Breeders' Cup Challenge expands to 62 races

The Breeders' Cup Challenge, a series of automatic qualifying races for the

$25.5 million 2009 Breeders' Cup World Championships, will will expand this year

with a record 62 races taking place in seven countries at the world's greatest

racing venues, it was announced Monday.

The expanded Challenge series, with its "Win and You're In" provision, will

include 12 overseas races from premier racetracks in England, Ireland, France,

Australia and Hong Kong. The 2009 Breeders' Cup Challenge races will begin in

the United States on July 4 with qualifying events from Monmouth Park: the

United Nations S. (G1) on turf, and the Salvator Mile (G3).

This year's Breeders' Cup World Championships will be held November 6-7, at

the Oak Tree Racing Association meet at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California,

and will be televised live on ABC and ESPN.

The Breeders' Cup Challenge series will again include domestic racetracks

Belmont Park in New York, Del Mar near San Diego, Calder Race Course in Miami,

Arlington Park in Chicago, Emerald Downs in Seattle, Delaware Park, Monmouth

Park and Philadelphia Park in the Middle Atlantic; Turfway Park and Keeneland in

Kentucky; Santa Anita Park and Woodbine in Toronto.

The 2009 Challenge races will be televised on ESPN, TVG and HRTV, TSN in

Canada, and in more than 120 countries.

The Breeders' Cup Challenge, which began in 2007 with 25 races at six U.S.

racetracks and Sha Tin in Hong Kong, was increased to 57 races at 12 tracks last

year. The 2008 series for the first time included races in Canada from Woodbine

and in Great Britain at Ascot Racecourse. This year, the Breeders' Cup Challenge

will be brought to seven additional premier international tracks: Longchamp and

Deauville in France, The Curragh, Leopardstown and Dundalk in Ireland, Newmarket

in England and Moonee Valley in Australia.

In 2008, 34 of the 57 Challenge race winners competed in the Breeders' Cup.

Five of them won races at the Championships, led by Raven's Pass in the

Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). The other winners were Zenyatta (Street Cry [Ire]),

who won the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic (G1) on Championship Friday; Forever

Together (Belong to Me), Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1); Stardom Bound (Tapit),

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) and Maram (Sahm), Breeders' Cup Juvenile

Fillies Turf.

Twenty-five races will be enhanced by funds through the Breeders' Cup Stakes

program and the series will feature 32 Group or Grade 1 races, including 10

Group 1 races overseas.

"In our continuing efforts to maximize the global popularity and competition

of the World Championships, we have expanded this year's Breeders' Cup Challenge

series to more racing venues for our horsemen and fans," Breeders' Cup President

and CEO Greg Avioli said. "The Breeders' Cup Challenge creates increased

international awareness on a weekly basis from July through October for the

world's great horse races and for the outstanding horses that will be competing

in the Championships."

In the United States, three races will be automatic qualifiers for starting

positions in the Breeders' Cup Classic beginning Labor Day weekend: the

Washington Park H. (G2) at Arlington Park on September 5; the Pacific Classic

(G1) at Del Mar on September 6 and the Goodwood S. (G1) at Santa Anita on

October 10. The Breeders' Cup Classic field is limited to 14 starters.

"Del Mar is delighted to be part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge once again,"

Del Mar Thoroughbred Club executive vice president Craig Fravel said. "The

Challenge has shown itself to be something our horsemen and fans appreciate and

enjoy and, simply put; it is good for us and good for racing. We're more than

happy to share the excitement of the Breeders' Cup World Championships through

our races in the series."

The international Breeders' Cup Challenge began in April with the Champions

Mile (HK-G1) in Hong Kong, won by Sight Winner (Faltaat), who earned a starting

berth into the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1). The first European challenge race of

2009 will be the Pretty Polly S. (Ire-G1) at The Curragh in Ireland on June 27

for an automatic berth in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

Among the other new international Challenge races this year are the Irish

Champion S. (Ire-G1) at Leopardstown on September 9 and the Champion S. (G1)

from Newmarket on October 17, both for starting positions in the Breeders' Cup

Turf (G1); the Moyglare Stud S. (Ire-G1) at The Curragh for a starting position

in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf; the Diamond Stakes (Ire-G3) at

Dundalk for a starting position in the Breeders' Cup Marathon; and three

automatic qualifiers for the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint: the Prix Maurice de

Gheest (Fr-G1) at Deauville on August 9, the Manikato S. (Aus-G1) at Moonee

Valley in Australia on September 25 and the Prix de l'Abbaye (Fr-G1) at

Longchamp on October 4.

The first European Breeders' Cup Challenge races debuted at Ascot last year.

The Queen Elizabeth II S. (Eng-G1), a qualifier for the Breeders' Cup Mile, the

Fillies' Mile (Eng-G1) for an automatic spot in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile

Fillies Turf and the Royal Lodge S. (Eng-G2) for a position in the Breeders' Cup

Juvenile Turf (G2), are all back in this year's series and will be run on

September 26.