With the 2026 U.S. Triple Crown season completed, the focus of the horse racing world shifts from Saratoga Race Course to across the pond for one of the most prestigious events on the annual calendar. The five-day Royal Ascot meet begins Tuesday, June 16, at gorgeous Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire, England.
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.
Just about the only thing Curlin did not do in his fabulous racing career was end “The Curse of Apollo.”
A horse who did not race at 2 had not won the Kentucky Derby since the aforementioned Apollo all the way back in 1882, and Curlin gave it the old college try to end the jinx that Triple Crown winner Justify eventually halted in 2018.
Curlin made his debut on Feb. 3, 2003 and then ran third three months later in the Kentucky Derby.
