Two Keeneland stakes winners receive fees for Breeders' Cup races

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The winners of the off-the-turf Shadwell Turf Mile and Bourbon Stakes at Keeneland last weekend both will still receive a credit for entry fees into Breeders’ Cup races even though the races automatically lost their Win and You’re In designation after being moved to the main track, Breeders’ Cup officials said Friday.

Breeders’ Cup officials said that it was decided to award the credits to the two winners of the races because no horses in either race scratched as a result of the surface change and because both races were awarded their original grades after a review by the American Graded Stakes Committee. However, the horses will not receive automatic berths to the Breeders’ Cup and will still need to draw into the races under the existing points-based qualifying system or by vote of an expert panel.

The decision means that Silver Max, winner of the Shadwell Turf Mile, will be credited with $40,000 in entry fees if the makes it into the field of the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Poker Player, winner of the Bourbon, will be credited with $20,000 in entry fees to run in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile or Juvenile Turf.

Since 2007, Breeders’ Cup has designated dozens of races as Win and You’re In Breeders’ Cup Challenge events in which the winner is awarded an automatic berth in a specific Breeders’ Cup race. The system was later amended to include credits for entry fees as well. Under the system, any race moved off its original surface loses its Win and You’re In designation.