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FanDuel Named Title Sponsor Of Breeders’ Cup Mile, Includes Charity Partners In Race Names

Officials of Breeders' Cup and FanDuel Group today announced that FanDuel, America's premier gaming destination, will become the title sponsor of the $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) at this year's Breeders' Cup World Championships. In addition, two of FanDuel Group's major charity partners will be incorporated into its naming rights for this year's event — the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile presented by PDJF and the TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.

The Breeders' Cup, one of Thoroughbred racing's most prestigious international events, consisting of 14 races and purses and awards totaling $35 million, is scheduled to be held on Nov. 6-7 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. The World Championships will be televised live on NBC and NBCSN.

For several years, FanDuel subsidiary TVG, America's Horse Racing network, has partnered with the Jockeys' Guild's Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF), on initiatives including an annual telethon, and with the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, to raise awareness and funding for both organizations.

“We are excited that FanDuel will become the title sponsor of the Breeders' Cup Mile and thank them for their commitment to the World Championships,” said Breeders' Cup President and CEO Drew Fleming. “Since announcing our multi-year agreement last year, we have enjoyed an outstanding relationship with FanDuel and TVG as they have expanded and strengthened their support of the Breeders' Cup and Thoroughbred racing.”

“Building off an amazing start last year, FanDuel and TVG are looking forward to this year's Breeders' Cup and to working together to create new fans for horse racing,” said Kip Levin, CEO of TVG. “We appreciate Breeders' Cup's and NBC Sports' cooperation in including our charity partners into the race names for this year. Both the PDJF and Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance do so much to help provide care and resources for our athletes and we wanted to share the spotlight with them on two of our sport's biggest days.”

In 2019, Breeders' Cup and FanDuel announced a comprehensive multi-year sponsorship agreement making TVG and FanDuel the official Wagering Partners of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. TVG will retain its title sponsorship of the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), which also was announced last year.

The collaboration also established TVG and FanDuel official partner status for four of its business units: Advanced-Deposit Wagering (TVG) as well as sports betting, daily fantasy sports and online casino, all of which operate under the FanDuel brand.

TVG and FanDuel will continue to receive official sponsor designation, commercial units and other promotional rights as part of NBC Sports' coverage of the Breeders' Cup World Championships and also will be the Presenting Partner of NBCSN's “Betting the Breeders' Cup” show, which will air multiple times during Breeders' Cup week and include complete handicapping and analysis of the World Championships. In another component of the partnership, FanDuel Group will promote the Breeders' Cup World Championships to its databases of Daily Fantasy and sports betting customers.

In January, FanDuel introduced FanDuel Racing, an advanced-deposit wagering service aimed at novice race fans, and began promoting it across its DFS platform. Prior to that, FanDuel had developed and introduced daily fantasy sports applications for horse racing.

The $2 million FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile presented by PDJF is a Grade 1 race for 3-year-olds and older, which will be run at 1 mile on the Keeneland turf course on Saturday, Nov. 7. The Mile annually draws top flight international competition. This year, horses from South Africa, France, Great Britain, Japan and the U.S. already have qualified automatically for the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile by winning races in the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series.

The $2 million TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance is a Grade 1 race for 2-year-olds, which will be run at 1 1/16 miles on the Keeneland main track as part of Breeders' Cup's Future Stars Friday program.

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Cox Hoping To Send Warrior’s Charge From Iselin To Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile

Trainer Brad Cox is doing his best to focus solely on Saturday's $200,000 Grade 3 Philip H. Iselin Stakes at Monmouth Park for Warrior's Charge, but it's not always easy when the ultimate goal – the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile – is this close.

Warrior's Charge, fourth in the Grade 1 Met Mile in his last start and a close-up fourth in the Preakness a year ago, heads a compact field of six for the 85th edition of the Iselin, the feature on a 14-race card.

“Our goal, our dream I guess you could call it, is the Breeders' Cup (Dirt) Mile (Nov. 7 at Keeneland),” said Cox. “I don't know if this would be his last race for that. We probably have some options.

“But I'm a one race at a time guy. I want to get through Saturday before we pick out our next couple of races. The goal is definitely to get this horse to the Breeders' Cup (Dirt) Mile and I feel like Monmouth Park's course, the way it plays, the mile and a sixteenth around two turns, would be something he will like. So we'll see.”

A 4-year-old Florida-bred son of Munnings-Battling Brook by Broken Vow, Warrior's Charge launched his 2020 campaign with a win in the Grade 3 Razorback at Oaklawn on Feb. 17. He followed that by finishing second in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap before being beaten just two lengths in the Met Mile at Belmont Park on July 4 in his last start.

Warrior's Charge sports a 4-1-3 from 10 career starts with earnings of $715,310.

“I thought he ran huge,” Cox said of the Met Mile. “I thought it was a big effort. He ran against some Grade 1 horses and he showed he can compete. I was very pleased with the effort and he bounced out of it in good shape.

“He has definitely matured. I think he has shown in his races this year that he has stepped up and run big against some of the best horses in the country.”

The speedy Warrior's Charge looks the most likely candidate on paper to control the pace with his front-running style, though the Grant Forster-trained Pirate's Punch is also a speedy type.

“Obviously we have a great jock for Monmouth Park in Paco Lopez,” said Cox. “So I feel comfortable with the set up. If all goes well and he gets a good, clean trip he will definitely be a factor.

“Bal Harbour is obviously a nice horse. Pirate's Punch is a nice horse as well. It's not a big field but it's a very competitive race. It's a group of horses that are very well matched.”

Bal Harbour, who has competed in graded stakes company his last eight starts, is trained by Gregg Sacco, who also supplemented multiple Grade 1 winner Mind Control to the race. Sacco said a decision on whether Mind Control will go in the Iselin Stakes will be made on Friday. The 4-year-old colt has tried two turns just once in his 14-race career, finishing seventh in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile in 2018.

“He's ready if that's the direction the owners want to go,” Sacco said.

Mind Control last raced in the Grade 1 Vanderbilt at six furlongs at Saratoga on July 25, finishing third.

Warrior's Charge, owned by Ten Strike Racing and Madaket Stables, will ship to Monmouth Park from Churchill Downs on Friday morning, Cox said, with the trainer's 21-year-old son Bryson handling the horse when he arrives in New Jersey.

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Sprint Star Battaash Chasing Repeat Victory In Friday’s Nunthorpe Stakes

Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum's Battaash (IRE) is set to take on seven rivals as he bids to repeat last year's win in the 5-furlong Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes (G1) at York on Friday. The Nunthorpe Stakes winner will receive an automatic berth into the US$1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1) through the international Breeders' Cup Challenge Series.

The Breeders' Cup Challenge is a series of stakes races whose winners receive automatic starting positions and fees paid into a corresponding race of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which is scheduled to be held at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., on Nov. 6-7.

Battaash, now a 6-year-old, has been better than ever in 2020, gaining a first success at Royal Ascot in the King's Stand Stakes (G1) before setting a new track record when winning the Qatar King George Stakes (G2) at Goodwood for the fourth year in a row. Sheikh Hamdan's retained rider, Jim Crowley, will again be in the saddle.

Battaash's trainer, Charlie Hills, enjoyed Breeders' Cup success with Chriselliam (IRE) in the 2013 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) and has been delighted with his stable star in the three weeks since Goodwood.

Hills said: “He came out of his Goodwood run in good shape, and we're happy with where we are with him at the moment. Goodwood was a great day, but this game moves on pretty quickly, so you have to come back down to earth. York is a fast track, which obviously suits him.”

The two 3-year-olds in the race, Art Power (IRE) and A'Ali (IRE), are expected to provide the toughest opposition. Art Power, trained locally by Tim Easterby and ridden by former champion jockey Silvestre De Sousa, has won his last four starts, including the Coolmore Sioux Nation Lacken Stakes (G3) in Ireland last month.

A'Ali, a contender in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2) last year, won for the fifth time at Group 2 level last month, capturing the Holden Plant Rentals Sapphire Stakes (G2) at the Curragh. The Society Rock (IRE) colt is trained by the father and son team of Simon and Ed Crisford and ridden by William Buick.

Moss Gill (IRE) and Que Amoro (IRE), first and third in the listed John Smith's City Walls Stakes over course and distance last time out, re-oppose, while others lining up at York and looking to earn their place at this year's Breeders' Cup are the Kevin Ryan-trained Emaraaty Ana (GB), veteran sprinter Ornate (GB) and the outsider of the field, Kurious (GB).

As part of the benefits of the Challenge series, the Breeders' Cup will pay the entry fees for the winner of the Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes to start in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, which will be run at 5 1/2 furlongs over the Keeneland turf course. Breeders' Cup also will provide a travel allowance of $40,000 for all starters based outside of North America to compete in the World Championships. The Challenge winner must already be nominated to the Breeders' Cup program or it must be nominated by the Championships' pre-entry deadline of Oct. 26 to receive the rewards.

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Keeneland Releases Fall Condition Book, Will Card Eight Undercard Stakes At Breeders’ Cup

Keeneland has released the Condition Book for both its 2020 Fall Meet from Oct. 2-24 and the undercard stakes to be run during the Nov. 6-7 Breeders' Cup World Championships.

Click here for the Condition Book.

During the 17-day Fall Meet, Keeneland will present 18 stakes worth a total of $4,775,000. The season opens with the prestigious Fall Stars Weekend. A total of 10 Fall Meet stakes are “Win and You're In” events, part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge series of automatic qualifying races for the World Championships.

As the host site for the Breeders' Cup, Keeneland has carded an additional eight undercard stakes worth $1 million to be held in conjunction with the World Championships.

Keeneland 2020 Breeders' Cup Undercard Stakes Schedule: Nov. 6-7

Date	Stakes	Division	Distance
Nov. 6	$100,000 Nyquist	2YO	6½ Furlongs
Nov. 6	$100,000 Songbird	2YO Fillies	6½ Furlongs
Nov. 6	$100,000 Bryan Station	3YOs	1 1/8 Miles (T)
Nov. 6	$150,000 McConnell Springs	3YO & Up, F&M	6 Furlongs
Nov. 6	$200,000 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G2) (formerly Marathon)	3YOs & Up	1 5/8 Miles
Nov. 7	$150,000 Lafayette Presented by Keeneland Select	3YO & Up	7 Furlongs
Nov. 7	$100,000 Perryville	3YO	6 Furlongs
Nov. 7	$100,000 Qatar Fort Springs	3YO Fillies	6 Furlongs

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