The month of September features a distinctly Irish flavor with five different events schedule at either Leopardstown or The Curragh Racecourse, including the Irish Champion Stakes, a race that has been won on five different occasions by the eventual Breeders’ Cup Turf winner.
Another highlight for September is the Woodbine Mile, one of the most prestigious and richest on the Canadian racing calendar for older turf horses.
The month ends with a bang as Santa Anita kicks off its Autumn Meet with three Grade I races including the American Pharoah Stakes, Awesome Again Stakes, and the Rodeo Drive Stakes.
October then commences with the much-anticipated Keeneland Fall Meet, with a total of two races on the 1st Friday, six on Saturday, and another four on Sunday that are part of the “win and you’re in” Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series. Of these ten events at Keeneland, five of them are Grade I races including the Darley Alcibiades, the Shadwell Turf Mile, the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity, the First Lady Presented by UK HealthCare and the Juddmonte Spinster.
Not to be overlooked with all the action at Keeneland to start October, even casual racing fans will recognized the newly added Challenge Series race for the Breeders’ Cup Classic taking place at Pimlico on October 3rd. The Preakness Stakes will for the 1st time be part of the qualification process for the Breeders’ Cup, raising the stakes even further for the storied Triple Crown event.
The second weekend of October concludes the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, book-ended by a total of five races at Belmont Park on October 10-11, including four the following four Grade 1 events on that Saturday: the Jockey Gold Cup, the Champagne Stakes, the Flower Bowl Stakes, and the Frizette Stakes.
