Breeders Cup Challenge Series
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The 2023 Breeders' Cup Challenge Series
| Betting | Odds | Handicapping | Challenge | Prep Races | Contenders | Winners | History | Results |
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 |
|---|
12/17/2022 | Turf | The Punisher (ARG) | |
1/7/2023 | Cartier Paddock Stakes / South Africa | Filly & Mare Turf | Make It Snappy (SAF) |
1/7/2023 | L'Ormarins King's Plate / South Africa | Mile | Al Muthana (AUS) |
2/19/2023 | February Stakes / Japan | Classic | Lemon Pop |
5/1/2023 | Gran Premio Criadores / Argentina | Distaff | Belleza de Arteaga (ARG) |
5/14/2023 | Victoria Mile / Japan | Filly & Mare Turf | Songline (JPN) |
5/29/2023 | Gran Premio Club Hipico Falabella / Chile | Mile | Lukka (CHI) |
5/29/2023 | Shoemaker Mile Stakes / USA | Mile | Exaulted |
June & July Challenge Series Events
| DATE | RACE / COUNTRY | DIVISION | WINNER |
|---|
6/4/2023 | Yasuda Kinen / Japan | Mile | Songline |
6/10/2023 | Metropolitan Handicap / USA | Dirt Mile | Cody's Wish |
6/10/2023 | Jaipur Invitational / USA | Turf Sprint | Caravel |
6/10/2023 | Ogden Phipps Stakes / USA | Distaff | Clairiere |
6/18/2023 | Grande Premio Brasil / Brazil | Turf | Raptor's |
6/20/2023 | King's Stand Stakes / UK | Turf Sprint | Bradsell |
6/20/2023 | Queen Anne Stakes / UK | Mile | Triple Time |
6/21/2023 | Turf | Mostahdaf | |
6/22/2023 | Norfolk Stakes / UK | Juvenile Turf Sprint | Valiant Force |
6/25/2023 | Takarazuka Kinen / Japan | Turf | Equinox |
Showing 1 to 10 of 15 entries
August Challenge Series Events
| DATE | RACE / COUNTRY | DIVISION | WINNER |
|---|
8/2/2023 | Qatar Sussex Stakes / UK | Mile | Paddington (GB) |
8/5/2023 | Clement L. Hirsch Stakes / USA | Distaff | Adare Manor |
8/5/2023 | The Whitney / USA | Classic | White Abarrio |
8/12/2023 | Beverly D. Stakes / USA | Filly & Mare Turf | Fev Rover (IRE) |
8/12/2023 | The Fourstardave / USA | Mile | Casa Creed |
8/13/2023 | Prix Jacques Le Marois / France | Mile | Inspiral |
8/20/2023 | Prix Morny / France | Juvenile Turf Sprint | Vandeek |
8/23/2023 | Classic | Mostahdaf | |
8/24/2023 | Yorkshire Oaks / UK | Filly & Mare Turf | Warm Heart |
8/25/2023 | Nunthorpe Stakes / UK | Turf Sprint | Live In The Dream |
Showing 1 to 10 of 13 entries
September Challenge Series Events
| DATE | RACE / COUNTRY | DIVISION | WINNER |
|---|
9/2/2023 | Del Mar Handicap / USA | Turf | Gold Phoenix (IRE) |
9/2/2023 | Pacific Classic / USA | Classic | Arabian Knight |
9/2/2023 | Green Flash Handicap / USA | Turf Sprint | Motorious (GB) |
9/2/2023 | Jockey Club Gold Cup / USA | Classic | Bright Future |
9/2/2023 | Flower Bowl Stakes / USA | Filly & Mare Turf | Pamac (FR) |
9/9/2023 | Kentucky Turf Cup / USA | Turf | Get Smokin |
9/9/2023 | Turf Sprint | Gear Jockey | |
9/9/2023 | Matron Stakes / Ireland | Filly & Mare Turf | Tahiyra |
9/9/2023 | Champions Juvenile Stakes / Ireland | Juvenile Turf | Diego Velazquez |
9/9/2023 | Irish Champion Stakes / Ireland | Turf | Auguste Rodin |
Showing 1 to 10 of 21 entries
October Challenge Series Events
| DATE | RACE / COUNTRY | DIVISION | WINNER |
|---|
10/1/2023 | Miss Grillo Stakes / USA | Juvenile Fillies Turf | |
10/1/2023 | The Pilgrim Stakes / USA | Juvenile Turf | |
10/1/2023 | Turf Sprint | ||
10/1/2023 | Prix de L'Opera Longines / France | Filly & Mare Turf | |
10/1/2023 | Qatar Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe / France | Turf | |
10/1/2023 | Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere / France | Juvenile Turf | |
10/1/2023 | Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac / France | Juvenile Fillies Turf | |
10/6/2023 | Darley Alcibiades Stakes / USA | Juvenile Fillies | |
10/6/2023 | Jessamine Stakes / USA | Juvenile Fillies Turf | |
10/6/2023 | Phoenix Stakes / USA | Sprint |
Showing 1 to 10 of 23 entries
"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.