Breeders' Cup
Led by the 145th GI Preakness S., the G1 Irish Champion S. and G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, a total of 44 automatic berths into the 37th Breeders' Cup World Championships will be up for grabs over the next two months as Breeders' Cup Ltd. released its schedule of Breeders' Cup Challenge Series races for September and October. The Breeders' Cup Challenge, now in its 14th year, is an international series of stakes races whose winners receive automatic starting positions and fees paid for a corresponding race in...
The $100,000 Perfect Sting S. at Saratoga features a talented field with several older mares who have the potential to be racing at Keeneland come November. The mile-and-a-sixteenth turf race will feature two Chad Brown trainees in Grade III winner Café Americano (Medaglia d'Oro) and the French-bred Altea (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), as well as Graham Motion's three-time graded stakes winner Secret Message (Hat Trick {Jpn}). Last year, the race was run over Belmont's turf and won by Uni (GB) (More Than Ready), who would go on to claim the GI...
Keeneland will be the focus of Thoroughbred racing this autumn when the track presents 18 stakes worth a total of $4.775 million during its 2020 Fall Meet, to be held Oct. 2-24 ahead of the 37th Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland on Nov. 6-7. The prestigious Fall Stars Weekend opens the 17-day season, which also features the repositioning of the GII Hagyard Fayette to join the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup on the second Saturday of the meet and serve as a prep for the GI Breeders' Cup...
The Breeders' Cup is reminding all horsemen that this Saturday, Aug. 15 at 11:59 p.m. ET is the discount deadline for nomination of horses of racing age to the Breeders' Cup program. All horses must be Breeders' Cup-nominated in order to compete in the Breeders' Cup. The nomination discounts are as follows: Juveniles by a nominated Breeders' Cup stallion can join the program for $12,000. This one-time nomination fee makes the racehorse Breeders' Cup-eligible for its entire racing career. Runners which are 3-year-olds and older that were foaled in the...
Santa Anita Park's autumn meet (Sept. 19 through Oct. 25) will feature 24 stakes over 18 racing days--more or less in line with 2019's meeting minus last year's Breeders' Cup World Championships. The Arcadia oval will host seven "Win and You're In" qualifiers for this year's Breeders' Cup at Keeneland: the $100,000 Speakeasy S. on opening day for GII Juvenile Turf Sprint hopefuls; the GI Rodeo Drive S. (GI F/M Turf), GI American Pharoah S. (GI Juvenile), GI Awesome Again S. (GI Classic) and GII Chandelier S. (GI Juvenile Fillies)...
Trainer Simon Callaghan and Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano are the special guests for this week's installment of the Breeders' Cup's Cocktails & Conversation. The broadcast is a recurring virtual happy hour series designed to rally the industry into raising funds for communities that have been profoundly impacted by COVID-19. It airs Thursday, Aug. 6 at 6 p.m. ET via Breeders' Cup's Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The episode will be hosted by Nick Luck and Britney Eurton of NBC Sports and 21 Club mixologist and creator of Breeders' Cup's...
Due to circumstances that arose with the coronavirus pandemic, Parx Racing has canceled all of its open stakes for the remainder of the year, including the GI Pennsylvania Derby and the GI Cotillion S. The two $1-million events were part of a program that had been scheduled for Sept. 26 and also included the Turf Amazon S., the Parx Dirt Mile and the GII Gallant Bob S. "We will not be running any open stakes races this year," racing secretary David Osojnak said. "We will be going on hiatus. The...
Breeders' Cup and Maker's Mark have announced the 2020 limited edition Maker's Mark bottle from the Charity for Champions program which will honor former Keeneland and Breeders' Cup president James E. 'Ted' Bassett. The Charity for Champions program began in 2015, with the goal of helping to raise money for Thoroughbred industry charities. Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Facility in Georgetown, Kentucky, has been named as one of the official charity beneficiaries. Old Friends is home to former Breeders' Cup champions Alphabet Soup, Eldaafer, Little Mike and Amazombie. Old Friends cares...
Breeders' Cup and Maker's Mark released the 2020 limited-edition Maker's Mark bottle from the Charity for Champions program, which began in 2015, with the goal of raising money for Thoroughbred industry charities. The limited-edition Breeders' Cup bottles are auctioned off inc conjunction with the Breeders' Cup. The third bottle in the latest collection of limited-edition Maker's Mark® bottles will feature James E. "Ted" Bassett III, a former Keeneland and Breeders' Cup President. Proceeds from the 2020 auction will support Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farms, the National Museum of Racing and...
America's Best Racing (ABR), and the Breeders' Cup, announced the launch of a new live-show series Breeders' Cup Live! (#BCLive)The series, which will feature six, 90-minute live raceday shows on Breeders' Cup Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube channels and cross-posted on ABR's social media channels, will provide fans and bettors with an second-screen experience that complements NBC Sports' national coverage of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series with a focus on the road to the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic. "We're excited to enhance our ABR partnership with the Breeders' Cup by offering...
Headlined by three automatic qualifiers for the $7-million GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic and three "Win and You're In" starting positions at York's Ebor Festival in Britain, the Breeders' Cup announced its August schedule of Breeders' Cup Challenge Series races Wednesday. There will be 16 Breeders' Cup Challenge races in August, beginning Aug. 1 with two races at Saratoga Race Course and one at Del Mar. Saratoga will host the GI Whitney S., which will give the winner an automatic berth into Classic, as well as the GI Personal Ensign...
Due to changes in racetrack schedules and auction sales dates as a result of COVID-19 restrictions, the Breeders' Cup announced Monday that it's extending the discount deadline for horses of racing age to Saturday, Aug. 15. All horses must be Breeders' Cup-nominated in order to compete in the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which is scheduled to be held at Keeneland Nov. 6-7. The original horses of racing age nomination discount deadline was July 15. "Although most Breeders' Cup nominated horses join the program as weanlings, there are a few each...