Every year, the road to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships starts months before with a series of qualifying races that are known as the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series. The series has expanded over the years and it has consistently given fans and bettors a preview of some of the runners who’ll vie for Breeders’ Cup glory in the fall. Each winner of a Challenge Series race will receive an automatic qualifying berth, with fees paid, into a corresponding Breeders’ Cup Race – as described in the series’ popular tag line, “Win and You’re In.”

Below are some facts to know about the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series that leads all the way up to the 42^nd Breeders’ Cup World Championships on Friday, Oct. 31, and Saturday, Nov. 1, at Del Mar in Southern California.

1. This year marks the 19^th year of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, which began in 2007. The Breeders’ Cup World Championships date back more than two decades earlier, having been first run in 1984. 

2. The 2025 Challenge Series actually began in 2024 with the first race of the series being the Gran Premio International Carlos Pellegrini run at San Isidro Racecourse in Argentina. That race is a “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf and it was won by a horse named Intense for Me.

Ag Bullet winning Jaipur Stakes. (Eclipse Sportswire)

3. The first three domestic “Win and You’re In” races were held at the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival from June 4-8 at Saratoga Race Course. Dorth Vader won the Ogden Phipps Stakes Presented by Ford June 7 to earn an expenses-paid starting spot in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff; Raging Torrent prevailed in the $1 million Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap June 8 to qualify for the Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile; and Ag Bullet proved best in the rescheduled Jaipur Stakes June 9 to earn her way into the Prevagen Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.

4. Television coverage of Challenge Series races can be found on a total of seven live broadcasts across NBC, CNBC, and FOX throughout the year. The first is set for Saturday, July 19 on NBC starting at 5 p.m. ET featuring the NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes, which is a “Win and You’re In” race for the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic. Coverage on NBC and CNBC will be streamed on Peacock and NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app. Many of the other Challenge Series races this summer and fall will air on FanDuel TV, including international races from England’s prestigious Royal Ascot meet in June and from Longchamp Racecourse in France in October.

5. The Challenge Series began in 2007 with 24 “Win and You’re In” races from two countries. By 2014, it consisted of 71 races across 13 countries. For 2025, there are 93 races in the series that will take place in 15 different countries.

6. As part of an expanded scheduled for 2025, the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series includes qualifying races in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and Uruguay to increase the total number of participating countries from 12 in 2024 to 15 for this year.

7. Last year, 44 Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series winners raced in the 2024 World Championships at Del Mar with five winning their respective divisional races.

Soul of an Angel winning 2024 Filly & Mare Sprint. (Eclipse Sportswire)

8. The five Challenge Series race winners who went on to 2024 Breeders’ Cup glory were Moira in the Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf; Citizen Bull in the $2 million FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Presented by TAA; Immersive in the $2 million NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies; Lake Victoria in the $1 million John Deere Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf; and Soul of an Angel  in the $1 million PNC Bank Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. 

9. Six “Win and You’re In” races for Breeders’ Cup 2024 will be held at Del Mar, the site of this year’s World Championships. The picturesque oceanside track, known as “Where the Turf Meets the Surf,” first hosted the World Championships in 2017 and did again in 2021 and 2024. Its signature race during the summer meet, the FanDuel Racing Pacific Classic Stakes, will be held Aug. 30 and is a qualifying race for the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic. Del Mar’s other “Win and You’re In” races are the Bing Crosby Stakes (Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint) on July 26; the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes Presented by Oak Tree Racing Association (Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff) on Aug. 2; the Pat O’Brien Stakes (Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile) on Aug. 23; the Del Mar Handicap Presented by Japan Racing Association (Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf) on Aug. 30; and the Green Flash Handicap (Prevagen Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint) on Aug. 30.

10. There will be 10 automatic berths will be awarded for the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, the marquee race of the World Championships. Three of the bids already have been secured by Forever Young, winner of the Feb. 22 Saudi Cup; Costa Nova, who prevailed in the Feb. 23 February Stakes in Japan; and Hit Show, who earned a spot in the Classic via his victory in the April 5 Dubai World Cup. The remaining seven qualifiers include June 28 Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs, the July 19 NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park, the Aug. 2 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga Race Course, the Aug. 20 Juddmonte International Stakes at York, the Aug. 30 FanDuel Pacific Classic Stakes at Del Mar, the Aug. 31 Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes at Saratoga, and the Sept. 27 Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita Park.