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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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Breeders’ Cup ‘Win And You’re In’ Races To Prohibit Lasix

As 2021 kicks off with stakes races being run without Lasix at the leading racetracks and Thoroughbred racing events across the country, including the 2021 World Championships, Breeders' Cup is pleased to announce that this year's “Win and You're In” Challenge Series races will be run without Lasix. Additionally, Graded Stakes points for the purpose of selection into a Breeders' Cup World Championships race will only be awarded in Lasix-free graded stakes races.

As an operator of world-class racing with the highest safety and integrity measures in place, these initiatives are in keeping with Breeders' Cup's efforts to lead by example to move towards elimination of race day medications and to better align the industry with the rest of the world. Breeders' Cup welcomes others to join these efforts to bring the U.S. further in line with international standards.

2020 saw a successful year of 2-year-olds running Lasix-free, including on Future Stars Friday at the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland. In addition, the groundbreaking passage of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), which was signed into law on Dec. 27, 2020, has provided a critical framework for the industry going forward. Under HISA, Lasix-free racing will be the general standard as of July 1, 2022.

“Even before HISA was signed into law, running the World Championships Lasix-free was a goal of Breeders' Cup,” said Drew Fleming, President and CEO of Breeders' Cup Limited. “Extending this standard to all races associated with the Breeders' Cup World Championships will hopefully set an example for other racetracks and stakeholders to embrace forthcoming safety and integrity measures, including the elimination of race day medication, as a new, safer era for our storied sport approaches.”

Aligning Breeders' Cup's year-round “Win and You're In” program with the World Championships by modifying the Field Selection Process and allocation of Challenge Race designations to races that prohibit Lasix further strengthens Breeders' Cup commitment to this effort. The safety of human and equine athletes and the integrity of our sport must always come first, which is why Breeders' Cup, like so many others around the world, supports eliminating Lasix in racing.

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Breen: Breeders’ Cup Sprint Contender Firenze Fire ‘As Honest As They Come’

Mr. Amore Stable's Firenze Fire galloped 1 1/8 miles Thursday morning at Keeneland in preparation for his fourth career Breeders' Cup start in Saturday's Sprint.

The 5-year-old son of Poseidon's Warrior will make his first Breeders' Cup start for trainer Kelly Breen, who accepted him and approximately 20 Mr. Amore Stable runners into his stable last winter from the barn of indicted trainer Jason Servis.

“It took a while for me to see the horse because of the pandemic. I was in Florida. My assistant, John Attfield, sent me pictures and videos to show me how well he looked. I've seen him race before, but it was a while before I laid eyes on him,” said Breen, who recently saddled Firenze Fire's 3-year-old sister, Firenze Freedom for an allowance win at Belmont Park. “He's a nice looking horse. He's got a lot of muscle. He's straightforward. He trains well. He does everything we ask of him.”

Firenze Fire has won two of five starts for Breen with two subpar showings coming over off tracks. He made his first start for Breen with a fourth-place finish in the June 6 Carter Handicap on a sloppy Belmont strip and won his first race for his new trainer three weeks later in the True North over a fast Belmont track. Firenze Fire was beaten two lengths while finishing fourth in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt at Saratoga before running 11th over a sloppy track at Saratoga in the Forego.

“The only bumps in the road I've had with him were on off tracks. He doesn't like the mud,” Breen said. “You throw those couple races out and he's as honest as they come.”

Firenze Fire rebounded from his Forego disappointment with a 2 ¾-length victory in the Vosburgh at Belmont, which was a “Win and You're In' Breeders' Cup Challenge Series race.

“We were extremely excited when he won a 'Win and You're In' because there's no contemplating, because you're going once you've got a 'Win and You're In' under your belt,” Breen said. “He showed that he belonged, and the 'Win and You're In' stamps your ticket to the Breeders' Cup.”

Breen wouldn't have had to contemplate long to determine that Firenze Fire deserves a shot at a Sprint victory Saturday.

“I look at the Thoro-Graphs and the Ragozin sheets. He runs fast. His bounce numbers seem to be on an off track, and his numbers are fast enough to put him in there with this bunch,” he said.

Firenze Fire, who captured the Champagne at two, finished off the board in the 2017 Breeder's Cup Juvenile at Del Mar. He finished fourth in the Dirt Mile at Churchill Downs in 2018 and fifth in the Sprint last year at Santa Anita.

Breen will also be seeking his first Breeders' Cup success after notching third-place finishes with 2011 Belmont Stakes winner Ruler On Ice (2011 Classic) and multiple graded-stakes winner Pants on Fire (2014 Dirt Mile).

“Pants On Fire reminds me of this horse. Pants on Fire didn't win a stakes as a 2-year-old and this horse did, but he won a stakes as a 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7-year-old,” Breen said. “Knowing a little about what it takes to keep a horse going at an older age reminds me a lot about Firenze Fire.”

Jose Lezcano, who was aboard for his Vosburgh score, has the return call aboard Firenze Fire in the Sprint.

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Aunt Pearl Serves Notice With Impressive Stakes Record-Setting Performance In Jessamine

Ensuring she will be one of the favorites in next month's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, Aunt Pearl led from start to finish in a stakes record-setting performance in Wednesday's Grade 2 Jessamine Stakes at Keeneland. The 2-year-old daughter of Lope de Vega shattered the old record of 1:42.21, stopping the clock in 1:40.86 over the firm turf course. Trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Florent Geroux, Aunt Pearl was the 3-2 favorite in the field of 11 fillies.

She defeated runner-up Spanish Loveaffair by 2 1/2 lengths on the wire, earning a fees-paid berth to the Breeders' Cup with her victory.

Aunt Pearl is campaigned by Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, Peter Deutsch, Peter, Michael Kisber, and The Elkstone Group (Stuart Grant).

Sent straight to the lead by Geroux, Aunt Pearl grabbed a two-length advantage in the early going. She set impressive fractions of :22.28 and :46.65, then took a slight breather in the third quarter to allow 8-5 second choice Spanish Loveaffair to close the gap to three-quarters of a length.

Set loose turning for home, Aunt Pearl pulled away from her rivals with ease. Geroux rode her out until about the sixteenth pole, then wrapped up to save something for next month's Breeders' Cup challenge. It was 2 1/2 lengths back to Spanish Loveaffair in second, while Ingrassia and Arm Candy filled out the superfecta.

Bred in Ireland by Ecurie Des Charmes and Ballylinch Stud, Aunt Pearl is out of the Hurricane Run mare Matauri Pearl. The filly was purchased by agent Bradley Weisbord for $358,766 at last fall's Tattersalls October sale, and won on debut at Churchill on Sept. 1. She lived up to that victory by winning the Jessamine, improving her record to two wins from two starts for earnings of over $130,000.

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