The Breeders' Cup Challenge is a series of

Thoroughbred horse race Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...

s in which the winner earns an automatic spot in a specified

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, ...

race. The challenge races change somewhat each year. The Challenge series began in 2007 with 24 "Win and You're In" races from 2 countries. By 2014, the series had grown to 71 races across 13 countries. During that period, 24 winners of Breeders' Cup races had qualified via the challenge series. Starting in 2011, the Breeders' Cup also pays the entry fee and provides a travel allowance for the connections of the challenge race winners.

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...

has a longstanding agreement to both broadcast and live stream many of the "Win and You're In" challenge races, from June to October.

Current challenge series

For 2022, he Breeders' Cup committee restructured the series to ensure there are qualifying races in the east, midwest and west regions for most of the divisions, plus international qualifiers mainly for the turf races. Several races were added: the 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.

Past challenge series

The 2007 series consisted of 24 races held at 6 different racetracks in the United States and Canada. Fourteen of the series winners later raced in the Breeders' Cup, with four of them winning: War Pass in the Juvenile, Ginger Punch in the Distaff, English Channel in the Turf and Curlin in the Classic.

2012

For 2012, the series consisted of 73 races in 10 countries, 52 of which were Grade / Group One events. Thirteen races were added to the series: the (South African) Queen's Plate, Gran Premio 25 de Mayo, Stephen Foster Handicap, Personal Ensign, Grosser Preis von Baden, Gallant Bloom, Pilgrim, Miss Grillo, Bourbon, Royal Lodge, Middle Park, Beresford, and the Prix de la Foret. Forty-five horses entered in the 2012 Breeders' Cup races qualified via the challenge series, including seven of the winners. These were: *

Fort Larned Fort Larned National Historic Site preserves Fort Larned which operated from 1859 to 1878. It is approximately west of Larned, Kansas, United States. History The Camp on Pawnee Fork was established on October 22, 1859 to protect traffic al ...

, who qualified for the Classic by winning the

Whitney Whitney may refer to: Film and television * ''Whitney'' (2015 film), a Whitney Houston biopic starring Yaya DaCosta * ''Whitney'' (2018 film), a documentary about Whitney Houston * ''Whitney'' (TV series), an American sitcom that premiered i ...

Royal Delta Royal Delta (February 2, 2008 – February 10, 2017) was a Champion American Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorse. The daughter of Empire Maker was best known for winning back-to-back editions of the Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic (later renamed th ...

, who won both the

Delaware Handicap The Delaware Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid July at Delaware Park Racetrack in Wilmington, Delaware. The Grade 2 race is open to fillies and mares, age three and up, willing to race one and one-quarter miles o ...

and Beldame to qualify for the Ladies' Classic *

Little Mike Little Mike (foaled May 24, 2007 in Florida) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2012 Breeders' Cup Turf. Background Little Mike is a Bay (horse), bay gelding bred by Carlo Vaccarezza, who immigrated to the United S ...

, who qualified for the Turf by winning the

Arlington Million The Arlington Million is a Grade 1 flat horse race in the United States for thoroughbred horses aged three years and upward on the turf. It was originally raced at the now-closed Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illinois over a distance of ...

Wise Dan Wise Dan (foaled February 20, 2007) is a champion American Hall of Fame and Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. He is the first horse to win the same three Eclipse Awards in consecutive years, having been named American Horse of the ...

, who won both the

Woodbine Mile The Woodbine Mile is a Grade I stakes race on turf for Thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up held annually in mid September at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Canada. Currently sponsored by Ricoh, the Woodbine Mile offers a purse of Can$1, ...

and Shadwell Turf Mile to quality for the Breeders' Cup Mile *

Groupie Doll Groupie Doll (foaled April 14, 2008) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. A specialist sprinter, she is best known for winning the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint in 2012 and 2013. Unraced as a two-year-old she showed good form as a three-yea ...

, who qualified for the Filly & Mare Sprint by winning the

Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes The Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares aged three-years-old and older over a distance of six furlongs on the dirt held annually in early October at Keeneland Race Course, Lexingt ...

Shanghai Bobby Shanghai Bobby (foaled February 27, 2010) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. In 2012 he was unbeaten in five races including the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and was awarded American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt at the Eclipse Awards. Background Sha ...

, who earned his berth in the Juvenile by winning both the

Hopeful Hopeful may refer to * Hopeful (Ami Suzuki song), "Hopeful" (Ami Suzuki song) * Hopeful (Bars and Melody song), "Hopeful" (Bars and Melody song) * Hopeful, Alabama * Hopeful, Georgia * Mount Hopeful, peak in the Shetland Islands See also

* Hop ...

and

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

* Calidoscopio, who qualified for the Marathon by winning the Clasico Belgrano

2013

For 2013, nine races were added to the series: the Triple Bend Handicap, Bing Crosby, Yorkshire Oaks, Lowther Stakes, Pat O’Brien, Juvenile Trial, Pocahontas, Iroquois and Canadian Stakes. A number of races that had previously been part of the series were dropped. Thirty-six horses entered in the 2013 Breeders' Cup races qualified via the challenge series, including four of the winners. These were: *

Mucho Macho Man Mucho Macho Man ( foaled June 15, 2008) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2013 Breeders' Cup Classic. He was foaled in Florida and named after the Village People song " Macho Man". His breeders were Carole and John Rio of Flori ...

, who qualified for the Classic by winning the

Awesome Again Stakes The Awesome Again Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old or older over the distance of one and one-eighth miles on the dirt scheduled annually in September at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. ...

* Beholder, who won the Zenyatta Stakes to qualify for the Distaff * Dank, who earned her berth in the Filly & Mare Turf by winning the Beverly D. Stakes *

, who won the

to qualify for the Mile

2014

For 2014, seven new races were added to the series: the Paddock Stakes, Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Grande Premio Brasil, Clasico Cesar del Rio, Copa De Oro Vinas De Chile, The Gold Cup at Santa Anita, Haskell Invitational, Belmont Oaks, Matron Stakes, Juddmonte International and Rockfel Stakes.

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

broadcast 18 of the races. Thirty-seven horses entered in the

2014 Breeders' Cup The 2014 Breeders' Cup World Championships was the 31st edition of the premier event of the North American thoroughbred horse racing year. It took place on October 31 and November 1 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The Breeders' Cup is g ...

races qualified via the challenge series, including four of the winners. These were: *

Bayern Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, who qualified for the Classic by winning the

Haskell Invitational The Haskell Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run over a distance of miles on the dirt held annually in July at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. The event is a signature event at Monmouth ...

Main Sequence In astronomy, the main sequence is a continuous and distinctive band of stars that appears on plots of stellar color versus brightness. These color-magnitude plots are known as Hertzsprung–Russell diagrams after their co-developers, Ejnar Her ...

, who won the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic to qualify for the Turf * Work All Week, who earned his berth in the Sprint by winning the

Phoenix Stakes The Phoenix Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is sc ...

Goldencents Goldencents (foaled March 7, 2010) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning consecutive runnings of the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. As a two-year-old he ran three times, winning the Delta Jackpot Stakes and finishing second in t ...

, who won the

Pat O'Brien Handicap The Pat O'Brien Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and older over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt track scheduled annually in August at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. The event currently c ...

to qualify for the Dirt Mile

2015

For 2015, eight new races were added to the series: the Gran Premio Criadores, Fleur de Lis Handicap, Sussex Stakes, Sword Dancer Invitational, Spinaway, Princess Rooney Handicap, Smile Sprint Handicap, and T. Von Zastrow Stutenpreis. Eighteen races in the series were telecast by NBC. Thirty-seven entrants in the 2015 Breeders' Cup qualified via the Challenge series with six winning their respective divisions, including

American Pharoah American Pharoah (foaled February 2, 2012) is a Thoroughbred racehorse who won the American Triple Crown and the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2015. He was the 12th Triple Crown winner in history, and in winning all four races, became the first ho ...

2016

For 2016, a total of seven races were added to the Challenge series. Four were added in April when the initial announcement was made: the Queen of the Turf (which replaced the Queen Elizabeth Stakes), the Gran Premio Club Hipico Falabella, the Gran Premio Pamplona and the

Flying Five Stakes The Flying Five Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is scheduled t ...

. Three more races from Japan were added in June: the February Stakes, the Yasuda Kinen and the Sprinter Stakes. Forty-five entrants in the 2016 Breeders' Cup qualified via the Challenge series. Two Challenge series winners went on to win their respective division at the Breeders' Cup:

Highland Reel Highland Reel (foaled 21 February 2012) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. In a career running from June 2014 to December 2017 he raced in Ireland, Britain, France, the United States, Australia, Hong Kong and Dubai, and recorded seven victorie ...

and

Classic Empire Classic Empire (foaled March 21, 2014) is a retired American Thoroughbred race horse who was named the American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse of 2016 after winning the Breeders' Futurity Stakes and Breeders' Cup Juvenile. After several setba ...

2017

On April 12, 2017, the Breeders Cup organization announced that the 2017 Breeders' Cup Challenge would consist of 81 races from 13 countries. Three races were added to the series: the Belmont Sprint Championship Stakes, the

Highlander Stakes The Highlander Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Run in mid to late June, the Grade II race is open to horses aged three and older. Raced over a distance of six furlongs on turf, it ...

and the First Lady Stakes. The Gold Cup at Santa Anita, Belmont Oaks and Canadian Stakes were excluded from the series. Five winners of Challenge series races went on to win their respective division at the Breeders' Cup: *

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, who won the Classic, automatically qualified by winning both the Stephen Foster and Whitney Handicap *

Forever Unbridled Forever Unbridled (foaled April 24, 2012) is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse who was named the Champion Older Mare of 2017 after winning the Fleur de Lis Handicap, Personal Ensign Stakes and Breeders' Cup Distaff. She also won two Gr ...

won the Distaff after automatically qualifying with victories in both the Fleur de Lis and Personal Ensign * Rushing Fall qualified in the Jessamine Stakes then went on to win the Juvenile Turf *

Roy H Roy H (foaled April 22, 2012) is a Thoroughbred racehorse who is the two time winner of the Breeders' Cup Sprint. He was named the American Champion Sprint Horse of 2017 and 2018. He did not start racing until age three, when he won only one ra ...

won the Santa Anita Sprint Championship and the Sprint *

World Approval World Approval (foaled February 23, 2012) is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2017 Breeders' Cup Mile. A minor stakes winner at age three, he won his first Grade I race at age four in the United Nations Stake ...

won both the Woodbine Mile and Breeders' Cup Mile

2018

The main change for the 2018 series was the addition of four "win and you're in" races from

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...

: the

Queen Anne Stakes The Queen Anne Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and is scheduled to take pl ...

providing a berth in the Mile division; the

Prince of Wales's Stakes The Prince of Wales's Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 1 furlong and 212 yards (2,004 met ...

(G1) in the Turf; the Norfolk Stakes in the new Juvenile Turf Sprint; and the

Diamond Jubilee Stakes The Platinum Jubilee Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. Three-year-olds foaled in the Southern Hemisphere are also eligible. It is run at ...

in the Turf Sprint. The Jaipur Invitational was also added as a qualifier for the Turf Sprint. The following races were removed from the series: the TJ Smith (Turf Sprint), the Smile Sprint (Sprint), the T. Von Zastrow Stutenpreis (Filly & Mare Turf) and the Grosser Preis von Baden (Turf). On June 25, three more races were added to the challenge series as qualifiers for the Juvenile Turf Sprint. These were the Futurity at Belmont Park, the

Indian Summer Stakes Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

at Keeneland and a new race at Santa Anita, subsequently named the Speakeasy Stakes. Five automatic qualifiers also won their division of the Breeders' Cup: Sistercharlie (Filly & Mare Turf),

Accelerate In mechanics, acceleration is the rate of change of the velocity of an object with respect to time. Accelerations are vector quantities (in that they have magnitude and direction). The orientation of an object's acceleration is given by the ...

(Classic),

Game Winner Game Winner (foaled March 6, 2016) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the champion two-year-old colt of 2018. He was undefeated in four starts at age two, including wins in the Del Mar Futurity, American Pharoah Stakes and Breeders' ...

(Sprint) and

Jaywalk Jaywalking is the act of pedestrians walking in or crossing a roadway that has traffic, other than at a designated crossing point, or otherwise, in disregard of traffic rules. The term originated in the United States as a derivation of the phra ...

(Juvenile Fillies).

2019

The 2019 Breeders' Cup Challenge series consisted of 86 races, 64 of which were Grade/Group One, from across 11 countries. There were 7 new races: the Gran Premio International Carlos Pellegrini (Turf), Prix Morny (Juvenile Turf Sprint), Fourstardave (Mile), Jockey Club Derby (Turf), the Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint (Turf Sprint), Cotillion (Distaff), Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp (Turf Sprint) and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Turf). The following races were removed from the series: Doncaster Mile, Legacy Stakes, Gran Premio 25 de Mayo, Highlander, Forego, Spinaway, and Joe Hirsch Turf Classic. The International Stakes, formerly a qualifier for the Turf, became the first ever European qualifier for the Classic. Five automatic qualifiers won their respective division of the Breeders' Cup: * Four Wheel Drive, who qualified by winning the Belmont Futurity, won the Juvenile Turf Sprint *

British Idiom British Idiom (March 23, 2017 – October 1, 2021) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Alcibiades Stakes and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies in 2019, earning the title oChampion Two-Year-Old Filly for the year Background British Id ...

, winner of the Alcibiades, also won the Juvenile Fillies *

Iridessa Iridessa (foaled 14 January 2016) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old in 2018 she was one of the best fillies of her generation in Europe, winning the Group 1 Fillies' Mile. In the following year she was beaten in her first thr ...

, who qualified by winning the Matron Stakes, won the Filly and Mare Turf *

Blue Prize Blue Prize (foaled August 26, 2013) is a retired Argentinian Thoroughbred racehorse and the winner of the 2019 Breeders' Cup Distaff. Career Blue Prize's first race and only start as a two-year-old was on May 30, 2016, at Hipódromo Argentino d ...

won the Distaff after qualifying in the Spinster *

Bricks and Mortar Bricks and Mortar (foaled March 2, 2014) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was named the American Horse of the Year in 2019. After winning four of six starts at age three, he missed most of his four-year-old campaign due to illness. At a ...

qualified by winning the Arlington Million and then won the Turf

Mitole Mitole (foaled March 23, 2015) is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse who was foaled and raised at Hermitage Farm in Oldham County, Kentucky. He was named the American Champion Male Sprint Horse of 2019 after winning six of seven starts th ...

, who qualified for the Dirt Mile by winning the Metropolitan Handicap, won the Sprint.

Uni Uni or UNI may refer to: Entertainment *Uni Records, a division of MCA, formally called Universal City Records *"U.N.I.", a song by Ed Sheeran from ''+'' (''Plus'') *Uni, a species in the Neopets Trading Card Game *Uni, a character in the anim ...

won the Mile after qualifying in the First Lady Stakes for the Filly and Mare Turf.

2020

The 2020 racing schedule was heavily disrupted by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, and some traditional fixtures of the Challenge series were either rescheduled or not run. New races for 2020 included the

Victoria Mile The Victoria Mile () is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for four-year-old and above thoroughbred fillies and mares run over a distance of 1,600 metres (approximately 1 mile) on the turf at Tokyo Racecourse in May. Winners See also * Horse ...

at Tokyo Racecourse (Filly & Mare Turf),

Carter Handicap The Carter Handicap is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for three-years-old and older run over a distance of seven furlongs run annually in early April at Aqueduct Racetrack. Race history First run in 1895, the race was named for Br ...

at Belmont Park (Sprint),

Alabama Stakes The Alabama Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race open to three-year-old fillies. Inaugurated in 1872, the Grade I race is run over a distance of one and one-quarter miles on the dirt track at Saratoga Race Course. Held in mid August, it cu ...

at Saratoga (Distaff) and the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () on ...

at Pimlico (Classic). The following races were removed from the 2020 series: Gran Premio Criadores, Gran Premio Club Hipico Falabella, Gran Premio Pamplona, Princess Rooney Handicap, John A. Nerud, Beverly D., Arlington Million, Jockey Club Derby, Cotillion and Sprinters Stakes. Five winners from the challenge series went on to win at the 2020 Breeders' Cup: * Aunt Pearl won the Juvenile Fillies Turf after qualifying in the Jessamine *

Essential Quality Essential Quality (foaled April 9, 2018) is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2021 Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes, and the 2020 Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He was named the 2020 Champion Two-Year-Old and the 2021 Champion Th ...

won the Juvenile after taking the Breeders' Futurity *

Glass Slippers ''Glass Slippers'' () was a 40-episode South Korean drama series that aired on SBS in 2002, starring Kim Hyun-joo and Kim Ji-ho as the two orphaned sisters. Plot 6 year-old Yoon-hee and her elder sister Tae-hee were raised by their widowed fa ...

won the Turf Sprint after earning a berth in the Flying Five * Tarnawa won the Turf after qualifying for the Filly & Mare Turf in the

Prix de l'Opéra The Prix de l'Opéra is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles), and i ...

Authentic Authenticity or authentic may refer to: * Authentication, the act of confirming the truth of an attribute Arts and entertainment * Authenticity in art, ways in which a work of art or an artistic performance may be considered authentic Music * A ...

won the Classic after qualifying in the Haskell

References

{{BreedersCup Breeders' Cup Racing series for horses