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The 2022 Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series
| Dec. to May Races | Jun. to Jul. Races | August Races| September Races | October Races | Win & You’re In History
Our page of Breeders’ Cup prep-races organizes the Challenge series by divisional offerings. Find a month-by-month schedule of the races in the tables below:
December to May Challenge Series Events
| DATE | RACE / COUNTRY | DIVISION | WINNER |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12/11/2021 | Gran Premio International Carlos Pellegrini / Brazil | Turf | Village King |
| 1/8/2022 | L'Ormarins Queen's Plate / South Africa | Mile | Jet Dark (SAF) |
| 1/8/2022 | Cartier Paddock Stakes / South Africa | Filly & Mare Turf | Captain's Ransom (SAF) |
| 2/20/2022 | February Stakes / Japan | Classic | Cafe Pharoah |
| 5/1/2022 | Gran Premio Criadores / Argentina | Distaff | La Validada (ARG) |
| 5/15/2022 | Victoria Mile / Japan | Filly & Mare Turf | Sodashi (JPN) |
| 5/29/2022 | Gran Premio Club Hipico Falabella / Chile | Mile | Viejos Tiempos |
| 5/30/2022 | Shoemaker Mile Stakes / USA | Mile | Count Again |
June & July Challenge Series Events
| DATE | RACE / COUNTRY | DIVISION | WINNER |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6/5/2022 | Yasuda Kinen / Japan | Mile | Songline |
| 6/11/2022 | Metropolitan Handicap / USA | Dirt Mile | Flightline |
| 6/11/2022 | Jaipur Invitational / USA | Turf Sprint | Casa Creed |
| 6/11/2022 | Ogden Phipps Stakes / USA | Distaff | Clairiere |
| 6/14/2022 | King's Stand Stakes / UK | Turf Sprint | Nature Strip |
| 6/14/2022 | Queen Anne Stakes / UK | Mile | Baaeed |
| 6/15/2022 | Prince of Wales's Stakes / UK | Turf | State of Rest |
| 6/16/2022 | Norfolk Stakes / UK | Juvenile Turf Sprint | The Ridler |
| 6/26/2022 | Gran Premio Pamplona / Peru | Filly & Mare Turf | Ola Perfecta |
| 6/26/2022 | Takarazuka Kinen / Japan | Turf | Titleholder |
| 6/26/2022 | Grande Premio Brasil / Brazil | Turf | Nautilus |
| 7/2/2022 | Princess Rooney / USA | Filly & Mare Sprint | Ce Ce |
| 7/2/2022 | Stephen Foster Stakes / USA | Classic | Olympiad |
| 7/23/2022 | King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes / UK | Turf | Pyledriver |
| 7/23/2022 | Haskell Stakes / USA | Classic | Cyberknife |
| 7/27/2022 | Qatar Sussex Stakes / UK | Mile | Baaeed |
| 7/30/2022 | Bing Crosby Stakes / USA | Sprint | American Theorem |
August Challenge Series Events
| DATE | RACE / COUNTRY | DIVISION | WINNER |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8/6/2022 | Clement L. Hirsch Stakes / USA | Distaff | Blue Stripe (ARG) |
| 8/6/2022 | The Whitney / USA | Classic | Life Is Good |
| 8/13/2022 | The Fourstardave / USA | Mile | Casa Creed |
| 8/13/2022 | Beverly D. Stakes / USA | Filly & Mare Turf | Dalika |
| 8/14/2022 | Prix Jacques Le Marois / France | Mile | Inspiral |
| 8/17/2022 | Juddmonte International Stakes / UK | Classic | Baaeed |
| 8/18/2022 | Darley Yorkshire Oaks / UK | Filly & Mare Turf | Alpinista |
| 8/19/2022 | Nunthorpe Stakes / UK | Turf Sprint | Highfield Princess |
| 8/21/2022 | Darley Prix Morny / France | Juvenile Turf Sprint | Blackbeard |
| 8/27/2022 | Pat O'Brien Stakes / USA | Dirt Mile | Laurel River |
| 8/27/2022 | The Sword Dancer / USA | Turf | Gufo |
| 8/28/2022 | The Ballerina / USA | Filly & Mare Sprint | Goodnight Olive |
September Challenge Series Events
| DATE | RACE / COUNTRY | DIVISION | WINNER |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9/3/2022 | Del Mar Handicap / USA | Turf | Gold Phoenix (IRE) |
| 9/3/2022 | Pacific Classic / USA | Classic | Flightline |
| 9/3/2022 | Flower Bowl Stakes / USA | Filly & Mare Turf | Virginia Joy (GER) |
| 9/3/2022 | Jockey Club Gold Cup / USA | Classic | Olympiad |
| 9/4/2022 | Green Flash Handicap / USA | Turf Sprint | Lieutenant Dan |
| 9/10/2022 | Irish Champion Stakes / Ireland | Turf | Luxembourg |
| 9/10/2022 | Champions Juvenile Stakes / Ireland | Juvenile Turf | Auguste Rodin |
| 9/10/2022 | Kentucky Turf Cup / USA | Turf | Red Knight |
| 9/10/2022 | Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint Stakes / USA | Turf Sprint | Bran (FR) |
| 9/10/2022 | Matron Stakes / Ireland | Filly & Mare Turf | Pearls Galore |
| 9/11/2022 | Moyglare Stud Stakes / Ireland | Juvenile Fillies Turf | Tahiyra |
| 9/11/2022 | Flying Five Stakes / Ireland | Turf Sprint | Highfield Princess |
| 9/17/2022 | Natalma Stakes / Canada | Juvenile Fillies Turf | Last Call |
| 9/17/2022 | Summer Stakes / Canada | Juvenile Turf | Mysterious Night (IRE) |
| 9/17/2022 | Woodbine Mile / Canada | Mile | Modern Games (IRE) |
| 9/23/2022 | Rockfel Stakes / UK | Juvenile Fillies Turf | Commissioning |
| 9/24/2022 | Royal Lodge Stakes / UK | Juvenile Turf | The Foxes |
October Challenge Series Events
| DATE | RACE / COUNTRY | DIVISION | WINNER |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/1/2022 | Ack Ack Stakes / USA | Dirt Mile | Senor Buscador |
| 10/1/2022 | Awesome Again Stakes / USA | Classic | Defunded |
| 10/1/2022 | The Champagne / USA | Juvenile | Blazing Sevens |
| 10/1/2022 | Miss Grillo Stakes / USA | Juvenile Fillies Turf | Pleasant Passage |
| 10/2/2022 | Speakeasy Stakes / USA | Juvenile Turf Sprint | Speed Boat Beach |
| 10/2/2022 | Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere / France | Juvenile Turf | Belbek |
| 10/2/2022 | Prix de L'Abbaye de Longchamp Longines / France | Turf Sprint | The Platinum Queen |
| 10/2/2022 | Qatar Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe / France | Turf | Alpinista |
| 10/2/2022 | Prix de L'Opera Longines / France | Filly & Mare Turf | Place Du Carrousel |
| 10/2/2022 | Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac / France | Juvenile Fillies Turf | Blue Rose Cen |
| 10/2/2022 | The Pilgrim Stakes / USA | Juvenile Turf | Major Dude |
| 10/2/2022 | Frizette Stakes / USA | Juvenile Fillies | Chocolate Gelato |
| 10/7/2022 | Darley Alcibiades Stakes / USA | Juvenile Fillies | Wonder Wheel |
| 10/7/2022 | Phoenix Stakes / USA | Sprint | Manny Wah |
| 10/7/2022 | Jessamine Stakes / USA | Juvenile Fillies Turf | Delight |
| 10/8/2022 | Rodeo Drive Stakes / USA | Filly & Mare Turf | Going to Vegas |
| 10/8/2022 | Vosburgh Stakes / USA | Sprint | Elite Power |
| 10/8/2022 | Chandelier Stakes / USA | Juvenile Fillies | And Tell Me Nolies |
| 10/8/2022 | American Pharoah Stakes / USA | Juvenile | Cave Rock |
| 10/8/2022 | Breeders' Futurity / USA | Juvenile | Forte |
| 10/8/2022 | Coolmore Turf Mile Stakes / USA | Mile | Annapolis |
| 10/8/2022 | Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes / USA | Filly & Mare Sprint | Slammed |
| 10/9/2022 | Indian Summer Stakes / USA | Juvenile Turf Sprint | Private Creed |
| 10/9/2022 | Bourbon Stakes / USA | Juvenile Turf | Andthewinneris |
| 10/9/2022 | Futurity Stakes / USA | Juvenile Turf Sprint | Nagirroc |
| 10/9/2022 | Spinster Stakes / USA | Distaff | Malathaat |
| 10/15/2022 | Champion Stakes / UK | Turf | Bay Bridge |
| 10/15/2022 | Queen Elizabeth II Stakes / UK | Mile | Bayside Boy |
“Win and You’re In” – Challenge Series History
The Breeders’ Cup Challenge was inaugurated in 2007 and originally launched a series of 24 officially sanctioned races at six tracks that would automatically qualify the winners for Breeders’ Cup berths under a “Win and You’re In” format.
Each Breeders’ Cup Challenge winner gains a reserved entry position for the barrier draw, into a corresponding divisional race of the Breeders’ Cup. In 2011, Breeders’ Cup began paying the entry fees and subsidizing travel costs to the locale of the races for all Challenge winners who are Breeders’ Cup eligible. Breeders’ Cup also began paying a $10,000 award to the nominator of any North American foal who won a Challenge race.
In its first year, the Breeders’ Cup Challenge had 14 winners who competed in the 2007 Breeders’ Cup. Of those 14, four horses won – War Pass in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, Ginger Punch in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, English Channel in the Breeders’ Cup Turf and Curlin in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).
The program expanded to 57 races and 17 tracks in 2008. That year, 34 Challenge race winners competed in the Breeders’ Cup and five won – Raven’s Pass in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Zenyatta in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic, Forever Together in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, Stardom Bound in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and Maram in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.
For 2016, the Challenge consisted of 77 automatic qualifying races, with 28 scheduled outside of North America. There were four new races added to the schedule for 2016 — the Queen of the Turf (Filly & Mare Turf) at Royal Randwick, Australia; Gran Premio Club Hipico Falabella (Mile) at Santiago, Chile; Gran Premio Pamplona at Hipodromo Monterrico (Filly & Mare Turf) in Lima, Peru; and Flying Five Stakes (Turf Sprint) at The Curragh, Ireland.
2018 saw a new race added to the official World Championship lineup, the Juvenile Turf Sprint and movement of the 2-year-old races to Friday for a ‘Friday Future Stars’ theme. This has been an interesting change for betting, as the Distaff, Dirt Mile and other 3-year-olds and up condition races moved to Saturday.
2020 produced some unique obstacles for the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series organizers, mainly due to global uncertainty related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The final schedule for the critical last two months of the series was not finalized until late August. Among the highlights of the end of season qualifications for the 2020 Breeders’ Cup was the inclusion of the 145th Preakness Stakes as a “win and you’re in” race for the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Another very different aspect for 2020 was that most qualifying races and the eventual Breeders’ Cup Championship races themselves were run without fans.
The Breeders’ Cup Challenge has continued to evolve and change with the core principal remaining the same – providing a list of events for fans to follow and get to know the horses likely to run in each year’s Breeders’ Cup.