Breeders Cup Challenge Series

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Win And You're In!

Our page of Breeders' Cup prep-races organizes the Challenge series by divisional offerings. 

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Last updated: May 28, 2025

The 2025 Breeders' Cup Challenge Series

Find a month-by-month schedule of the races in the tables below:

December to May Challenge Series Events

DATERACE / COUNTRY DIVISION WINNER
12/14/2024
Turf
Intense for Me (ARG)
1/4/2025
Cartier Paddock Stakes / South Africa
Filly & Mare Turf
Double Grand Slam (SAF)
1/4/2025
L'Ormarins King's Plate / South Africa
Mile
One Stripe (SAF)
2/22/2025
Riyadh Dirt Sprint / Saudi Arabia
Sprint
Straight No Chaser (USA)
2/22/2025
Saudi Cup / Saudi Arabia
Classic
Forever Young (JPN)
2/23/2025
February Stakes / Japan
Classic
Costa Nova (JPN)
4/5/2025
Dubai World Cup / UAE
Classic
Hit Show (USA)
4/5/2025
Dubai Turf
Mile
Soul Rush (JPN)
4/5/2025
Dubai Sheema Classic
Turf
Danon Decile (JPN)
4/5/2025
Dubai Golden Shaheen
Sprint
Dark Saffron (USA)

June & July Challenge Series Events

DATERACE / COUNTRY DIVISION WINNER
6/6/2025
Distaff
TBD
6/7/2025
Turf Sprint
TBD
6/7/2025
Dirt Mile
TBD
6/8/2025
Yasuda Kinen / Japan
Mile
TBD
6/15/2025
Turf
TBD
6/17/2025
Queen Anne Stakes / United Kingdom
Mile
TBD
6/17/2025
The King Charles III Stakes / United Kingdom
Turf Sprint
TBD
6/18/2025
Prince of Wales's Stakes / United Kingdom
Turf
TBD
6/19/2025
Norfolk Stakes / United Kingdom
Juvenile Turf Sprint
TBD
6/22/2025
Filly & Mare Turf
TBD

August Challenge Series Events

DATERACE / COUNTRY DIVISION WINNER
8/2/2025
Mile
TBD
8/2/2025
Classic
TBD
8/2/2025
Distaff
TBD
8/9/2025
Turf
TBD
8/16/2025
E.P. Taylor Stakes / USA
Filly & Mare Turf
TBD
8/20/2025
Tattersalls Acomb Stakes / United Kingdom
Juvenile Turf
TBD
8/20/2025
Classic
TBD
8/21/2025
Yorkshire Oaks / United Kingdom
Filly & Mare Turf
TBD
8/22/2025
Nunthorpe Stakes / United Kingdom
Turf Sprint
TBD
8/23/2025
The Forego
Dirt Mile
TBD

September Challenge Series Events

DATERACE / COUNTRY DIVISION WINNER
9/6/2025
Turf
TBD
9/7/2025
Korea Sprint / Korea
Sprint
TBD
9/7/2025
Korea Cup / Korea
Dirt Mile
TBD
9/13/2025
Juvenile Turf
TBD
9/13/2025
Woodbine Mile / Ontario
Mile
TBD
9/13/2025
Natalma Stakes / Ontario
Juvenile Fillies Turf
TBD
9/13/2025
Summer Stakes / Ontario
Juvenile Turf
TBD
9/13/2025
Turf
TBD
9/13/2025
Matron Stakes / Ireland
Filly & Mare Turf
TBD
9/14/2025
Juvenile Fillies Turf
TBD

October Challenge Series Events

DATERACE / COUNTRY DIVISION WINNER
10/3/2025
Sprint
TBD
10/3/2025
Juvenile Fillies Turf
TBD
10/3/2025
Juvenile Fillies
TBD
10/4/2025
Juvenile
TBD
10/4/2025
Filly & Mare Turf
TBD
10/4/2025
Juvenile Fillies
TBD
10/4/2025
Filly & Mare Sprint
TBD
10/4/2025
Mile
TBD
10/4/2025
Juvenile
TBD
10/5/2025
Juvenile Turf
TBD

"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.