- Q. What is The Breeders' Cup?
A. The Breeders’ Cup is considered the biggest event in North American Horse Racing and is held this year at the Oak Tree Race Meet at Santa Anita Park. The event consists of fourteen races with purses of over $25 million. The biggest race is the Breeders’ Cup Classic – held on Saturday, November 7th, 2009 - worth $5 million. Every year, the best horses from around the world travel to compete for the high purses and honors of winning a Breeders’ Cup race.
- Q. What is the California Lottery Breeders' Cup Promotion?
A. The California Lottery Breeders' Cup Promotion is a promotion where players purchasing a single Hot Spot® ticket with a value of $5 or more will receive a coupon with a web entry code to enter a drawing for a chance to win a $50,000 top prize. The Lottery will award a total of 456 prizes ranging from $50 to $50,000. Coupons will be automatically generated when the player purchases a qualifying ticket.
- Q. When does the promotion run?
A. The promotion will run for 22 days – Friday, October 16th, 2009 through Friday, November 6th, 2009. Internet entries must be entered by midnight Pacific Standard Time on November 6th, 2009.
- Q. How do players enter the promotion?
A. Players must register their web entry code on the Lottery’s website at www.calottery.com/breederscup. Each code will then be randomly assigned the name of one horse participating in the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic Race 9.
- Q. What is the Bonus Draw?
A. All entries received by Friday, October 23rd will go into a special bonus drawing for a chance to win a VIP Breeders’ Cup Experience – four tickets for the live race on November 7th, VIP access to the Trophy Lounge including food and beverage, and $1,000 spending money. Winner will be contacted via phone number provided during the registration process. The Bonus Draw winner will be responsible for their own transportation and lodging costs and will be eligible for the final draw.
- Q. How will players know that they’ve won?
A. Winners will receive an email notification from the Lottery alerting them to log in to www.calottery.com/breederscup where they will see a winner notification message. Players can also check the Winners List on the same website to see if they have won and to see the names of all the winners. The winner of the Bonus Draw for the VIP Breeders’ Cup Experience will also be contacted by phone.
- Q: When will the drawings take place?
A: Entry deadline is midnight PST Friday, November 6th, 2009. The Lottery will draw 456 winners from the pool of eligible entries matching the 1st place horse in the Breeders' Cup Classic Race 9 on Saturday, November 7th, 2009. Winners will be posted by 8 a.m. PST November 14th, 2009. Entry deadline for the Bonus Draw is midnight PST Friday, October 23rd, 2009 and the winner for the Bonus Draw will be posted by October 30th, 2009.
- Q: How can a player get a copy of the promotion’s Official Rules?
The Official Rules will be posted on www.calottery.com/breederscup. Additional information will also be available by calling 1-800-LOTTERY.
- Q: What if I have trouble inputting my codes?
A: The system will not accept duplicate codes or invalid codes, and you will be informed of these errors when you click the "Enter Code" button. If a code is invalid, please double check the code and re-enter. If you believe a valid code is not being accepted, please contact us.
- Q: Can I enter the drawing more than once?
A: YES! You may enter a drawing as many times as you wish, however, each entry requires the use of a separate valid code.
- Q: What happens if I submit my code after the deadline for the drawing?
A: Any codes submitted after the draw deadline are not eligible. The Bonus Draw deadline is midnight PST Friday, October 23rd, 2009 and the final draw deadline is midnight PST on Friday, November 6th, 2009.
- Q: I have codes that I can't remember if I have already entered in the drawing. How can I see what codes I have entered?
A: Each time you submit a code, a record of your last 5 entries appears on the ENTER YOUR CODES page, just below the area where you submit the entry. All of your entries can be found on the VIEW ALL CODES ENTERED page for your reference. You can check this list against the coupons you are holding.
- Q: How can I be sure that my Internet entries have been submitted?
A: When you submit your codes, a record of all your code entries appears on the VIEW ALL CODES ENTERED page. If an entry is there, you can be assured that it is in the system.
- Q: Can I throw away the coupons after I have entered them into a drawing?
A: Yes, you can throw away all coupons that you have entered AND appear on the VIEW ALL CODES ENTERED page.
- Q: I would rather mail in my coupons. How do I do that?
A: The Lottery is not accepting coupon entries by mail for this promotion.
- Q: How do I find out if I have been selected as a winner?
A: The names of winners will be posted on the website by November 14th, 2009. Each winner will be contacted via email. A winner who has not provided a valid email address will be contacted via U.S. mail. A message that alerts a winner will also appear on the VIEW ALL CODES ENTERED page of the website. Finally, winners will be listed on the Winners List page of the promotional website.
- Q: How are winners selected?
A: Winners will be randomly selected from all of the eligible entries that have matched the 1st place horse in the Breeders' Cup Classic Race 9. We encourage players to watch the Breeders' Cup Classic Race 9 on Saturday, November 7th, 2009 on ESPN to see if their horse wins.
- Q: What are my chances of winning a prize?
A: Your odds of winning vary based on the total number of entries that are received for a drawing and the total number of entries that you have submitted.
- Q: What if a horse scratches (does not run in the race) in the Breeders’ Cup Classic Race 9?
A: On Wednesday November 4th the Breeders' Cup will determine the 14 horses that will run in the Breeders’ Cup Classic Race 9. They may also identify up to 2 also-eligible horses (#15 and #16) that may run in place of up to 2 of the original 14 horses in the event that they scratch.
If a code has been assigned a horse that scratches before the scratch cutoff date, the Lottery will randomly assign new horse(s) to replace the scratched horse(s). The Breeders' Cup official scratch cut-off date is Friday, November 6th. Codes that represent a horse that scratches after this date will become ineligible to win a prize.