“Win and You're In”

It was bomb's away Saturday at Del Mar as Lovesick Blues (Grazen) surged past pacesetter Hejazi (Bernardini) in the final sixteenth to spring the upset in the GI Bing Crosby Stakes and secure himself a spot in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint in November. The true war horse of the field (his 40 starts are more than several other runners combined), the 7-year-old gelding began his career all the way back in 2020, earning wins at nearly every California track and banking over $500,000. And while his career began at...

22 stakes awarding a record $10.85 million are scheduled for the most lucrative stakes schedule for a racing season in Keeneland track history for the 17-day Fall Meet from Oct. 3-25. The Fall Meet also marks the 40th anniversary of the turf course at Keeneland, which in October 1985 became the first track in Kentucky to offer turf racing. Additionally, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund is contributing $2.55 million to Keeneland's Fall Meet stakes purses, pending approval from the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation. "Competition from Thoroughbred racing's leading...

And just like that, last month's GI La Troienne is suddenly a distant memory. That mysterious May 2 effort, a seventh-place finish and her only off-the-board result in 13 prior starts, was righted Saturday as reigning Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) got things back on track with a really never-in-doubt win in the GII Fasig-Tipton Fleur de Lis Stakes, a 'Win and You're In' race for this November's GI Breeders' Cup Distaff at Del Mar. Named last year's Horse of the Year and Champion 3-year-old Filly, Thorpedo...

A berth in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf in the autumn was on the line in Sunday's 2200-metre G1 Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin, and 10-1 chance Meisho Tabaru (Gold Ship) landed a mild upset in pillar-to-post fashion. He is the second Japanese horse to punch his ticket to the Breeders' Cup at Del Mar this month, after Jantar Mantar (Palace Malice) won last Sunday's G1 Yasuda Kinen, a "Win and You're In" for the GI Breeders' Cup Mile. The seventh pick in the 17-horse field, Meisho Tabaru was steered immediately...

Sunday's G1 Takarazuka Kinen is one of two races run annually in Japan whose lineup is determined by the racing public. The $5-million GI Breeders' Cup Turf qualifier was moved a couple of weeks earlier on the calendar to avoid the very hot weather of the Japanese summer, and a field of 17 have stood their ground. Leading the way by votes is Bellagio Opera, the two-time winner of the G1 Osaka Hai, who finished third in last year's edition. The 5-year-old entire blitzed the 2025 2000-metre Osaka Hai at...

Maybe it was the sloppy sealed track. Or the 1 1/8 mile distance. Or maybe, just maybe, the force was with her Friday. Rail-drawn Florida-bred Dorth Vader (Girvin) stepped up against the highly-touted Chad Brown-trained duo of Raging Sea (Curlin) and Randomized (Nyquist) to conquer the "Win and You're In" GI Ogden Phipps Stakes, stamping a ticket to the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff at Del Mar this November. Making her third start off a significant layoff, Dorth Vader entered 2025 with something to prove. She hadn't won since t he...

The GIII Nashville Derby leads the lucrative 2025 Kentucky Downs meet which will feature 18 total stakes offering over $30.5 million in purses over seven racing days from August 28 through September 10. One of five stakes held Saturday, Aug. 30 on NBC, the 1 5/16-mile GIII Nashville Derby will again be America's richest race for 3-year-olds behind only the GI Kentucky Derby. The card also includes a 'Win and You're In' race--the GII Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint, whose winner earns a fees-paid berth in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf...

As part of the Breeders' Cup challenge series, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) will host 17 stakes in the 'Win and You're In' series, which will offer a berth to the winners into the corresponding divisional event at the World Championships, the group announced Sunday afternoon. The first offerings will kick off during the Belmont Stakes Racing festival at Saratoga Friday, June 6 with the GI Ogden Phipps Stakes followed by the GI Metropolitan Handicap and the GI Jaipur Stakes Saturday, June 7. The berths are for the Distaff,...

The 166th King's Plate will crown the Canadian racing season at Woodbine, set to go Saturday, Aug. 16, and will top a full stakes schedule, the track announced Monday afternoon. With 39 graded contests--five at the elite level--set for this season, Woodbine will kick off the 2025 Road to the Canadian Triple Crown with the annual running of their Classic Aug. 16, and will then move to Fort Erie Race Track for the Prince of Wales Sept. 9 before concluding in the Breeders' Stakes Sept. 28 at the venue. Of...

The $750,000 GI E.P. Taylor Stakes has been added to the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series as an official "Win and You're In" race, according to a release from Woodbine Entertainment on Thursday morning. The new designation offers the winner an automatic, fees-paid berth into the $2 million GI Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at the 2025 Breeders' Cup World Championships which is scheduled for Oct. 31-Nov. 1 at Del Mar. This year, the E.P. Taylor Stakes will be run Aug. 16, sharing the stage with Woodbine's King's...

The world's richest horse race will serve as a qualifier for the richest race in North America, as the Feb. 22 $20-million G1 Saudi Cup joins the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In, offering an automatic berth to the $7-million GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar. As part of the benefits of the Challenge Series, Breeders' Cup will pay the entry fees for the winner of the Saudi Cup to start in the Breeders' Cup Classic. Also on the Feb. 22 card, the $2-million G2 Riyadh...

The deadline to nominate foals of 2024 to the Breeders' Cup is Feb. 28 at 11:59 p.m. ET. The $1,500 nomination fee grants each foal lifetime eligibility to the Breeders' Cup World Championships and the Breeders' Cup racing programs. All foals sired by a fully nominated North American Breeders' Cup stallion are eligible for nomination to the Breeders' Cup program in their year of birth and up to Feb. 28 of their yearling year. Nomination fees for 2024 foals not nominated to the Breeders' Cup program by Feb. 28 will...