4 races on Dubai World Cup night are Breeders’ Cup qualifiers

The $12 million Dubai World Cup and three other Group 1 races on the April 5 card at Meydan will serve as automatic qualifiers to the Breeders’ Cup, it was announced Sunday.

The 1 1/4-mile feature joins the list of top international races that provide complimentary entry into the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).

The Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1), a qualifier for the Sprint; the Dubai Sheema Classic (G1), a qualifier for the Turf; and the Dubai Turf (G1), a qualifier for Mile (G1) also joined the Breeders’ Cup challenge series schedule.

Horses from around the globe will qualify through the win-and-you’re-in program, now in its 19th year, for the 42nd running of the Breeders’ Cup. Consisting of 14 Grade 1 races run during a two-day festival worth more than $34 million in purses and awards, the 2025 Breeders’ Cup will be held Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 at Del Mar.

Included in the benefits of the arrangement between the Breeders’ Cup and the Dubai Racing Club, the winner of the 2025 Classic will receive an automatic starting position and free entry into the 2026 Dubai World Cup. The 2025 Cup Sprint winner will be given a complimentary starting berth with entry fees paid into next year’s Dubai Golden Shaheen. The Turf winner will take home an automatic starting spot with fees paid for the 2026 Dubai Sheema Classic. The Mile winner will be given an automatic starting position and free entry into next year’s Dubai Turf.

“Breeders’ Cup Limited is very pleased to expand our international Breeders’ Cup challenge series with the addition of the Dubai World Cup, the Dubai Golden Shaheen, the Dubai Sheema Classic and the Dubai Turf,” Breeders’ Cup president and CEO Drew Fleming said. “This partnership with our friends at the Dubai Racing Club speaks to continued progress made toward the global unification of our great sport and rewards international contenders for competing at the highest level. We appreciate the spirit of collaboration and the shared pursuit of excellence that brought this opportunity about and look forward to welcoming four Breeders’ Cup challenge winners from Meydan to Del Mar.”

“The Breeders’ Cup is one of the biggest and most important international meetings on the calendar,” said Sheikh Rashed bin Dalmook Bin Juma al Maktoum, chairman of Dubai Racing Club. “We are delighted to enter into this partnership, allowing four winners from the Breeders’ Cup an automatic place at the Dubai World Cup meeting.

“We thank the Breeders’ Cup team also for expanding their challenge series, which means we will see four winners from Dubai World Cup night compete in America.

“As racing becomes more global, this kind of partnership can only benefit owners and trainers and raise the bar higher when it comes to international competition.”

As part of the benefits of the challenge series, the Breeders’ Cup will pay the entry fees for the winners of the Dubai quartet to start in their respective divisions at Del Mar. The Breeders’ Cup also will provide a travel allowance for all starters based outside North America to compete in the championships. The challenge winner must be nominated to the Breeders’ Cup program by the pre-entry deadline of Oct. 20 to receive the rewards.