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Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series

Bet the 2026 Breeders’ Cup online at BUSR and get up to a 10% horse betting rebate paid daily to your account, plus up to a $1,000 Welcome Bonus for new customers. Follow the Win and You’re In races that send horses to Keeneland on October 30 and 31.

The Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series is a collection of qualifying races around the world, known as Win and You’re In. Winners of designated races earn a place in a Breeders’ Cup championship race. Use this page to follow the 2026 Challenge schedule, see which races have already produced winners and track the horses heading to the Breeders’ Cup. Follow them on the contenders page, compare the Breeders’ Cup odds, see the full race schedule or return to the Breeders’ Cup hub.

How It Works Schedule Divisions After a Win Travel Awards FAQ

How Win and You’re In Works

Each Challenge race is linked to a specific Breeders’ Cup championship division. A win in a designated race guarantees the winner a starting position in the corresponding division at the World Championships, subject to Breeders’ Cup nomination and entry requirements.

When a championship race is oversubscribed, Challenge winners in that division are selected first, ahead of horses ranked on graded stakes points and panel selection.

2026 Breeders’ Cup Challenge Schedule

The 2026 Challenge schedule runs from December 2025 through October 2026 and includes races in North America, Europe, Asia, South America and Africa. Winners are added as each race is run.

Date	Race	Grade	Division	Track	Winner
Dec. 13, 2025	Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini Internacional Stakes	G1	Turf	San Isidro	Obataye (BRZ)
Jan. 6	Gran Premio Pedro Pineyrua	G3	Dirt Mile	Maroñas	Herr Kitten (BRZ)
Jan. 10	Cartier Paddock Stakes	G1	Filly & Mare Turf	Kenilworth	Wish List (SAF)
Jan. 10	L'Ormarins King's Plate	G1	Mile	Kenilworth	The Real Prince (SAF)
Jan. 10	World Pool Cape Flying Championship	G1	Turf Sprint	Kenilworth	Kingdundee (SAF)
Jan. 24	Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes	G1	Classic	Gulfstream Park	Skippylongstocking
Feb. 14	Riyadh Dirt Sprint	G2	Sprint	King Abdulaziz	Imagination
Feb. 14	Saudi Cup	G1	Classic	King Abdulaziz	Forever Young (JPN)
Feb. 22	February Stakes	G1	Classic	Tokyo	Costa Nova (JPN)
Mar. 28	Dubai Golden Shaheen	G1	Sprint	Meydan	Dark Saffron
Mar. 28	Dubai Turf	G1	Mile	Meydan	Ombudsman (IRE)
Mar. 28	Dubai World Cup	G1	Classic	Meydan	Magnitude
Mar. 28	Longines Dubai Sheema Classic	G1	Turf	Meydan	Calandagan (IRE)
Apr. 11	Apple Blossom Handicap	G1	Distaff	Oaklawn Park	Claret Beret
Apr. 26	Gran Premio Pamplona	G1	Filly & Mare Turf	Monterrico	Se Va Colando (ARG)
May 1	Gran Premio Criadores	G1	Distaff	Palermo	Herd Immunity (ARG)
May 17	Victoria Mile	G1	Filly & Mare Turf	Tokyo	Embroidery (JPN)
May 31	Gran Premio Club Hípico Falabella	G1	Turf	Club Hípico de Santiago	Eccentric (CHI)
Jun. 5	Ogden Phipps Stakes	G1	Distaff	Saratoga	Nitrogen
Jun. 6	Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap	G1	Dirt Mile	Saratoga	Nysos
Jun. 6	Jaipur	G1	Turf Sprint	Saratoga	Reef Runner
Jun. 7	Yasuda Kinen	G1	Mile	Tokyo	Sixpence (JPN)
Jun. 14	Takarazuka Kinen	G1	Turf	Hanshin	Meisho Tabaru (JPN)
Jun. 16	King Charles III Stakes	G1	Turf Sprint	Ascot	Mission Central (IRE)
Jun. 16	Queen Anne Stakes	G1	Mile	Ascot	Ten Bob Tony (IRE)
Jun. 17	Prince of Wales's Stakes	G1	Turf	Ascot	Ombudsman (IRE)
Jun. 20	Norfolk Stakes	G2	Juvenile Turf Sprint	Ascot	Orthodox (GB)
Jun. 27	Fasig-Tipton Fleur de Lis	G2	Distaff	Churchill Downs	Immersive
Jun. 27	Stephen Foster	G1	Classic	Churchill Downs	Magnitude
Jul. 18	Haskell Stakes	G1	Classic	Monmouth Park	Baby Vino
Jul. 25	King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes	G1	Turf	Ascot	Kalpana (GB)
Jul. 25	Princess Margaret Japan Cup Stakes	G3	Juvenile Fillies Turf	Ascot	Moonrise (IRE)
Jul. 25	Bing Crosby Stakes	G1	Sprint	Del Mar	Listenupshance
Jul. 29	Veuve Clicquot Molecomb Stakes	G3	Juvenile Turf Sprint	Goodwood	Pershaada (IRE)
Jul. 29	Visit Qatar Sussex Stakes	G1	Mile	Goodwood	Bow Echo (IRE)
Jul. 30	Qatar Nassau Stakes	G1	Filly & Mare Turf	Goodwood	Diamond Necklace (IRE)
Aug. 1	Clement L. Hirsch Stakes	G1	Distaff	Del Mar	Eunomia
Aug. 8	Fourstardave	G1	Mile	Saratoga	Deterministic
Aug. 8	Whitney Stakes	G1	Classic	Saratoga	Sovereignty
Aug. 15	Christophe Clement Turf	G1	Turf	Saratoga	Survie (IRE)
Aug. 19	Juddmonte International Stakes	G1	Classic	York	Item (GB)
Aug. 19	Tattersalls Acomb Stakes	G3	Juvenile Turf	York	Haffner
Aug. 20	Legends Global Yorkshire Oaks	G1	Filly & Mare Turf	York	Kalpana (GB)
Aug. 21	Coolmore City of Troy Nunthorpe Stakes	G1	Turf Sprint	York	Bacio
Aug. 22	Green Flash Handicap	G2	Turf Sprint	Del Mar	Sorrento Sky (IRE)
Aug. 22	Pacific Classic	G1	Classic	Del Mar	Knightsbridge
Aug. 29	Del Mar Handicap	G2	Turf	Del Mar	Test Score
Aug. 29	Pat O'Brien Stakes	G2	Dirt Mile	Del Mar	Iron Man Cal
Aug. 29	Forego	G1	Dirt Mile	Saratoga	Hymn
Aug. 29	Personal Ensign	G1	Distaff	Saratoga	Fully Subscribed
Aug. 29	Ballerina	G1	Filly & Mare Sprint	Saratoga	Ways and Means
Sep. 5	Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint	G2	Turf Sprint	Kentucky Downs	Possiblemente
Sep. 5	Kentucky Turf Cup Invitational	G2	Turf	Kentucky Downs	Tiffany (IRE)
Sep. 5	Spinaway	G1	Juvenile Fillies	Saratoga	Summer Starlet
Sep. 6	Korea Cup	G2	Dirt Mile	Seoul	Diktaean (JPN)
Sep. 6	Korea Sprint	G3	Sprint	Seoul	Dragon Welds
Sep. 12	Princess Rooney Stakes	G3	Filly & Mare Sprint	Gulfstream Park	Kerry's Kiss
Sep. 12	Coolmore America 'Justify' Matron Stakes	G1	Filly & Mare Turf	Leopardstown	Blue Bolt (IRE)
Sep. 12	Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes	G1	Turf	Leopardstown	Hotazhell (GB)
Sep. 12	Summer Stakes	G1	Juvenile Turf	Woodbine	Al Hudaiba (GB)
Sep. 12	E.P. Taylor Stakes	G1	Filly & Mare Turf	Woodbine	Gimme a Nother (SAF)
Sep. 12	Natalma Stakes	G1	Juvenile Fillies Turf	Woodbine	Voyager
Sep. 12	Woodbine Mile	G1	Mile	Woodbine	Notable Speech (GB)
Sep. 13	Bar 1 Betting Flying Five Stakes	G1	Turf Sprint	Curragh	Comanche Brave (IRE)
Sep. 13	Goffs Vincent O'Brien National Stakes	G1	Juvenile Turf	Curragh	Folsom Blues (IRE)
Sep. 13	Moyglare Stud Stakes	G1	Juvenile Fillies Turf	Curragh	Sun Goddess (IRE)
Sep. 18	Jockey Club Gold Cup	G1	Classic	Belmont Park	Forever Young (JPN)
Sep. 26	City of Hope Mile	G2	Mile	Santa Anita Park	Cabo Spirit
Sep. 26	Goodwood Stakes	G1	Classic	Santa Anita Park	Forged Steel
Sep. 27	Santa Anita Sprint Championship	G2	Sprint	Santa Anita Park	Listenupshance
Sep. 27	Zenyatta Stakes	G2	Distaff	Santa Anita Park	Super Corredora
Oct. 1	Flower Bowl	G2	Filly & Mare Turf	Belmont Park	Kathynmarissa
Oct. 1	Vosburgh	G3	Sprint	Belmont Park	T Kraft
Oct. 2	Darley Alcibiades	G1	Juvenile Fillies	Keeneland	Emphatic
Oct. 2	Jessamine	G2	Juvenile Fillies Turf	Keeneland	Serenas Ghost
Oct. 2	Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix	G2	Sprint	Keeneland	Nakatomi
Oct. 3	Champagne	G1	Juvenile	Belmont Park	U. S. S. Valor
Oct. 3	Futurity	G3	Juvenile Turf Sprint	Belmont Park	Good to Be King
Oct. 3	Miss Grillo	G2	Juvenile Fillies Turf	Belmont Park	Domestic Agenda
Oct. 3	Pilgrim	G2	Juvenile Turf	Belmont Park	Let Em Know
Oct. 3	Claiborne Breeders' Futurity	G1	Juvenile	Keeneland	American History
Oct. 3	Coolmore Turf Mile	G1	Mile	Keeneland	Rhetorical
Oct. 3	Thoroughbred Club of America	G2	Filly & Mare Sprint	Keeneland	Evanescence
Oct. 3	American Pharoah	G1	Juvenile	Santa Anita Park	Hughes
Oct. 3	Oak Leaf Stakes	G2	Juvenile Fillies	Santa Anita Park	Domain Expansion
Oct. 3	Rodeo Drive Stakes	G2	Filly & Mare Turf	Santa Anita Park	Thought Process
Oct. 4	Castle & Key Bourbon	G2	Juvenile Turf	Keeneland	Agate
Oct. 4	Juddmonte Spinster	G1	Distaff	Keeneland	Fully Subscribed
Oct. 4	Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp Longines	G1	Turf Sprint	ParisLongchamp	Miss Yechance (IRE)
Oct. 4	Prix de l'Opera Longines	G1	Filly & Mare Turf	ParisLongchamp	Miss Scott (IRE)
Oct. 4	Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe	G1	Turf	ParisLongchamp	Daryz (FR)
Oct. 4	Qatar Prix de la Foret	G1	Mile	ParisLongchamp	True Love (IRE)
Oct. 4	Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere	G1	Juvenile Turf	ParisLongchamp	Amusingly (GB)
Oct. 4	Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac	G1	Juvenile Fillies Turf	ParisLongchamp	Green Empress (IRE)
Oct. 17	Qatar Racing Champion Stakes	G1	Turf	Ascot	Pending

Last updated October 9, 2026. Winners are added as each Win and You're In race is run. Source: Breeders' Cup Challenge Series schedule.

Breeders’ Cup Challenge Divisions

Challenge races feed all 14 Breeders’ Cup championship divisions. Visit a division page for race information.

What Happens After a Horse Wins a Challenge Race?

A Challenge winner is guaranteed a starting position in the corresponding Breeders’ Cup race and receives free entry. The horse still has to be pre-entered and entered by the Breeders’ Cup deadlines: pre-entries close on October 19 and final entries close on October 26 at Keeneland.

Winning a Challenge race does not guarantee a horse will run. Connections decide whether to take the spot, and a horse may be pointed to a different race before entries close, so a Challenge winner is a contender until it is officially entered.

Breeders’ Cup Challenge Travel Awards

Challenge winners based outside North America can qualify for a $40,000 travel award, provided they are nominated to the Breeders’ Cup program by the October 19 pre-entry deadline.

Follow the Road to the 2026 Breeders’ Cup

As the Challenge Series moves toward Keeneland, follow the Breeders’ Cup contenders by division and compare the latest Breeders’ Cup odds as qualifiers earn their spots.

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More Breeders’ Cup Resources

2026 Breeders’ Cup

Start at the Breeders’ Cup hub for odds, schedule, betting and more.

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Breeders’ Cup Odds

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Breeders’ Cup Contenders

Follow the leading horses by division as the championship fields develop.

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Breeders’ Cup Betting

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Breeders’ Cup Betting Guide

Breeders’ Cup Schedule

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Breeders’ Cup Winners

Look back at past Breeders’ Cup Classic winners, jockeys and trainers.

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More Breeders’ Cup Coverage

Looking for deeper race analysis, contenders, qualifying races and championship history? Explore US Racing’s 2026 Breeders’ Cup coverage.

Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series FAQ

What is the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series?

The Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series is a set of qualifying races around the world. Winners of designated races earn a guaranteed starting position in a Breeders’ Cup championship race, subject to the series rules.

What does Win and You’re In mean?

Win and You’re In is the name of the Challenge Series. When a horse wins a designated Challenge race, it earns a guaranteed starting position in the corresponding Breeders’ Cup division, subject to nomination and entry requirements.

Do Challenge winners have to run in the Breeders’ Cup?

No. A Challenge win earns a guaranteed spot, but the horse’s connections decide whether to enter. Horses must be pre-entered by October 19 and entered by the final entry deadline on October 26, 2026.

Do Challenge winners get free entry?

Yes. Challenge winners receive a free entry into the corresponding Breeders’ Cup race, provided the horse meets the Breeders’ Cup nomination and entry requirements.

Who gets a Breeders’ Cup travel award?

Challenge winners based outside North America can qualify for a $40,000 travel award if they are nominated to the Breeders’ Cup program by the October 19 pre-entry deadline.

When is the last Challenge race of 2026?

The Qatar Racing Champion Stakes at Ascot on October 17 is the final race on the 2026 Challenge schedule above.