The “Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win And You’re In – Presented By Lane’s End Farm and America’s Best Racing” telecast will air from site of 2016 World Championships
NEW YORK (June 23, 2016) – The 2016 “Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win and You’re In presented by Lane’s End Farm and America’s Best Racing” continues this Saturday, June 25, live on NBCSN at 8:00 p.m. ET from Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif, with the $500,000 Gold Cup at Santa Anita. The Gold Cup is an automatic qualifier for the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, which will be run at Santa Anita as part of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, Nov. 4-5.
In 2016, the “Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win and You’re In, presented by Lane’s End Farm and America’s Best Racing,” will consist of nine telecasts on NBC and NBCSN and feature 16 “Win And You’re In” races plus other major stakes races on the road to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. The series will also be streamed live on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app. Winners of these Challenge races, which combined offer more than $10 million in purses, automatically qualify for a spot in the Breeders’ Cup.
Saturday’s Gold Cup, a 1 ¼ mile race for 3-year-olds and up, drew an eight horse field. Among the contenders is Tarabilla Farms’ 5-year-old Melatonin, winner of the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) back in March. This front-running gelding, trained by David Hofmans and ridden by Joe Talamo, comes into Saturday’s race off a second-place finish in the Oaklawn Handicap last month. The 5-year-old Hoppertunity, trained by Bob Baffert, has had two impressive races this year, first winning the 1 1/8 mile San Antonio Stakes in February and then a third-place finish to California Chrome in the Dubai World Cup in March.
A deep closer in the field is the 6-year-old Hard Aces, who won last year’s Gold Cup for trainer John Sadler. Another intriguing starter is Fox Hill Farm’s 6-year-old Bal A Bali. Trained by Richard Mandella, Bal a Bali was an established turf star in Brazil earlier in his career, winning, at 1 ¼ miles and three times at 1 ½ miles. He will be making his main track debut on Saturday.
Laffit Pincay III hosts the Gold Cup at Santa Anita telecast, and will be joined by Hall of Fame jockey and analyst Jerry Bailey and reporters Jay Privman and Carolyn Manno.
Putting the spotlight on premier racetracks across the country, the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series began on Belmont Stakes Day, June 11, with outstanding performances by Frosted in the Metropolitan Handicap and Cavorting in the Ogden Phipps from Belmont Park. The series continues in July with live telecasts of American fixtures including the Haskell Invitational from Monmouth Park; several races from Saratoga, including the Travers and Woodward; The Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park; the Shadwell Turf Mile from Keeneland; and the Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita, among others. In addition, several NBC Sports Regional Networks will present replays of select races after their initial telecasts on NBC and NBCSN.
Below is the 2016 “Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win And You’re In” schedule on NBC and NBCSN. Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series races are listed in bold.
| Date/Time (EST) | Network | Event | Track | Challenge/Division |
| Saturday, 6/25; 8-9 PM | NBCSN | The Gold Cup at Santa Anita | Santa Anita Park | Classic |
| Saturday, 6/25; 8-9 PM | NBCSN | TBD Stakes | Santa Anita Park | TBD |
| Saturday, 7/9; 4:30-6 PM | NBC | Belmont Oaks | Belmont Park | F/M Turf |
| Saturday, 7/9; 4:30-6 PM | NBC | Belmont Derby | Belmont Park | Turf |
| Saturday, 7/9; 4:30-6 PM | NBC | Suburban | Belmont Park | Classic |
| Sunday, 7/31; 5-6 PM | NBC | William Hill Haskell Invitational | Monmouth Park | Classic |
| Saturday, 8/27; 4:30-6 PM | NBC | The Travers | Saratoga Race Course | Classic |
| Saturday, 8/27; 4:30-6 PM | NBC | Sword Dancer and “Summer at Saratoga” | Saratoga Race Course | Turf |
| Saturday, 8/27; 4:30-6 PM | NBC | TBD #WinandYoureIn Stakes | Saratoga Race Course | TBD |
| Saturday, 8/27; 4:30-6 PM | NBC | TBD Stakes | Saratoga Race Course | TBD |
| Saturday, 9/3; 5-6 PM | NBCSN | The Woodward | Saratoga Race Course | Classic |
| Saturday, 9/3; 5-6 PM | NBCSN | Spinaway Stakes and “Summer at Saratoga” | Saratoga Race Course | Juvenile Fillies |
| Saturday, 10/1; 5:30-8 PM | NBCSN | Awesome Again plus other Super Saturday races from SA and BEL | Santa Anita | Classic |
| Saturday, 10/8; 5-6 PM | NBC | Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity | Keeneland Race Course | Juvenile |
| Saturday, 10/8; 5-6 PM | NBC | Shadwell Turf Mile | Keeneland Race Course | Mile |
| Saturday, 10/8; 5-6 PM | NBC | The Jockey Club Gold Cup | Belmont Park | Classic |
| Saturday, 10/9; 5-6 PM | NBC | Dixiana Bourbon Stakes | Keeneland Race Course | Juvenile Turf |
| Saturday, 10/9; 5-6 PM | NBC | Juddmonte Spinster Stakes | Keeneland Race Course | Distaff |
About Breeders’ Cup
The Breeders’ Cup administers the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, Thoroughbred racing’s year-end Championships. The Breeders’ Cup also administers the Breeders’ Cup Challenge qualifying series, which provides automatic starting positions into the Championships races. The 2016 Breeders’ Cup World Championships, consisting of 13 (grade I) races and purses totalling $28 million, will be held Nov. 4-5 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., and will be televised live by the NBC Sports Group. Breeders’ Cup press releases appear on the Breeders’ Cup Web site, http://www.breederscup.com. You can also follow the Breeders’ Cup on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, InstaGram and YouTube
About NBC Sports Group
When the Comcast-NBCUniversal transaction was completed in January 2011, the sports assets of the two companies combined to form NBC Sports Group, which serves sports fans 24/7 with premier live events, insightful studio shows, and compelling original programming. The sports media company consists of a unique array of sports assets, including NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, NBCSN (NBC Sports Network), Golf Channel, 10 NBC Sports Regional Networks, NBC Sports Radio and NBC Sports Digital. NBC Sports Group possesses an unparalleled collection of television rights agreements, partnering with some of the most prestigious sports properties in the world: the International Olympic Committee and United States Olympic Committee, the NFL, NHL, NASCAR, PGA TOUR, PGA of America, Royal & Ancient, Churchill Downs, NYRA, Breeders’ Cup, Premier League, Tour de France, French Open, Formula One, IndyCar and many more.
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