Over 50 years after his initial performance of the song at Carnegie Hall, Grammy-award winner Tony Bennett will perform his classic hit "The Best is Yet to Come" at the 2012 Breeders' Cup World Championships at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, Breeders' Cup announced Thursday at a media event featuring Tony Bennett at Siro's Restaurant in Manhattan.
In May, Breeders' Cup launched a new brand campaign that utilizes "The Best is Yet to Come" as a centerpiece, using the song itself, as well as the title, as a core element in its brand identity, advertising and media.
The $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic will air in primetime on NBC November 3, 8-9 p.m. (ET). Bennett will perform live from the winner's circle as the Classic horses make their way to the starting gate for the race.
"I am thrilled that the Breeders Cup chose 'The Best Is Yet To Come' as their theme for the event as it's a wonderful song and I love it just as much as when I first introduced the song to the American public in 1960," Tony Bennett said. "I look forward to singing it for everyone on November 3rd."
"We could not be more honored and excited that Tony Bennett will be performing at the Breeders' Cup this year," said Peter Rotondo, Vice President of Media and Entertainment for the Breeders' Cup. "Tony is a legendary entertainer. His performance will welcome to the track some of the greatest Thoroughbreds in the world with a song that has become an anthem for the Breeders' Cup."
With millions of records sold world-wide and platinum and gold albums to his credit, Bennett has received 17 Grammy Awards -- including a 1995 Grammy for Record of the Year for his "MTV Unplugged" CD which introduced this American master to a whole new generation -- and the Grammy Lifetime Award. His 2007 prime-time special, "Tony Bennett: An American Classic," won seven Emmy Awards.
His initial successes came via a string of Columbia singles in the early 1950's, including such chart-toppers as "Because of You," "Rags to Riches," and a remake of Hank Williams "Cold, Cold Heart." He had 24 songs in the Top 40, including "I Wanna Be Around," "The Good Life," "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)" and his signature song, "I Left My Heart In San Francisco," recorded 50 years ago, as of January 2012. Bennett is one of a handful of artists to have new albums charting in the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, and now in the first two decades of the 21st century.
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