Steeplechase has never been able to be held at the same track that the main BC event is held at, it should be OK to hold it on Thanksgiving Day.

4)   To some people a Steeplechase is kind of a novelty type of an event, that brings attention to it even from an oddity / curiosity standpoint.

And 5)   It reminds me of my favorite Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis movie..."Money From Home".      

So a 5 million dollar race that is already the "world Series" of racing(Remember the Breeders Cup Classic?) cannot get all of the best horses in one race but somehow a race out of season at half time of the Superbowl is what is needed? I don't even get the train of thought. The purse would be need to be $10 million minimum just to get a very good field no less a dream field which never comes off because of the fragility of the competitors. So why are they all going to be healthy and in form just because you call it the World Series?

So if the top 14 above all made the field, this years winner of the Dubai WC and the leading money winner of 2009 would not make the race?

I Want Revenge? Really? He's delicate right now. :/

Also, Mine That Bird has beaten better horses in relation to class (not sex) than Rachel A. He was the top Canadian horse, like a certain Deputy Minister...Rachel's last win was contested because two of her FOUR competitors scratched, one for colic and the other for a temp. Put MtB third and Rachel fourth.

Pipedream. Too much negotiating with tracks and owners and too many financial complications.

Interesting idea, but with all those defective horses in there like I Want Revenge and Quality Road, it has the potential to be a PR disaster for horse racing.

Many of those horses mentioned simply aren't durable enough to be championship material.

They've proven during the run up to the 09 Triple Crown series that they just can't cut it, and most likely, if they continue to race, will not leave the track alive.

Plus, what surface do you run them on to make sure the playing field is level?

It would be a great event, but not something that can be sustained given the present status of the horse racing industry and the animals themselves in the United States today.

Should not be held Thanksgiving if your looking for the common man to watch it. A really good host could be Lone Star due to it's huge facilities and warmer weather. The second weekend of December would be a really good option because of the reasonable distance from Breeders' Cup and allows races like the Clark take place and possibly even serve as a prep for the so called world series of racing. The purse needs to be at least $3,000,000 probaly more. The classic 1 1/4 miles is the distance. Also, this race would inthuze people like Jess Jackson who don't like "plastic" surfaces. They're needs to be a few races to compliment the race like a 1 1/8 turf race, a 7 furlong sprint, a juvenile sprint at 6 furlongs, andI think a 4 1/2 furlong thouroughbred vs quarter horse matchup could be extremely intriging. The races should also be at night with the lighting at Lone Star.  

Lone Star...

I live in Houston. If it EVER came to pass (well, we built a space shuttle didn't we?) I'd tie up my parents and make them take me. I have epilepsy and can't drive...

It wouldn't work because:

1. Breeders' Cup competition

2. Surface questions

3. Distance

4. Location

5. Full scale boys vs. girls

6. It would be one race and anyone could have one good race. I think it would have to be something along the lines of NASCAR.

Definitely needs to be FAR away from the Breeders' Cup, months away, so as not to interfere with those champion$hip races. It behooves (appropriate word) all to compliment each other, if possible.

It's tricky stuff but I'd aim for the deadest time of year.  Halftime of the Lions game---I meant well but spoke too soon;  that's way too close to the BC championships. That doesn't mean that important existing preps can't be run during halftime of major sporting events, including the Lions game, but the financial feasibility of this is beyond my scope---I figure, it can't hurt to dream.

This night racing phenomenon begets intriguing possibilities. Thanks for the creative thinking. No huge progress without widespread creative brainstorming.

I think you are on the right track but I think it would have to be for older horses and further away from Breeder's Cup.  The 2 and 3 year olds are being pointed to the Triple Crown and Breeder's Cup so I don't see squeezing the race in anywhere for them.  As a fan I really enjoy the older horses like Zenyatta, Einstein and Well Armed.  A race like this with a big purse could keep some of the older horses in training and give the owners the incentive to keep racing them as older horses.  Mr. Jess Jackson indicated last year that there was no incentive for him to race Curlin as a 5 year old because there aren't enough big races for him to run in.  The prestige is mainly with the Triple Crown.    

I never understood how something that is limited to a specific country can call itself the "world series" of anything.

The Dubai World Cup day does is probably racing's only true WORLD event. The BC tries... but I think they could try harder.

What about turf horses? This is only a 1 dirt race?

Curious: Would anyone go to the track on Thanksgiving, New Years---family gathering days---if there were HUGE races on those days? Or nights? New Year's day ain't sacred, less family participation---maybe New Year's is an interesting big-sporting-event  day to ponder. But of course would stall retirement on major studs---not that I have a problem with that.

Isn't this what the Breeders Cup all about?  Our "world series of racing" already exists in my opinion.  It's the BC Classic.

I believe Equispace is on to something here. The main barrier would be the timing of the race relative to Breeder's Cup day. How about the Breeder's Cup folks run one of their feature ($3 million plus)races at the host BC venue on a  later date, say Thanksgiving Day. I love Breeder's Cup day but let's face it... most racetrackers would wait 2 or 3 more weeks for a dream race and no of us would really miss seeing only 7 championship races on one day as opposed to 8. Capital idea Gene. Necessity is the mother of all invention.

TRY A PRO=MOTOR FOLKS...

"World Series"  Really?!

Come on, without competitors from outside the USA you cannot justify calling it the World anything - heck in Europe we still have a bit of a giggle at BC calling it the "World Thoroughbred Championships" when you consider that the vast majority of runners are from the USA, and there are hardly ever runners from Japan, South Africa or Australia.

Something wrong -Summer Bird DOES NOT BELONG  

DISTANCE 8.5-10f

GRADE one 750 k and higher

Gene Gene Gene. Are you serious? That race already exists every year and it's called the Breeders Cup Classic, or do you not follow horse racing? and how in the world would General Quarters make the field ahead of Well Armed............ Also why have it take place on Thanksgiving weekend, horses are pointed for BC day and many would not show up for a Turkey day meeting....... Just a little note on the Skins Game, it is a vacation for the players and their families and for the employees of the sponsors, golf is a sidebar to the weekend. That is not top golf. It's something to pass the time, not decide a championship!......

Why doesnt Summer Bird belong Steve S? Did he not win the Belmont this year? A race considered a Classic!

SUMMER BIRD will never win another GRADED race-if i was HIS Owners Iwould SELL SELL RIGHT NOW

Put all 20 in the gate and watch Zenyatta crush the other nineteen in the final furlong.

Nice idea, but why not take current summer grade 1 races & rename the series of them that help get these horses to BC?   There are some great summer races that need some marketing upgrade.  

SELL SUMMER BIRD NOW -he never win another Grade 1 again

Why are there no european horses in the list? I can think of a few horses that deserve to be on that list including Sea The Stars and fame and glory. How can it be a 'world' championship when the highest rated horse in the world (STS) isnt included?