National Treasure (Pegasus World Cup) will go up against White Abarrio, above, (Breedes’ Cup Classic) in the Met Mile. (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire)
Ogden Phipps, Jaipur, and Met Mile at Saratoga Launch 2024 Domestic Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series
Winners Earn Free Berths into World Championships at Del Mar
Breeders’ Cup
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. ― Automatic starting positions for the 2024 Breeders’ Cup World Championships will be on the line in three Grade 1 races on the spectacular June 8 Belmont Stakes Day program at historic Saratoga Race Course as the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win and You’re in makes its 2024 U.S. debut.
The Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series consists of 82 graded stakes races in 12 countries, the winners of which receive automatic starting positions and fees paid into a corresponding race at the World Championships, which will be held Nov. 1-2 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, California.
This far in 2024, automatic qualifying races for the World Championships have been held in South Africa, Japan, Argentina, and Chile. Saturday’s races at Saratoga begin the first of 41 Challenge Series races to be held in the U.S.
The three Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series races on the Belmont Stakes Day program are as follows: The $500,000 Ogden Phipps presented by Ford (G1) at 1 1/8 miles on the main track (Race #7, 2:36 p.m. ET, FS1); $500,000 Jaipur Presented by Resolute Racing (G1) at 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf (Race 9, 4:08 p.m., FOX); and the $1 million Hill ‘N’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap (G1) at 1 mile on the main track (Race 10, 4:52 p.m. FOX).
| Race | Dist. | Age | Division |
| Ogden Phipps Presented by Ford (G1) | 1 1/8 M | 4 YO & UP F&M | Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) |
| Jaipur Presented by Resolute Racing (G1) | 5 1/2 F (T) | 3 YO & UP | Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) |
| Hill ‘N’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap (G1) | 1 M | 3 YO & UP | Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) |
The $500,000 Ogden Phipps Presented by Ford, for fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up, which provides the winner an automatic starting position into the $2 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1), is led by Juddmonte’s 5-year-old mare Idiomatic, who captured the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Sana Anita Park, and by Godolphin’s 4-year-old Pretty Mischievous, the champion 3-year-old filly of 2023.
Godolphin’s formidable duo of Mischief Magic (IRE) and Star of Mystery (GB), both trained by Charlie Appleby, headline the $500,000 Jaipur Stakes presented by Resolute Racing, for 3-year-olds and up. The race winner will earn a free starting position in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1).
The $1 million Hill ‘N’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap (G1), for 3-year-olds and up, gives the winner a free berth into the $1 million Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1). The Met Mile features 2023 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner White Abarrio, for C2 Racing Stable, Prince Faisal bin Khaled bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, and Antonio Pagnano, and National Treasure, winner of the 2022 Preakness Stakes (G1) and second by a nose in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile to Cody’s Wish. National Treasure is owned by SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Robert E. Masterson, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital LLC, and Catherine Donovan.
The 2024 Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win and You’re In schedule can be accessed here.
