Preakness will be 'Win and You're In' for Breeders' Cup Classic

The re-scheduled Preakness Stakes on Oct. 3 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., will be a “Win and You’re In” race for the Breeders’ Cup Classic for the first time this year, Breeders’ Cup has announced.

The Preakness, which this year will be the third leg of the Triple Crown, was one of 44 stakes races scheduled for September and October that Breeders’ Cup said would be part of the organization’s “Win and You’re In” series. The “Win and You’re In” races award the winner a guaranteed, no-fees berth to one of the 14 races held as part of the official two-day Breeders’ Cup program.

In addition to the Preakness, two other races held in the next two months, the Awesome Again Stakes on Sept. 26 at Santa Anita and the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park on Oct. 10 will also award berths in the Classic.

The schedule this year will include five races held in Ireland on Sept. 12-13, including the Irish Champion Stakes (Breeders’ Cup Turf); the Matron Stakes (Filly and Mare Turf); the Champions Juvenile Stakes (Juvenile Turf); the Flying Five Stakes (Turf Sprint); and the Moyglare Stud Stakes (Juvenile Fillies Turf).

Most of the races announced by Breeders’ Cup have been part of the “Win and You’re In” series in previous years. The disruption to racing schedules caused by the coronavirus pandemic has led Breeders’ Cup to announce the “Win and You’re In” stakes on a staggered basis this year.

A full list can be found at www.breederscup.com/challenge-series/full-schedule.