CALIFORNIA — ABR

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 41^st Breeders’ Cup World Championships on Friday, Nov. 1, and Saturday, Nov. 2, at Del Mar in Southern California.

1. This year marks the 17^th year of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series. The Breeders’ Cup World Championships date back more than two decades earlier, having been first run in 1984.

2. The 2024 Challenge Series actually began in 2023 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 El Encinal.

Read the full article on America’s Best Racing here.