BREEDERS' CUP OFFICIALS AFFIRM THAT OCT. 27 WORLD THOROUGHBRED CHAMPIONSHIPS WILL BE HELD IN NEW YORK

Officials of Breeders' Cup Limited today affirmed plans to conduct the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships on Oct. 27 at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

"Currently, there are no insurmountable obstacles to running the World Thoroughbred Championships in New York," said Breeders' Cup President D.G. Van Clief Jr. "Like all other sports organizations we are closely monitoring the situation and are taking every precaution to ensure the security of our patrons and our event participants."

The Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships is an eight-race, $13 million day of international Thoroughbred racing, scheduled to be televised live by NBC in the United States from 1:00-6:00 p.m. (ET) and by other networks throughout the world.

Breeders' Cup officials last week announced that the 18th running of the World Thoroughbred Championships would be dedicated to the fire fighters, police officers, emergency workers and other victims in the surrounding communities who perished in the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center. With the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and the New York Racing Association, which hosts the World Thoroughbred Championships, Breeders' Cup also announced the formation of the NTRA Charities - New York Heroes Fund to aid the victims' families, with a minimum goal of $1 million to be generated from a portion of event proceeds and other sources.

Breeders' Cup Limited is a not-for-profit organization based in Lexington, Ky., whose primary goal is to build positive public awareness of Thoroughbred racing and expand opportunities for enhancement of the Thoroughbred industry. Breeders' Cup Limited and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) conduct the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships. For more information visit the Breeders' Cup Web site, breederscup.com, or call (800) RACE CUP.