The Breeders' Cup, working in conjunction with several major horse racing tracks, have added a bit of spice for 2007 stakes races to guarantee Breeders' Cup berths for each eligible horse that wins on six big stakes days. The "Challenge" races total 24 in total, occurring at six leading racetracks.
The move is marketing-oriented to be sure, hoping to instill an extra sense of excitement for the six "Win and You're In" races. Before this move, horses could only qualify for the Breeders' Cup based on points earned in horse races during the qualifying period, in conjunctions by international thoroughbred experts making selections.
The participating tracks are Saratoga, Santa Anita, Arlington Park, Del Mar, Belmont Park and Keeneland.
The new scheme is meeting with widespread approval among trainers and horse racing enthusiasts. Tom Albertrani, trainer of this year's favorite in the 2006 Breeders' Cup Classic, Bernardini, believes this will affect trainers' racing strategies as well. "We'll probably start targeting different races in different ways based on the new guidelines. It will probably be easier for fans to understand too."
Technorati tag(s): breeders cup
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