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Preakness Qualifier: Dean Martini, Mischevious Alex Top Nominees To Federico Tesio Stakes

Dean Martini and South Bend, the top two finishers from the Ohio Derby (G3), multiple Grade 3 winner Mischevious Alex and a quartet from seven-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher are among 20 horses nominated to the $100,000 Federico Tesio Monday, Sept. 7 at Laurel Park.

The 1 1/8-mile Tesio for 3-year-olds, a 'Win and In' event for Triple Crown-nominated horses to the 145th Preakness Stakes (G1) Oct. 3 at Pimlico Race Course, is one of nine stakes worth $900,000 in purses to be contested over Laurel's Preakness Prep Weekend that includes four stakes on Kentucky Derby (G1) Day, Saturday, Sept. 5, drawing a total of 218 nominations.

Two starts after being claimed for $50,000, Dean Martini upset the Ohio Derby at odds of 14-1, holding off late-running South Bend by three-quarters of a length. Dean Martini returned to run sixth in the Ellis Park Derby Aug. 9, while South Bend was purchased privately and finished fourth in the 1 ¼-mile Travers (G1) Aug. 8 at Saratoga.

Cash is King and LC Racing's Mischevious Alex won the seven-furlong Swale (G3) at Gulfstream Park and one-mile Gotham (G3) at Aqueduct over the winter but has finished off the board in his two most recent starts, both at seven-eighths – the Woody Stephens (G1) June 20 and H. Allen Jerkens (G1) Aug. 1.

Among Pletcher's nominees are Oaklawn Stakes runner-up Farmington Road, on the Triple Crown trail earlier this year and allowance winner over the Colonial Downs turf last out July 29; Happy Saver, a son of Pletcher's 2010 Derby winner Super Saver that debuted June 20 at Belmont and is unbeaten in two starts; and Money Moves, also unraced at 2 who won suffered his first career loss in a 1 1/8-mile optional claiming allowance July 25 at Saratoga.

Also on the special Labor Day holiday program Sept. 7 is the $100,000 Weber City Miss for 3-year-old fillies going about 1 1/16 miles, a 'Win and In' qualifier for the $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G2) on the Preakness undercard.

A total of 27 horses were nominated to the Weber City Miss led by 2019 Spinaway (G1) winner Perfect Alibi, who finished behind likely Kentucky Oaks (G1) favorite Gamine in each of her last two starts, most recently the Aug. 8 Test (G1) at Saratoga; Project Whiskey, 38-1 winner of the Delaware Oaks (G3) July 4; and Bella Aurora, winner of Laurel's seven-furlong Gin Talking last December.

Three grass stakes, which drew a total of 93 nominations, will also be run Sept. 7. Most popular among horsemen was the $100,000 All Along for fillies and mares 3 and up at 1 1/8 miles with 35 nominees including graded-stakes winners Secret Message, Theodora B. and Varenka and graded-stakes placed Beautiful Lover and Feel Glorious.

Pewter Stable's Dubini is nominated to defend his title in the $100,000 Laurel Dash for 3-year-olds and up sprinting 5 ½ furlongs on the turf and is joined by fellow stakes winners Introduced, Just Might, Regally Irish, Shekky Shebaz, Smooth B, Texas Wedge and Wet Your Whistle along with the 10-year-olds Oak Bluffs, a 21-time career winner trained by Mary Eppler, and 2013 Mr. Prospector (G3) winner Singanothersong.

The $100,000 Henry S. Clark at 1 1/16 miles for 3-year-olds and up drew 32 nominees, among them Isabelle Haskell de Tomaso's defending champion Irish Strait; graded-stakes winners Doctor Mounty, Golden Brown, Monongahela and Olympico; and veterans John Jones and O Dionysus, stakes winners on both turf and dirt.

John Jones and Monongahela are also nominated to the $100,000 Deputed Testamony, a 1 1/16-mile event for 3-year-olds and up on the main track that returns to stakes calendar Sept. 5 for the first time since 2008. Other nominees include multiple stakes winners Cordmaker and Someday Jones, Grade 3 winner Name Changer and impressive recent Laurel allowance winner Top Line Growth.

Grade 3 winners Bellera, Golden Award and Horologist and stakes winners Another Broad, Artful Splatter, Gotham Gala, Meadow Dance and Tasting the Stars are among nominees to the Deputed Testamony's female counterpart, the $100,000 Twixt, won in 2019 by retired 2019 Barbara Fritchie (G3) winner Late Night Pow Wow.

The Sept. 5 stakes are rounded out by a pair of six-furlong dirt sprints, the $100,000 Polynesian for 3-year-olds and up led by stakes-winning stablemates Laki and Taco Supream, and $100,000 Alma North for fillies and mares 3 and older, topped by 12-time stakes winner Anna's Bandit and fellow multiple stakes winner Hello Beautiful.

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Breeders’ Cup Announces Schedule Of 44 Challenge Races Over Next Two Months

Led by the 145th Preakness Stakes (G1), the Irish Champion Stakes (G1) and Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1), a total of 44 automatic berths into the 37th Breeders' Cup World Championships will be up for grabs over the next two months as Breeders' Cup Ltd. today released its schedule of Breeders' Cup Challenge Series races for September and October.

The Breeders' Cup Challenge, now in its 14th year, is an international series of stakes races whose winners receive automatic starting positions and fees paid for a corresponding race in the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which is scheduled to be held on Nov. 6-7 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

“Win and You're In” qualifiers will be contested in Brazil, Canada, England, Ireland, France and the U.S. over the September-October time frame, including 27 Grade or Group 1 stakes.

Among the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series racing highlights are:

Three “Win and You're In” automatic qualifiers for the $7 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), featuring the 145th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico for 3-year-olds on Oct. 3, the first Triple Crown race to be in the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series. Bookended around the 1 3/16-mile Preakness are the 1 1/8-mile Awesome Again Stakes (G1) on Sept. 26 at Santa Anita Park and the 1 ¼-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Belmont Park on Oct. 10.
Five Challenge Series races in Ireland on Sept. 12-13 during Irish Champions Weekend. There will be three races at Leopardstown on Sept. 12: the 1 ¼-mile Irish Champion Stakes (G1) for an automatic position in the $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1), the 1-mile Coolmore America 'Justify' Matron Stakes (G1), giving the winner a free position into the $2 million Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1), and the 1-mile KPMG Champions Juvenile Stakes (G2), awarding the winner an automatic qualifying spot into the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1). On Sept. 13 at The Curragh, automatic berths will be contested in the 5-furlong Derrinstown Stud Flying Five Stakes (G1) for a “Win and You're In” into the $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1), and the 7-furlong Moyglare Stud Stakes (G1) giving the winner a free berth into the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1).
Woodbine in Toronto will host three “Win and You're In” turf races, beginning on Sept. 19 with the 1-mile Ricoh Woodbine Mile (G1) for a free slot into the gate of the $2 million FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile presented by PDJF (G1). The following day (Sept. 20), the 1-mile Natalma Stakes (G1) will give the winner an automatic starting position in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1), and the 1-mile Summer Stakes (G1) will offer a “Win and You're In” spot for the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. NBCSN will televise the Ricoh Woodbine Mile on Sept. 19, and the Natalma Stakes and the Summer Stakes on Sept. 20 as a part of the “Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In – presented by America's Best Racing.”
In addition to the Awesome Again, Santa Anita will be home to six more “Win and You're In” races, starting on Sept. 19 with the 5 ½-furlong Speakeasy Stakes. The Speakeasy winner will receive a free berth into the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2). The Sept. 26 card will feature the 1 1/16-mile American Pharoah Stakes (G1) for an automatic starting position into the $2 million TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1), the 1 1/16-mile Chandelier Stakes (G2) for a free qualifying spot into the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), and the 1 ¼-mile Rodeo Drive Stakes (G1) (Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf). On Sept. 27, Santa Anita will run the 6-furlong Santa Anita Sprint Championship (G2), a “Win and You're In” for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) and the 1 1/16-mile Zenyatta Stakes (G2) with the winner earning an automatic slot in the $2 million Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1).
Brazil will host its Breeders' Cup Challenge Series race on Sept. 27 with the 1 ½-mile Grande Premio Brasil (G1) at Hipodromo da Gavea in Rio de Janeiro for an automatic starting position into the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf.
There will be nine Breeders' Cup Challenge races during Keeneland's Fall Stars Weekend on Oct. 2-4. Those races include five Grade 1 events: the 1 1/16-mile Darley Alcibiades (Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies) on Oct. 2, the 1 1/16-mile Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance), the 1-mile Shadwell Turf Mile (FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile presented by PDJF), the 1-mile First Lady presented by UK Healthcare (Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf) on Oct. 3, and the 1 1/8-mile Juddmonte Spinster Stakes (G1) (Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff) on Oct. 4. NBCSN will provide live coverage of Breeders' Cup Challenge races at Keeneland on Oct. 2 and Oct. 4 as a part of the “Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In – presented by America's Best Racing.” NBC also will air coverage from Keeneland on Oct. 3 during its Preakness Stakes broadcast.
On Oct. 4 at ParisLongchamp in France, there will be five Group 1 Breeders' Cup Challenge races, led by the 1 ½-mile Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Longines Breeders' Cup Turf), along with the 5-furlong Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp Longines (Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint), the 1 ¼-mile Prix de l'Opéra Longines (Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf), the 7-furlong Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère (Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf) and the 1-mile Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac (Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf).
The 2020 Breeders' Cup Challenge Series will conclude on Oct. 10 with five races at Belmont Park. In addition to the Jockey Club Gold Cup, there will be the 1-mile Champagne (G1) (TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance), the 1-mile Frizette (G1) (Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies), the 1 ¼-mile Flower Bowl (G1) (Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf) and the 6-furlong Futurity (G3), (Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint).

The complete Breeders' Cup Challenge Series schedule can be accessed here.

As part of the enhanced benefits to horsemen competing in the series, Breeders' Cup will pay the entry fees and guarantee a starting position in a corresponding Championships race for winners of all Challenge races. The Challenge winner must be nominated to the Breeders' Cup program by the Championships' pre-entry deadline of Oct. 26 to receive the rewards, and those rewards must be used in the year they are earned.

Breeders' Cup also will provide a $10,000 travel allowance for starters within North America that are stabled outside of Kentucky, and a $40,000 travel stipend to the connections of all Championship starters from outside of North America.

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Preakness Stakes To Offer Automatic Starting Position In Breeders’ Cup Classic

Officials of the Breeders' Cup and The Stronach Group today announced that the winner of the 145th Preakness Stakes (G1) for 3-year-olds on Oct. 3 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore will earn an automatic starting position into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). The announcement marks the first time that a Triple Crown race will be a part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series.

The Breeders' Cup Challenge is an international series of stakes races whose winners receive automatic starting positions and fees paid into corresponding races of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, scheduled to be held this year on Nov. 6-7 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. The $7 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, contested at 1 ¼ miles, will be run on Saturday, Nov. 7.

Both the Preakness, run at 1 3/16 miles, and the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, will be broadcast live on NBC.

“We are delighted to join The Stronach Group and the Maryland Jockey Club in welcoming the Preakness to this year's Breeders' Cup Challenge Series, and that we will be able to provide the winning connections with an added incentive to run in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic,” said Drew Fleming, Breeders' Cup President and CEO. “As a foundation race of the Triple Crown, and the premier event in the proud history of Maryland racing, we look forward to working together with The Stronach Group, and our partners at NBC Sports, to promote an exciting fall season for Thoroughbred racing.”

“The events of 2020 have for all of us been about responding to unforeseen challenges and making the best of them,” said Craig Fravel, Chief Executive Officer, Racing Operations, 1/ST. “Many of those challenges including the changes to the Triple Crown have been unwelcome but becoming part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series is most welcome and a fitting finale to the three-year-old season as the horses and their connections make their way to Baltimore for the last leg of the Triple Crown. We look forward to hosting the best of America's three-year-old horses on October 3 at the Preakness and to enjoying their success thereafter in the Breeders' Cup Classic.”

“With terrific racing ahead, we're excited that the two biggest events of the fall months will be further connected with the Preakness Stakes winner earning a coveted berth in the Breeders' Cup Classic,” said Jon Miller, President of Programming for NBC and NBCSN.

Due to scheduling changes caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Preakness date was shifted from May 16 to Oct. 3, and will be run as the third jewel of the 2020 Triple Crown. This year's Triple Crown began on June 20 with the Belmont Stakes (G1), won by Tiz the Law, at Belmont Park, and will be followed by the Kentucky Derby (G1), which will be run on Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs.

Four Preakness winners have won the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic. In 2015, American Pharoah swept the Triple Crown and the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland to become racing's first “Grand Slam” winner. Preakness winners Sunday Silence (1989), Alysheba (1987) and Curlin (2007) also won the Classic. Alysheba captured the Classic in 1988.

As part of the benefits of the Challenge series, the Breeders' Cup will pay the $150,000 in entry fees for the Preakness winner to start in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, which is limited to 14 starters. Breeders' Cup also will provide a travel allowance of $10,000 for all North American starters based outside of Kentucky to compete in the World Championships. The Preakness 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.

There are six horses who have thus far earned automatic starting positions into this year's Longines Breeders' Cup Classic through the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Mozu Ascot, winner of the February Stakes (G1) at Tokyo Racecourse on Feb. 23; Tom's d'Etat, who took the Stephen Foster Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs on June 27; Authentic, winner of the TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1) at Monmouth Park on July 18; Improbable, who won the Whitney (G1) at Saratoga Race Course on Aug. 1; Ghaiyyath (IRE), winner of the Juddmonte International Stakes (G1) at York on Aug. 19 in Great Britain and Maximum Security, who won the TVG Pacific Classic (G1) at Del Mar on Aug. 22.

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Black-Eyed Susan Added to Preakness Day Card

The $250,000 GII Black-Eyed Susan S., traditionally run the day before the GI Preakness S., will join the Oct. 3 Preakness day card at Pimlico this year. The $250,000 GIII Pimlico Special will be held Oct. 2.

The $100,000 Weber City Miss, to be contested at 1 1/16 miles Sept. 7 at Laurel Park, will once again serve as a ‘Win and In’ race for the Black-Eyed Susan, offering automatic entry for the winner. Also on Laurel’s Labor Day card, the Federico Tesio S. will serve as a ‘Win and In’ event for Triple Crown-nominated horses to the Preakness.

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