Breeders' Cup 'Win and You're In' Series to Include 80 Races in 2023

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Breeders Cup, Win and Youre In, Santa Anita
The Breeders Cup Win and Youre In Qualifying Series will feature 80 races in 2023. (Bill Denver/Eclipse Sportswire)

Breeders' Cup announced May 10 its 2023 Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In schedule of 80 races in 11 countries. Each winner will receive automatic qualifying positions, with fees paid, into a corresponding race in the 2023 Breeders' Cup.

The complete 2023 schedule is available at BreedersCup.com/races/challenge-series.

Horses from around the globe will qualify through the "Win and You're In" program, now in its 16th year, for the 40th running of the World Championships. Consisting of 14 grade 1 races and purses and awards totaling $31 million, this year's two-day event will be held Nov. 3-4 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif.

The first Breeders' Cup Challenge Series race of the year in the United States will be the May 29 Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita Park, a qualifying race for the Breeders' Cup Mile.

The international portion of the series began Dec. 17 when the 3-year-old The Punisher captured the Grade 1 Gran Premio Internacional Carlos Pellegrini at Hipodromo de San Isidro in Argentina to gain the first automatic starting berth into the Breeders' Cup Turf.

Thirty-nine international races will complement the North American season as the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series is hosted at premier racetracks in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, England, France, Ireland, Japan, Peru, and South Africa.

After a successful restructuring in 2022, the 2023 series in the U.S. will again feature a regional qualifying program to balance divisional competition across the country. In 10 of the 14 race divisions, there will be one Breeders' Cup Challenge Series race per region, identified as East, Midwest, and West. Breeders' Cup will promote these regional rivalries on the road to the World Championships. The exception to the regional format will be the Breeders' Cup Classic division, which will have six domestic qualifying races. New this year, all North American Challenge races must be graded to be included in the series.

Flower blankers for Breeders' Cup winners. (Carlos Calo/Eclipse Sportswire)

"We are very proud that horsemen around the world continue to take advantage of the benefits offered by the Challenge Series, including automatic entry and fees paid, as the best way to gain a starting position in the World Championships," said Dora Delgado, executive vice president and chief racing officer of Breeders' Cup Limited. "We also thank the various racing jurisdictions on five continents who support and administer the races that comprise this year's series, and we look forward to a culmination of the series at Santa Anita Park in November."

Last year, 38 Breeders' Cup Challenge winners competed in the World Championships at Keeneland and seven won their respective divisional races, including Flightline in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

As part of the benefits to horsemen, Breeders' Cup has allocated $5,120,000 in free entry fees for this year's Challenge Series and will pay the entry fees and guarantee a starting position in a corresponding Championships race for all Challenge Series race winners. The Challenge winner must be nominated to the Breeders' Cup program by the pre-entry deadline of Oct. 23 to receive the rewards.

In addition, Breeders' Cup will provide a $10,000 travel allowance for all starters within North America that are stabled outside of California and a $40,000 travel allowance to the connections of all Championship starters based outside of North America.

NBC, CNBC, FOX, and FanDuel TV will televise many of the "Win and You're In" races on the 2023 schedule.

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