When to Go: The Best Fall Racing

Keeneland showcases great racing on Fall Stars Weekend Oct. 3-5. (Photos by Eclipse Sportswire)
Labor Day is a memory and fall is kicking in to high gear, but pumpkin spice lattes and cooler temperatures aren’t the only things we racing fans have to look forward to. September and October are two months of great Thoroughbred racing with the Breeders’ Cup fate of many horses hanging in the balance.
It all culminates with the Breeders’ Cup World Championships on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 at Santa Anita Park.
Saratoga Springs is once again a sleepy resort town as New York racing shifts to Belmont Park, and California fans get to head back to Santa Anita Park in late September. In Kentucky, iconic Keeneland Race Course opens its fall meet on Oct. 3, while Toronto race fans enjoy top-level action at Woodbine. All four tracks will host several Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series “Win and You’re In” events this fall, so now is your chance to see America’s best racehorses before the championship weekend.
Any day at the track is a good one, but read on to find out the best day (or days!) to catch the best racing action.
Sept. 27: Belmont Park and Santa Anita Park
Belmont Park is the stage for a phenomenal day of racing on Sept. 27. The Jockey Club Gold Cup, Flower Bowl Invitational, Joe Hirsch Turf Classic and Vosburgh Invitational Stakes are all Grade 1 events that guarantee the winners a spot in the Breeders’ Cup starting gate. The day also features the Grade 1 Beldame Invitational Stakes and the Grade 2 Kelso Handicap.
BELMONT PARK IS ALWAYS A GREAT DAY OUT

Top older horses Will Take Charge, Palace Malice and Moreno are expected to meet in the Gold Cup, while the Beldame annually features a showdown of top fillies and mares. Belmont hosts two more “Win and You’re In” races on Oct. 4 with the Champagne and Frizette Stakes winners earning their way in to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and Juvenile Fillies, respectively.
Santa Anita Park, host of this year’s Breeders’ Cup World Championships, also has a heck of a race day in store for Sept. 27. “Super Saturday,” as it’s known, includes five Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Challenge races: the Awesome Again, Zenyatta, Rodeo Drive, Chandelier and FrontRunner Stakes. NBC Sports Network will provide live coverage of the big day from New York to California from 5:30 to 8 p.m. ET
Two-time champion Beholder is expected to seek a repeat victory in the Zenyatta, and the Awesome Again is a key prep for Breeders’ Cup Classic hopefuls this year since the races are run on the same track. More to love: undefeated champion Shared Belief is aiming for the Awesome Again. Sprinters will face off for a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship as part of a stakes-filled card on Oct. 4.
Oct. 3-5: Keeneland
Keeneland Race Course, host of the 2015 Breeders’ Cup, unveils its new dirt track for racing when its month-long fall meet opens Oct. 3. Fall Stars Weekend features seven “Win and You’re In” races spread across three days. Two-year-old fillies star in the Darley Alcibiades and sprinters in the Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix Stakes on Friday.
Two-time reigning Horse of the Year Wise Dan is expected to square off with top dirt miler Goldencents in the Shadwell Turf Mile on Saturday, Oct. 4. That day also includes the Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes, a race that has produced the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint for each of the last five years, and the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity for 2-year-olds as Breeders’ Cup Challenge races, plus the Woodford Stakes and the First Lady Stakes. Be sure to tune in to NBC Sports Network from 4:30-6 p.m. ET for coverage of the Oct. 4 card from Keeneland.
WISE DAN AND GOLDENCENTS ARE EXPECTED TO SQUARE OFF AT KEENELAND

The weekend wraps up with leading filly Close Hatches expected to race in the Juddmonte Spinster Stakes and 2-year-old turf specialists competing in the Dixiana Bourbon Stakes on Sunday, Oct. 5. NBC will televise the Oct. 5 card from 5-6 p.m. ET.
Sept. 13-14: Woodbine
Not to be forgotten is our neighbor to the north, Woodbine. The track’s marquee event is the Woodbine Mile Stakes, a $1-million turf event on Sept. 14 that offers the winner a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Mile and annually draws an international field of top turf milers. The day also includes the “Win and You’re In” Canadian Stakes and the Grade 1 Northern Dancer Turf Stakes for a card that will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1 from 5-6:30 p.m. ET.
Preceding the Woodbine Mile on Sept. 13 are the Summer Stakes and Natalma Stakes, guaranteeing the winners a slot in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf and Juvenile Fillies’ Turf, respectively.
Oct. 31-Nov. 1: The Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita
Each of these tracks is a sure bet for a good time with top-class racing and exciting atmospheres perfect for a day out with friends. But let’s not forget the event we’re all waiting for — the Breeders’ Cup! All of the best horses that have competed across the country all year long will finally come together in one place, Santa Anita Park.
THE BREEDERS' CUP IS RACING'S BIGGEST FALL EVENT

Championship Friday is on Halloween this year, when a salty field of fillies and mares is expected for the Distaff and three other Breeders’ Cup races will be contested. NBC Sports Network presents live coverage of Friday’s card from 4-8 p.m. ET.
Nov. 1 features the $5-million Breeders’ Cup Classic and eight other championship races. The main event will be televised from 8-9 p.m. ET on NBC and the eight other championship races will be part of NBC Sports Network’s telecast from 3:30-8 p.m.
Click here for a complete list of upcoming Challenge races, and buckle up for a fantastic two months of horse racing!