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2021 Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series Unveiled

The 2021 Breeders' Cup Challenge Series schedule will consist of 84 automatic qualifying stakes races into the Breeders' Cup World Championships, it was announced Tuesday. This year's series, which includes a record nine “Win and You're In” races for the $6-million GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic division, will take place in 10 countries.

The complete 2021 schedule can be viewed here.

Horses from around the globe will be qualifying through the Challenge Series for the 38th Breeders' Cup World Championships, which is scheduled to be held at Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, California, Nov. 5-6, and will be televised live on NBC and NBCSN.

The Challenge Series, now in its 15th year, will be hosted at many of the world's premier racetracks in Argentina, Canada, Chile, England, France, Ireland, Japan, Peru, South Africa and the United States.

As part of the benefits to horsemen, Breeders' Cup will pay the entry fees and guarantee a starting position in a corresponding Championships race for all Challenge Series race winners. The Challenge winner must be nominated to the Breeders' Cup program by the Championships' pre-entry deadline of Oct. 25 to receive the rewards.

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

In support of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), which was signed into law in the U.S. last December, all Breeders' Cup Challenge races this year will not permit medications to be administered within 24 hours of race day.

“We look forward to the return of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series with horsemen from around the world participating in and taking advantage of the many incentives, such as automatic starting positions and paid entry fees, to qualify for the World Championships,” said Breeders' Cup President and CEO Drew Fleming. “We also thank our international and domestic racetrack partners for their important work and dedication to support the Challenge Series.”

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OBS Fireworks for Gun Runner Colt

The big sales results from the first crop of juveniles by champion Gun Runner (hip 118) continued Tuesday at OBS when a son of the Three Chimneys stallion sold for $850,000 to the bid of bloodstock agent Donato Lanni, acting on behalf of Michael Lund Petersen. The gray juvenile will join the $1.7-million son of Gun Runner purchased by Amr Zedan at last month's Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale in the Southern California barn of trainer Bob Baffert.
“He's a beautiful horse,” Lanni said. “Just a cool horse. He did everything he was asked to do and came out of in really good shape. We are just happy, happy, happy to get him. He was the horse we wanted to go home with.”
Of the colt's final price tag, Lanni said, “It's the same thing every year. We all land on the same horses. There is no stealing. It's tough to buy them.”
The colt, who worked a furlong in :10 flat at last week's under-tack show, is out of graded placed Salamera (Successful Appeal) and was consigned by Barry and Shari Eisaman's Eisaman Equine and was bred by the couple's Eico Ventures.
“Barry does a great job,” Lanni said. “He's a good horseman and I'm happy they bred a nice horse.”
The sale was a highwater mark for an Eisaman homebred.
“He is a wonderful horse and we thought he was going to sell well,” Shari Eisaman said as the couple received congratulations out back. “I was going to be thrilled with $500,000. This is the most I've ever sold a homebred for–the homebreds have paid for the farm, they've paid for everything. Thank the Lord.”
The Eisamans purchased Salamera for $300,000 at the 2016 Keeneland November sale. The 11-year-old mare, who was second in the 2012 GII Adirondack S., has an Uncle Mo yearling and she was bred back to Malibu Moon last year.
“Absolutely,” Eisaman said when asked if the result was extra gratifying with a homebred. “When you own the factory, your mares are working when you're sleeping.”

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Caddo River Targeting Kentucky Derby

Trainer Brad Cox confirmed Tuesday morning that Shortleaf Stable's GI Arkansas Derby runner-up and 'TDN Rising Star' Caddo River (Hard Spun) is being aimed at a start in the GI Kentucky Derby.

“If all goes well after his work on Saturday, we'll run in the Derby,” Cox said. “He came out of the Arkansas Derby in great shape. He's a sound horse who is training well.”

The speedy Caddo River, a blowout front-running winner of the Smarty Jones S., was fifth as the favorite after conceding the early lead to Concert Tour in the GII Rebel S.

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Additional H-2B Visas Soon to be Available During Second Half of Federal Fiscal Year

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of Labor have agreed to offer 22,000 additional H-2B visas to employers for the second half of the federal fiscal year that ends Sept. 30. These visas are used by employers, such as racehorse trainers, who seek seasonal guest workers. They are capped at 66,000 annually, with an even split of 33,000 available for each half of the federal government's fiscal year. The additional visas will be made available later this spring or early summer via a temporary final rule in the Federal Register.

“We are pleased to learn that additional H-2B visas will be available for trainers soon and applaud Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh for this action,” said NTRA President and CEO Alex Waldrop. “At the same time, the NTRA supports relief from the burdensome annual H-2B visa cap through a permanent returning worker exemption and urges both departments to reform the program accordingly, enabling affected employers to stabilize their businesses.”

This past December, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 became law and included a provision that provides the DHS with the discretionary authority to release an additional 64,176 H-2B visas when significant need is demonstrated. The NTRA, through its involvement with the H-2B Workforce Coalition, supports all efforts to make additional visas available to seasonal businesses struggling with labor issues.

The H-2B visa guest worker program is a nonimmigrant visa program used by many industries that need temporary non-agricultural help when domestic workers are unavailable. For the horse racing industry, trainers rely heavily on the H-2B program to fill various backside positions.

Demand for H-2B visas often exceeds their availability and the cap level is quickly reached, leaving employers in need. For the second half of federal fiscal year 2021, DHS announced that by Feb. 12 it had received enough H-2B worker petitions to reach the congressionally mandated cap of 33,000 visas allotted.

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