The 2022 Breeders' Cup Challenge series was a series of horse races that provided the respective winners with an automatic "Win and You're In" berth in the
2022 Breeders' Cup
The 2022 Breeders' Cup World Championships was the 39th edition of the premier event of the North American Thoroughbred horse racing year. The 14 races, all of which were Grade I, took place on November 4 and 5 at Keeneland racetrack in Lexington, ...
, held on November 4 and 5. Races were chosen by the
Breeders' Cup organization and included key races in the various Breeders' Cup divisions from around the world. The Breeders' Cup organization paid the Breeders' Cup entry fee for the challenge race winners, provided they had been nominated as foals. They also provided travel allowances for out of state competitors
Summary
The 2022 Breeders' Cup Challenge series consisted of 82 races from across the United States and 10 other countries, compared to 84 races in the
2021 series. The Breeders' Cup committee restructured the series to ensure there were qualifying races in the east, midwest and west of the United States for most of the divisions, plus international qualifiers mainly for the turf races. The following races were added:
Grande Prêmio Brasil (Turf - International region), Beverly D. (Filly & Mare Turf - Midwest), Green Flash (Turf Sprint - West region), Miss Grillo (Juvenile Fillies - East region), Ack Ack (Dirt Mile - Midwest region) and Pilgrim (Juvenile Turf - East). The Fleur de Lis, Suburban, John Nerud, Personal Ensign, Iroquois, Pocohantas, Jockey Club Derby, Santa Anita Sprint Championship, Zenyatta and First Lady were removed from the series. The King's Stand Stakes replaced the Diamond Jubilee Stakes as an international qualifier for the Turf Sprint.
NBC broadcast many of the North American challenge races, either on the main network or
CNBC, with other races webcast on the
Peacock.
Up to 14 horses are eligible for each Breeders' Cup race (12 for the Juvenile Turf Sprint and Dirt Mile). If a race is over-subscribed, first preference is given to winners of the Challenge series races. On October 26, 205 horses were pre-entered for the Breeders' Cup, 46 of which qualified via the Challenge series. The following fields were over-subscribed: Juvenile Turf Sprint, Juvenile Fillies, Juvenile Fillies Turf, Juvenile Turf, Filly & Mare Sprint, Turf Sprint, Dirt Mile, Filly & Mare Turf, Sprint, Mile and Turf.
Seven challenge race winners went on to win at the Breeders' Cup:
*
Wonder Wheel automatically qualified in the
Alcibiades
Alcibiades ( ; grc-gre, Ἀλκιβιάδης; 450 – 404 BC) was a prominent Athenian statesman, orator, and general. He was the last of the Alcmaeonidae, which fell from prominence after the Peloponnesian War. He played a major role in t ...
, then won the Juvenile Fillies
*
Forte won the Juvenile after qualifying in the
Breeders' Futurity
The Breeders' Futurity Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky. Currently offering a purse of $500,000, the race is open to two-year-old horses and is run ...
* Goodnight Olive won the Filly & Mare Sprint after qualifying in the
Ballerina Stakes
*
Elite Power earned his automatic berth in the
Vosburgh Stakes, then won the Sprint
*
Modern Games
Modern Games (foaled 17 April 2019) is an Irish-bred British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He was one of the best two-year-olds in the world in 2021 when he won four of his six races including the Somerville Tattersall Stakes in England and ...
won the Mile after automatically qualifying in the
Woodbine Mile
*
Malathaat won the Distaff after automatically qualifying in the
Spinster Stakes
*
Flightline
Flightline may refer to:
* Flightline (airline) - former British airline company
* Flightline (horse)
Flightline (foaled March 14, 2018) is a retired, undefeated American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Grade I Malibu Stakes in 2021, and ...
automatically qualified by winning the
Pacific Classic, then won the Classic. He also won the
Metropolitan Handicap, which would have qualified him for the Dirt Mile
Challenge Series races
The following table shows the
Breeders' Cup Challenge races for 2022 and respective winners. The "status" column shows whether the Challenge race winner was entered at the Breeders' Cup, and if so if they finished in the money.
References
{{BreedersCup
Breeders' Cup Challenge
Breeders' Cup Challenge series
Breeders' Cup
Breeders' Cup Challenge