The upcoming weekend in horse racing is packed with important races on the road to the 41^st annual Breeders’ Cup World Championships, with six Challenge Series “Win and You’re In” preps scheduled Sept. 28-29. Santa Anita Park in California  hosts its first big-event card, the California Crown, with two Challenge Series races scheduled, while three will be held at Belmont at the Big A (Aqueduct) in New York and one at Churchill Downs in Kentucky. Del Mar is the host for the 2024 Breeders’ Cup, set for Nov. 1-2.

In addition to the Challenge Series races, several other stakes are on the weekend calendar that have been historically significant in sending participants on to excel at the Breeders’ Cup, led by the historic Woodward Stakes and the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes.

Read on for an overview of the upcoming “Win and You’re In” qualifiers and other key races.

California Crown Stakes Presented by SirDavis American Whisky

Where: Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, Calif.

When: Saturday, Sept. 28

How to watch: FanDuel TV

“Win and You’re In” for: Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic

Mucho Macho Man in 2013. (BENOIT photo)

Why it’s important: This 1 1/8-mile race is the final West Coast prep for the $7 million Longines Classic, and leading contenders based in California have often used it to tune up for the big race going all the way back to the 1980s (it was named the Goodwood Stakes until 2012 and then the Awesome Again Stakes until its rebranding for 2024). Five horses have won both races in the same year – Ferdinand (1987), Tiznow (2000), Pleasantly Perfect (2003), Mucho Macho Man (2013), and Accelerate (2018) – and several other Awesome Again winners have trained on to hit the board in the Classic.

Best winner during the Breeders’ Cup era: Hall of Famer Tiznow gets the edge among the strong fivesome listed above as he won the Awesome Again and Breeders’ Cup Classic as a 3-year-old in 2000. The Jay Robbins-trained son of Cee’s Tizzy posted hard-fought wins in both races, defeating Captain Steve by a half-length at Santa Anita and then Europe’s “Iron Horse” Giant’s Causeway by a neck in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs. Tiznow then became the only back-to-back winner of the Classic in 2001 when he outfought another European star, Sakhee, at Belmont Park.

2024 field: Bob Baffert holds the all-time win record in this race with eight, and he’s got two leading contenders among his three entrants lined up for Saturday’s race in 4-year-old multiple Grade 1 winner National Treasure and 3-year-old Muth. Muth missed some races and training time due to injury but returned with a sharp win in a listed stakes Sept. 1 at Del Mar and appears to be rounding into his best form. Baffert's third entrant is Grade 1 winner Newgate.

Vosburgh Stakes

Where: Aqueduct, Queens, N.Y.

When: Saturday, Sept. 28 

How to watch: FS2

“Win and You’re In” for: Breeders’ Cup Sprint

Why it’s important: The Vosburgh was held at six furlongs from 2004 through 2021 before being switched back to seven-eighths of a mile in 2022. Regardless of distance, it is a marquee race for sprinters and has a long influence on the Breeders’ Cup. While only two horses have won the Vosburgh and Breeders’ Cup Sprint in the same year – Artax in 1999 and Elite Power in 2022 – five also-rans in the Vosburgh rebounded to earn victories in the Sprint weeks later. In addition, the 2003 Vosburgh winner was stretched out in the next season by trainer Bobby Frankel and became one of the best horses of this century, shining brightest at Lone Star Park when winning the 2004 Breeders’ Cup Classic. His name: Ghostzapper.

Best winner during the Breeders’ Cup era: If strictly reserved for Vosburgh winners who next won the race they earned a bid for – the BC Sprint – then Elite Power narrowly edges Artax based on his better career record (9-for-13 vs. 7-for-25) and the fact that he came back to win another BC Sprint in 2023 (after skipping the Vosburgh). However … last year’s Vosburgh winner truthfully takes top honors despite using the race as a springboard to another Breeders’ Cup event. Cody’s Wish went off as an overwhelming 0.15-1 favorite in the Vosburgh despite having finished third in his prior race, the Whitney Stakes, and despite breaking slowly, he validated those odds with a facile 1 ½-length win. That set the fan favorite up for a repeat bid in the Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile Nov. 4 at Santa Anita, where he outfinished National Treasure for an emotional victory celebrated by the Dorman family and many, many more. Cody’s Wish was voted 2023 Horse of the Year at the Eclipse Awards two months later.

2024 field: Hall of Famer Bill Mott, trainer of Cody’s Wish, is represented by two starters in the seven-horse field for Saturday’s Vosburgh: Baby Yoda and Scotland.

Ack Ack Stakes

Where: Churchill Downs, Louisville, Ky.

When: Saturday, Sept. 28

How to watch: FanDuel TV

“Win and You’re In” for: Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile

Why it’s important: The Ack Ack, held at a one-turn mile at Churchill, was added to the Challenge Series in 2022. Since its first running in 1991, very few Ack Ack runners have gone on to compete with distinction at the Breeders’ Cup. One that did was $3.4 million earner Seeking the Soul, who won the Ack Ack by 1 ¼ lengths in 2018 and then, a little more than a month later, ran again under the Twin Spires and finished second to City of Light in the Dirt Mile for trainer Dallas Stewart.

2024 field: A group of seven is entered in Saturday’s Ack Ack, part of a “Downs After Dark” evening card. Saudi Crown is the morning-line favorite at 4-5 odds coming in off of a blazing 1 ¾-length win in a listed stakes Aug. 11 at Ellis Park.

City of Hope Mile Stakes Presented by MyRacehorse

Where: Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, Calif.

When: Saturday, Sept. 28

How to watch: FanDuel TV

“Win and You’re In” for: FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile Presented by PDJF

Why it’s important: The City of Hope Mile Stakes was added to the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series this year, replacing the Shoemaker Mile held at Santa Anita Park in late spring. The race was a major steppingstone to the World Championships 20-25 years ago but has lost much of its luster in recent years. Turf stars Silic, War Chant, and Val Royal won this race and then the BC Mile in 1999, 2000, and 2001, back when the City of Hope was called the Oak Tree Breeders’ Cup Mile Stakes. More recently, Obviously won the City of Hope Mile in 2012 and then the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint a year later.

2024 field: Saturday’s renewal shapes up as a great race for bettors and fans, with several accomplished horses entered, including Johannes (unbeaten in three starts this year, all graded stakes) and Trikari (who’s won three graded stakes in 2024 and ships west for trainer Graham Motion).

Pilgrim Stakes and Miss Grillo Stakes

Where: Aqueduct, Queens, N.Y.

When: Saturday, Sept. 28 (Pilgrim) and Sunday, Sept. 29 (Miss Grillo)

How to watch: FS2

“Win and You’re In” for: Prevagen Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (Pilgrim) and John Deere Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (Miss Grillo)

Hard to Justify (Eclipse Sportswire)

Why they’re important: These two turf races for juveniles have been extraordinarily influential on the World Championships over the past 15 or so years. Three males have won both the Pilgrim and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf in the same calendar year – Oscar Performance (2016), Structor (2019), and Fire At Will (2020). Fillies exiting the Miss Grillo have done even better, with five dual winners: Maram (2008), Lady Eli (2014), New Money Honey (2016), Newspaperofrecord (2018), and Hard to Justify (2023). All five of those fillies were trained by Chad Brown, and Maram provided Brown with the first of what is currently 18 Breeders’ Cup wins.

Best winners during the Breeders’ Cup era: Oscar Performance has the edge among Pilgrim winners as he trained on to win five more graded stakes in his career for trainer Brian Lynch, including three Grade 1 races. And on the Distaff side, it’s clearly Lady Eli. That fan favorite won six races in a row to start her career (the Miss Grillo and Juvenile Fillies Turf were numbers two and three) but then was sidelined for more than a year and nearly lost her life when developing laminitis. Amazingly, Lady Eli returned in summer 2016 and won four more stakes races into fall 2017, including three Grade 1s, while also finishing second by a nose to Queen’s Trust in the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

Last year’s results: Pilgrim winner Agate Road finished a solid fifth, defeated by 2 ½ lengths, in the BC Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita, but Miss Grillo winner Hard to Justify did much better than that for the abovementioned Chad Brown. The daughter of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify posted a game half-length win in the Miss Grillo and then won the Juvenile Fillies Turf by the same margin, with Flavien Prat in the irons for both races.

Other notable races:

In addition to the official “Win and You’re In” preps on the calendar, a handful of other graded stakes slated for this weekend have had a major impact on results in the Breeders’ Cup. Chief among them is Saturday’s historic Woodward Stakes, which was held at Saratoga for most of this century before moving to Belmont Park in 2021 and then temporarily to Aqueduct as part of the Belmont at the Big A meet in 2022. Five horses have won the 1 1/8-mile Woodward and the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic in the same year: Alysheba in 1988, Cigar in 1995, Ghostzapper in 2004, Saint Liam in 2005 and Gun Runner in 2017. Not coincidentally, each of them was voted Horse of the Year. In addition, two other greats won the Woodward and BC Classic in different years, Skip Away and Curlin. Those illustrious names are a brief indication of how significant this race has been in determining year-end honors in Thoroughbred racing.

War Like Goddess wins 2023 Hirsch. (Chelsea Durand/NYRA)

Although it’s not a Challenge Series race, the 1 ½-mile Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes at Belmont at the Big A has been arguably the most important domestic prep race for the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf since the World Championships launched in 1984. Six, count ’em, six horses have won both races in the same year, starting with Manila in 1986 and followed by Theatrical in 1987, Tikkanen in 1994, Illinois-bred Buck’s Boy in 1998, English Channel in 2007, and Main Sequence in 2014. Other Joe Hirsch winners have certainly made their mark on the World Championships without winning a marquee race, including current star War Like Goddess. That popular racemare trained by Bill Mott has won the past two editions of the Joe Hirsch Classic and has run well twice in three Breeders’ Cup starts, finishing third in the 2021 Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf and third in the 2022 Longines Turf. She’s still going strong at age 7 and aims for a three-peat in the Hirsch this Saturday, which would be the first in this race’s history.

Among the remaining graded stakes on tap for this weekend, Kotashaan and Northern Spur won Santa Anita’s California Crown John Henry Turf Championship Stakes Presented by 1/ST BET and the Longines Turf in the same year, back in 1993 and 1995, respectively. Kotashaan was named the Horse of the Year for his 1993 campaign.

The California Crown Eddie D Stakes Presented by FanDuel, a grass sprint at Santa Anita that occasionally sends horses to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, was won three times in four years by California Flag (2008, 2009, 2011). California Flag won the ’09 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint as well, and Stormy Liberal became the second horse to pull off the Eddie D-Turf Sprint double in 2018, taking the latter race for the second consecutive year.

Two graded stakes this held Sunday at Santa Anita – the Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes Presented by Estrella Jalisco and the Zenyatta Stakes – were removed from the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series in 2022. Still, they have a long intertwined history with the championship event. Five horses have pulled off the Santa Anita Sprint-BC Sprint double: Cardmania (1993), Elmhurst (1997), Kona Gold (2000), Amazombie (2011), and back-to-back winner Roy H (2017 and 2018). 

The Zenyatta Stakes was named the Lady’s Secret Stakes until 2012, when it was changed to honor a three-time-winner from 2008-’10 who also won the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (Distaff) in 2008, the BC Classic in 2009, and was runner-up in the Classic in 2010. That mare, of course, is Hall of Famer Zenyatta, and she’s one of four fillies or mares to win both the Lady’s Secret and Distaff in the former race’s history. The others are Hollywood Wildcat in this race’s inaugural year of 1993, followed by Hall of Famers Azeri in 2002 and Beholder in 2013. Like Zenyatta, Beholder won three consecutive editions of this race from 2013-’15. She finished second to Stellar Wind in her fourth start in the Zenyatta during fall 2016 before winning a second Distaff weeks later over Songbird in one of the most exciting finishes of this century.

Finally, Saturday’s Lukas Classic Stakes at Churchill Downs, named after the legendary trainer known as “The Coach,” was the final prep for the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2021 for Knicks Go, who had already won the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes and Whitney Stakes earlier in the year for trainer Brad Cox. Knicks Go won the 1 1/8-mile Lukas Classic by an easy four lengths and then pulled off a near-repeat effort against tougher competition in the Longines Classic at Del Mar, romping by 2 ¾ lengths. He was an easy choice as Horse of the Year and champion older dirt male among Eclipse Award voters.