Tag: Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series

American Theorem owns the only 2022 graded stakes victory in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes field. He is the 4/1 co-second choice in Saturday's co-feature at Del Mar. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Deep Field of Sprinters Go On the Road in Del Mar’s Bing Crosby

The first instinct when looking at Saturday’s Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar is to see who’s not here for California’s richest sprint race ($400,000). There’s no Brickyard Ride. No Cezanne. No Dr. Schivel, the defending Bing Crosby champion, who finished second by an eyelash in the Breeders’ […]

Due to construction of tunnels to Belmont Park's infield, the Belmont Park Fall Meet moves to Aqueduct Racetrack this fall. (Image: NYRA)

NYRA Moves Belmont Fall Meet to Aqueduct as ‘Belmont at the Big A’

Belmont at the Big A sounds like a mash-up of two tracks, which – thanks to construction – this year’s Belmont Fall Meet became. The New York Racing Associations announced Thursday that this year’s Belmont Fall Meet will run at Aqueduct Racetrack. The reason for the switch is ongoing tunnel […]

Taiba's biggest victory in his three-race career came in April's Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. The Bob Baffert charge shipped east as the morning line favorite for the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park Saturday. (Image: Benoit Photo)

The Haskell Buzz Follows Baffert’s Taiba, Brown’s Jack Christopher

The buzz horse in Saturday’s Grade 1 Haskell Stakes is definitely Jack Christopher. The buzz trainer – as he usually is in high-profile 3-year-old races – is Bob Baffert who brings in 7/5 morning line favorite Taiba. So when the starting buzzer goes off in the 1 1/8-mile Haskell, who’s […]

Aidan O'Brien's Broome won the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot last month. He's O'Brien's hope for a fifth King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes title Saturday at Ascot. (Image: Mathea Kelly)

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes Come With Plenty of Jewels

Consider Saturday’s Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot a European preview to November’s Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland. And consider it a meeting of some of the best turf runners in the world: European Division. Which is appropriate, given the winner of this 1 1/2-mile jaunt […]

Golden Pal tuned up for his King's Stand duel with Australia's Nature Strip with this romp in April's Grade 3 Shakertown at Keeneland. He and Nature Strip headline Day 1 at Royal Ascot. (Image: Keeneland/Coady Photography)

It’s US vs. Australia in a Royal Ascot Rumble

They’re not wasting any time in giving the well-heeled racing fans at Royal Ascot the meet’s main attraction. On Tuesday’s first day of the 2022 Royal Ascot meet, those fans get Golden Pal vs. Nature Strip in the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes. Only the top North American turf sprinter […]

Smooth Like Strait and Umberto Rispoli won last year's Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile. The 5-year-old horse returns with Flavien Prat aboard as the 4/5 favorite for the Memorial Day race at Santa Anita Park. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Smooth Like Strait Looks Like the Right Fit in Shoemaker Mile

That Smooth Like Strait is the 4/5 morning line favorite for Monday’s Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita Park is understandable on several levels. Thirteen of them, to be precise. That’s the string of graded stakes races the 5-year-old turf terror brings into the second of Santa Anita’s three […]

The Breeders' Cup Challenge Series offers 82 races in 11 countries. Each race presents the winner a spot in one of 14 races at the Nov. 4-5 Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keenelland. (Image: Breeders' Cup)

Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series Brings New Twist to US Races

The Breeders’ Cup announced its 2022 list of Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series races, known as the “Win and You’re In” events. The premise is simple: win one of these 82 races in 11 countries and you have a starting spot in one of the 14 Breeders’ Cup races. That brings […]

Cafe Pharoah won the first 2022 Breeders' Cup Challenge Series race for the flagship Breeders' Cup Classic. His victory in the Group 1 February Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse earned him a "Win and You're In" berth. (Image: JRA Photo)

Café Pharoah Earns First 2022 Breeders’ Cup Classic Berth

Yes, February seems to be rather early to discuss qualifying for November’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, but Japan’s Café Pharoah became the first horse to qualify for the Breeders’ Cup’s marquee race when he won Sunday’s February Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse. Café Pharoah’s defense of his 2021 February Stakes title in […]

Five-time Group 1 champion Palace Pier is one of the favorites for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, offering a Breeders' Cup Mile berth to its winner. (Image: British Champions Series)

But Wait … There’s More Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series Races in the UK

The Breeders’ Cup added two final Challenge Series races on Tuesday, giving “Win and You’re In” berths to the winners of Saturday’s Champion Stakes and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at England’s Ascot Racecourse. Those two races are part of British Champions Day, one of the richest days in British racing, […]

Althiqa, seen here winning the Grade 1 Just A Game at Belmont Park in June, will be a popular choice for bettors in the Grade 1 First Lady Stakes at Keeneland. (Image: Godolphin)

Breeders’ Cup Challenge Pick 6 Wager Returns With Some Familiar Names

The Breeders’ Cup Challenge Pick 6 wager returns Saturday, incorporating Keeneland’s opening weekend with Belmont Park to create an intriguing handicapping puzzle featuring familiar names. This is the second version of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Pick 6, which mandates bettors pick winners from each of six Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series […]

Tripoli has two victories and a second in his last three races. This includes this win in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic. He carries value-laden 3/1 odds into the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Awesome Again Pits ‘Youngster’ Medina Spirit Against His Elders

Medina Spirit is considered one of the “kids” in the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes, a change in status from what his consideration would have been, had he run in last week’s Pennsylvania Derby. From one of the fellow 3-year-olds in that race, to one of the kids in Saturday’s […]

The Breeders' Cup takes its Challenge Series to bettors with its Breeders' Cup Challenge Pick 6 this weekend at Belmont Park and Santa Anita Park. (Image: Breeders' Cup)

Inaugural Breeders’ Cup Challenge Pick 6 Gives Bettors Their Challenge

The New York Racing Association is adding a Pick 6 with a twist this weekend, playing host to the inaugural two-day Breeders’ Cup Challenge Pick 6 that features six races from the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series. All six races coming to bettors from Belmont Park and Santa Anita Park are […]

Imperador and jockey Joe Talamo hold off a surging Arklow to win Kentucky Downs' flagship race: the $1 million Calumet Turf Cup. That Saturday race headlined a record handle day and meet for Kentucky Downs. (Image: Coady Photography)

Kentucky Downs Wrap: Bettors, Rosario Make it a Record-Setting Meet

Whether it was riding or betting, records fell in bunches during Kentucky Downs’ recently completed six-day meet. The boutique, all-turf track located on the Kentucky-Tennessee border destroyed its previous handle record, both for a single day and for the overall meet. Kentucky Downs came in with a six-day, all-sources handle […]

The unique Santa Anita Park hillside turf course returns for at least four stakes races during the track's Autumn Meet in October. (Image: Zoe Metz Photography)

Santa Anita’s Popular Hillside Turf Course Returns for Opening Weekend

Even with three Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series events headlining Santa Anita Park’s Autumn Meet opener, the iconic track’s famous hillside turf course could seize the day’s attention. That unique and popular course returns to the forefront for the Friday, Oct. 1 opening day. It provides the […]

The novel, non-oval Kentucky Downs course offers racing only six days a year. When the meet opens Sept. 5, it will go by the new name "FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs." (Image: Kentucky Downs)

FanDuel to Become Title Sponsor of Kentucky Downs Meet

Kentucky Downs and FanDuel announced a three-year partnership this week that will put the betting platform’s name on the track’s boutique late-summer meet. The six-day meet, which runs Sept. 5-6, 8-9, and 11-12, now goes by the name FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs. FanDuel is the parent company of the […]

Tripoli and Tiago Pereira put on a vintage performance in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic. Del Mar's flagship race fueled a record day in betting handle at the San Diego-area track. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Del Mar Breaks Previous Daily Handle Record With $36 Million Windfall

Fueled by an eight-figure Jackpot Pick 6 pool, Del Mar set a single-day handle record Saturday, drawing $36,005,613 in wagers. The windfall washed down on Del Mar’s 11-race Pacific Classic card. In doing so, it destroyed the previous record of $25,870,431 set on Pacific Classic day in 2018. Much of […]

Just like these Thoroughbreds, Santa Anita Park jumps out to a fast start or its Autumn Meet. The iconic West Coast track offers 13 stakes races opening weekend, including seven Breeders' Cup Challenge Series events. (Image: Santa Anita Park)

Santa Anita Puts Plenty at Stake for its Autumn Meet Opening Weekend

Each year, the Santa Anita Park Autumn Meet packs in three of the deepest meet-opening racing days of any major American track. This year’s 16-day Autumn Meet continues the trend, stacking seven Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series events on the track’s opening weekend. “Our intention is to get the Autumn Meet […]

One of the most forthright trainers in the game, Kenny McPeek never blinks from a challenge. This is one reason why he's sending start filly Swiss Skydiver into the Grade 1 Whitney Aug. 7 at Saratoga. (Image: Kenny McPeek)

McPeek Sending Swiss Skydiver Against Colts Again in the Whitney

One of the ways Kenny McPeek made his bones as a trainer was to never doubt himself or his charges. This explains one reason why he plans on running star filly Swiss Skydiver in the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga. “Someone brought up the word ‘can’t’ to me the […]

Dayoutattheoffice won the 2020 Frizette Stakes during Belmont Park's Fall Meet. The Grade 1 Frizette is one of 20 graded stakes on Belmont Park's 2021 Fall Meet schedule. (Image: Coglianese Photos)

Four Grade 1s, 20 Graded Stakes Headline Belmont Park’s Fall Meet Slate

Bettors will have a veritable smorgasbord of options to choose from when Belmont Park’s Fall Meet takes to the track in September. In a schedule released by the New York Racing Association on Tuesday, organizers are featuring four, Grade 1 races and five Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Challenge […]

Order of Australia sent disorder into the betting markets when he won last year's Breeders' Cup Mile at 73/1. He is expected to meet favorite Palace Pier in the Queen Anne Stakes. A berth in the Breeders' Cup Mile at Del Mar awaits the winner. (Image: Breeders' Cup/Eclipse Sportswire)

Breeders’ Cup Crowns Royal Ascot With Four Challenge Series Races

For the fourth consecutive year, Royal Ascot’s 2021 meet not only features the usual pomp and pageantry, but four tickets to the 2021 Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar. The prestigious meet, which begins Tuesday and runs through Saturday, will play host to the season’s first four Breeders’ Cup “Win and […]