Horses Wild has the latest news in the horse racing industry from jockeys, trainers, owners and breeders. Get horse racing tips, betting picks from top horse racing handicappers, stakes race results.
Be part of the action as we cover the Triple Crown starting with the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. See the best of the best horses battle it out in the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships.
When it comes to horse racing, Horses Wild has got you covered.
Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series Expands to 49 Races With 6 Added International Races
The Breeders’ Cup Challenge, a series of automatic qualifying races for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, will be expanded from 24 races to a minimum of 49 races at 12 of North America’s premier horse racing venues in 2008, Breeders’ Cup announced today.
The expanded Breeders’ Cup Challenge will now include six international races at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Canada. Other new markets and tracks for the 2008 Breeders’ Cup Challenge include Emerald Downs in Auburn, Wash.; Suffolk Downs in Boston; Delaware Park in Wilmington, Del.; Calder Race Course near Miami; and Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.
The 2008 Breeders’ Cup Challenge races will begin on July 5 with races from Monmouth Park, host of last year’s Breeders’ Cup. The Monmouth races are the Salvator Mile (gr. III) at 1 mile on dirt and the United Nations (gr. I) at 1 3/8 miles on turf.
Breeders’ Cup Challenge races will be televised on ABC, ESPN, TVG and HRTV in more than 120 countries.
The 2008 Breeders’ Cup Challenge will be highlighted by its “Win and You’re In” provision, with the winner of each of the 49 Breeders’ Cup Challenge races automatically qualifying for a spot in the corresponding divisional race in the fourteen-race, $25.5 million Breeders’ Cup World Championships.
The 2008 Breeders’ Cup marks the 25th running of the event, which will be held October 24-25 at The Oak Tree Racing Association meet at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., and will be televised live on ESPN.
The addition of Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Canada is a significant step for the Breeders’ Cup Challenge entering its second year as it incorporates six races internationally and expands the Challenge footprint across North America. Woodbine moved its October 4 race card back two weeks to ensure two of Canada’s most prominent races were included in the Breeders’ Cup Challenge – E P Taylor, a qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf and the Canadian International, a qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Turf division. Other race qualifiers that day include the Nearctic, for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint and the Summer Stakes, for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.
“Following last year’s successful launch of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge, there was a great deal of interest from tracks around the country and internationally to be a part of this years series, and that interest led to the expansion of the Challenge,” said Greg Avioli, president and chief executive officer of Breeders’ Cup. “The creation of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge has served as a powerful link between America’s greatest races to the Breeders’ Cup and has created an increased level of awareness for the horses competing in the World Championships.”
Five of the 49 races will be automatic qualifiers for starting positions in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic beginning with the Whitney Handicap in Saratoga (July 26), the Pacific Classic Stakes at Del Mar (Tentative - August 24), the Massachusetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs (September 20), The Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park (September 27), and the Goodwood Stakes at the Oak Tree Racing Association’s meet at Santa Anita Park (Tentative - September 27). The Breeders’ Cup Classic is limited to 14 starters.
Breeders’ Cup Challenge expansion also includes the addition of qualifying races for the $1 Million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, $2 Million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, $ 1 Million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and $1 Million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.
In its first year the Breeders’ Cup Challenge had 14 winners who competed in the 2007 Breeders’ Cup World Championships; four horses won - War Pass (Juvenile), Ginger Punch (Distaff), English Channel (Turf), and Curlin (Classic).
Shamdinan (Turf), Lawyer Ron (Classic), Tiago (Classic), Greg’s Gold (Sprint), Idiot Proof (Sprint), Wicked Style (Juvenile), Tough Tiz’s Sis (Distaff), Unbridled Belle (Distaff), Purim (Mile) and My Typhoon (Mile) were Breeders’ Cup Challenge winners who also competed in the 2007 Breeders’ Cup.
While 49 races have been established as the preliminary Breeders’ Challenge schedule for 2008, Breeders’ Cup officials indicated that they might expand by an additional 5-6 races pending ongoing discussions with partner tracks.
Introduced in 2007, the Breeders’ Cup Challenge helped drive attendance, wagering, television and media coverage in participating markets where Breeders’ Cup and its partner tracks co-promoted the events.
“The Breeders’ Cup Challenge made a big day even bigger at Del Mar last year and helped us set a single-day wagering record,” said Craig Fravel, DMTC’s executive vice president. “We’re delighted to be part of this unique series again in 2008 and hope our fans find it even more appealing this time around.”
www.breederscup.com
Tip your horse racing buddies:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
10% Bonus + 3% Racebook Rebate
10% Free Cash Initial Deposit
Up to 30% Sign-up Bonus + 5% Weekly Rebate!
Get reward points for Free Bets