How the Breeders’ Cup inspired California artists

If you visited San Diego County recently, there’s a good chance you stumbled across some spectacular life-size horse statues.

Painted by local Californian artists, 20 eye-catching effigies were dotted around local communities to celebrate the Breeders’ Cup coming to Del Mar Racetrack for the first time in its 30-year history.

The ‘Art of the Horse’ campaign was commissioned by the Breeders’ Cup Host Committee ahead of what is one of the world’s richest horse races with a total purse of $6 million.

Alte Vista —

Walking around San Diego County these last couple of weeks, you may have noticed an usual trend popping up on the streets.

Del Mar Dreamin' —

To celebrate the Californian city being awarded the Breeders' Cup -- North America's premier thoroughbred event -- local artists were asked to paint 20 life-size horse statues, which were then distributed around San Diego.

Juan Enrique —

Made of fiberglass and standing at 7-feet high and 7-feet long, the statues are replicas of the horse atop the Breeders' Cup trophy.

American Flag —

The horse on the trophy is itself a reproduction of the original 'Torrie horse' sculpture created in Florence by Giovanni da Bologna in the late 1850s.

Sea Horse —

Some were distributed and placed in prominent areas of the city, while others were bought by establishments in the city -- all in the hope of generating interest in the Breeders' Cup.

Flower Power —

"It's shameless marketing, of course!" quips Joe Harper, Director, President and CEO of Del Mar Racetrack. "You can't drive around in North County without running into one of those horses."

"It's certainly made all the locals aware and gave a little flavor of Del Mar even to the people who don't usually come out here."

Mare de la Mer —

Some of the artists, Harper explains, had never been to a racetrack before, which led to some interesting designs!

Del Mar Sunset —

"They're not necessarily equine artists," he says. "They've just got a blank horse, a big white horse, and they can do what comes to their mind. Some have racetracks on them, some look like Trojan warhorses! It's kind of fun to get such a variety of different ideas from different artists."

Armored Grace —

Dubbed the 'Art of the Horse' project, the statues will be auctioned off now the Breeders' Cup is over with the proceeds going towards local community events and charities.

Torrie Horse scultpures pop up around Del Mar, California

Prev Next

Each unique fiberglass figure is a replica of the Torrie Horse that sits on top of the Breeders’ Cup trophy, which itself is a reproduction of the original created by Flemish sculptor, Giovanni de Bologna, in Florence, Italy, in the late 1580s.

Several of the latest statues have been placed at the Del Mar Racetrack and other locations such as The Lodge at Torrey Pines, San Diego Airport and downtown San Diego.

“It’s shameless marketing,” Joe Harper, the President and CEO of Del Mar Racetrack, told CNN’s Winning Post.

“It’s certainly made all the locals aware and gave a little flavor for Del Mar and even to the people who don’t necessarily come out here.

“They’re not necessarily equine artists. They’ve just got a blank horse – a big white horse – and they do what comes to your mind.

Visit CNN.com/sport for more news & features

“Some have racetrack things on them, some look like Trojan war horses, others look like a whale or an American flag. It’s kind of fun to get such a variety of different ideas from different artists.”

The 2017 Breeders’ Cup Classic was won by Gun Runner, under jockey Florent Geroux, and the ‘Art of the Horse’ statues will now be auctioned off to local and Thoroughbred charities.