QEII Challenge Cup 2026 Betting Preview: Keeneland's Breeders' Cup Build Up Weekend
The Breeders' Cup comes to Keeneland on October 30 and 31, and this weekend gives us our second look at the course that will host it. Saturday's $750,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup brings an 11 filly field to Lexington, including the winners of the Belmont Oaks, the Del Mar Oaks and the King's Plate, plus a raider from France. Friday's Sycamore Stakes and Sunday's Franklin Stakes make it three graded turf stakes in three days.
All eight of Keeneland's Breeders' Cup Win and You're In races ran on opening weekend, so nobody punches a ticket this weekend. What we do get is three weeks' notice of who handles this turf course, and a QEII field that looks like a Breeders' Cup race in its own right.
Keeneland Weekend at a Glance
Keeneland races Wednesday through Sunday during the fall meet, with first post at 1:00pm ET each day. Friday's Sycamore Stakes (G2) runs over 1½ miles on the turf. Saturday's QEII Challenge Cup (G1) is Race 9 with a 5:16pm ET post time. Sunday's Franklin Stakes (G2) is a 5½ furlong turf sprint for fillies and mares, carded as Race 7 at 4:12pm ET.
FS2 and YouTube carry the Friday and Saturday features between 4:00pm and 6:00pm ET, and FS1 picks up Sunday's coverage from 3:30pm to 5:30pm ET.
| Day | Race | Grade | Distance and Surface | Conditions | Post Time (ET) | Purse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Oct 9 | Sycamore Stakes | G2 | 1½m turf | 3yo and up | TBC | $400,000 |
| Sat, Oct 10 | Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup | G1 | 1 1/8m turf | 3yo fillies (invitational) | 5:16pm (Race 9) | $750,000 |
| Sun, Oct 11 | Franklin Stakes | G2 | 5½f turf | Fillies and mares, 3yo and up | 4:12pm (Race 7) | $400,000 |
Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup 2026: Race Details and History
The QEII Challenge Cup runs over 1 1/8 miles on the turf for three year old fillies, and every filly carries 121 pounds. It's an invitational, so the field gets hand picked rather than filled from entries, and Keeneland has already drawn post positions for all 11 runners.
This is the 43rd running. Keeneland first staged the race on October 11, 1984, in honor of Queen Elizabeth II, who attended the races that day during a private visit to Central Kentucky and presented the trophy herself. Champions Dayatthespa and Rushing Fall both won it.
The last two runnings went to Kentucky based fillies. Cherie DeVaux's She Feels Pretty won in 2024, and last year Brendan Walsh's Lush Lips took it under Tyler Gaffalione and paid $19.22 to win. Walsh is back with Turner's Charm, and Gaffalione rides Storm's Wake.
| Post | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Key Form | Morning Line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Haute Diva | Patrick Biancone | Keith Asmussen | Constitution filly, won Cash Run Stakes in January | TBC |
| 2 | Luster | Josie Carroll | John Velazquez | Won King's Plate by 7¼ lengths, Woodbine Oaks, Selene (G3) | TBC |
| 3 | Tam Tam | Phil Bauer | Junior Alvarado | Won Del Mar Oaks (G1) by 1¼ lengths | TBC |
| 4 | Faithful Departed | Grant Forster | Jose Ortiz | Won Regret (G3), 2nd Belmont Oaks (G1), 2nd Saratoga Oaks (G2) | TBC |
| 5 | Turner's Charm | Brendan Walsh | Ben Curtis | Last ran in the Dueling Grounds Oaks | TBC |
| 6 | Braida (FR) | F. H. Graffard | Mickael Barzalona | Won Listed Prix de la Cochere, ParisLongchamp | TBC |
| 7 | Storm's Wake | Brian Lynch | Tyler Gaffalione | Won Appalachian (G2) over this course in April | TBC |
| 8 | Lookin At Diamond | Leonard Powell | Julien Leparoux | 2nd Del Mar Oaks (G1) | TBC |
| 9 | Kensington Lane (IRE) | Phil D'Amato | Joel Rosario | Won Belmont Oaks (G1), 3rd Del Mar Oaks (G1) | TBC |
| 10 | Deep Learning | Chad Brown | Flavien Prat | Won Chelsey Flower Stakes at two | TBC |
| 11 | Soloist | Kenny McPeek | Irad Ortiz Jr. | Into Mischief filly, one career win | TBC |
The Del Mar Oaks Rematch: Tam Tam, Lookin At Diamond and Kensington Lane
The first three home in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks on August 22 all turn up here, and that race was run over the same 1 1/8 mile turf trip.
Tam Tam won it by 1¼ lengths, and she draws post 3 here. The Medaglia d'Oro filly trained by Phil Bauer pressed the pace, got the better of Kensington Lane and kept going under Junior Alvarado, who keeps the ride. She has four wins from nine starts, and Bauer pointed her at this race straight after Del Mar.
Leonard Powell's Lookin At Diamond chased her home in second, and Julien Leparoux rides her from post 8.
Kensington Lane finished third as the favorite, but the race didn't suit her. She set the pace through a half mile in 48.29 seconds and paid for it late. Before that she won the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational at Saratoga at 23/1 for Donnacha O'Brien, after winning a Group 3 at the Curragh in May. She has since moved to Phil D'Amato, and Joel Rosario rides. Post 9 makes the lead harder to get cheaply, but if she does get it, she's a big threat.
Luster Brings the King's Plate Form
Luster is the filly everybody will talk about. Josie Carroll's daughter of Knicks Go has won four of her five starts this year, and the last three were the Selene Stakes (G3), the Woodbine Oaks and the $1 million King's Plate, which she won by 7¼ lengths against the colts under John Velazquez. Velazquez rides again from post 2.
The question is the surface. Her Woodbine wins all came on the main track, and the QEII is a turf race. We do know she handles this course, because she won a turf allowance at Keeneland on April 9.
Faithful Departed, Braida and the Rest of the QEII Field
Grant Forster's Faithful Departed brings the most consistent turf form in the race. She won the Grade 3 Regret at Churchill Downs on May 30, finished second to Kensington Lane in the Belmont Oaks, and then lost the Saratoga Oaks by a head as the 3/2 favorite. Forster says she comes flying late and only really runs the final three eighths, and Jose Ortiz rides her from post 4.
That running style matters here. America's Best Racing's trends for last fall's Keeneland meet showed turf routes favoring stalkers and closers over front runners. Storm's Wake proved it in April when she closed to win the Grade 2 Appalachian Stakes over a mile on this course at 21/1. Brian Lynch said afterward that the Keeneland course set up well for a filly who could close.
Braida (FR) is the European raider. French trainer Graffard's Mehmas filly has won three of her five starts and took the Listed Prix de la Cochere over a mile at ParisLongchamp on September 3. She has never raced beyond a mile, so the extra furlong is a question, but Graffard knows how to win in America. He beat She Feels Pretty with Gezora in last year's Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf, and Mickael Barzalona, who rode Gezora that day, rides Braida from post 6.
Chad Brown's Deep Learning, a stakes winner at two, gets Flavien Prat. The field is completed by Kenny McPeek's Soloist with Irad Ortiz Jr. and Patrick Biancone's Haute Diva with Keith Asmussen.
Sycamore Stakes: Stamina and Big Prices on Friday
Friday's $400,000 Sycamore Stakes went up to Grade 2 status in 2025. It runs over 1½ miles on the turf for three year olds and up, and it can produce a monster price.
Last year Desvio won it by half a length from favorite Ohana Honor at 34/1 and paid $70.90 to win, the biggest win mutuel in the race's history. It was trainer Madison Meyers' first winner at Keeneland, and John Velazquez rode him. The Sycamore field drops midweek, and we'll be looking for proven stayers at a price rather than taking a short favorite at this trip.
Franklin Stakes: Sunday's Turf Sprint
The $400,000 Franklin Stakes (G2) is a 5½ furlong turf dash for fillies and mares, three years old and up. Mark Casse's Time to Dazzle won it last year by 3¼ lengths after Jose Ortiz found a gap on the inside. In 2024, Future Is Now set the stakes record of 1:01.47.
Turf sprints at this distance give us little time to recover from a slow start, so gate speed and a clean trip matter. We'll wait for the draw before settling on a play, and this is a race where an exacta or trifecta can pay well.
Why This Weekend Matters for the Breeders' Cup
The QEII has a habit of producing fillies who go on to the very top. She Feels Pretty won the 2024 QEII, took the Grade 1 American Oaks at Santa Anita that December and ran second in last year's Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf. With the Breeders' Cup on this same course this year, whoever wins Saturday goes straight onto the shortlist for the Filly and Mare Turf, and the beaten fillies tell us plenty too. We'll be watching how the Keeneland turf plays all weekend, because the same course stages the Breeders' Cup turf races in three weeks.
How We're Playing the QEII Challenge Cup
We like Tam Tam. She beat two of these rivals fair and square at the same trip, she likes to race handy, and her rider knows her. Faithful Departed is the one we fear most, because her closing style fits this course and she has run well in every big race this summer.
Kensington Lane is the value angle if she gets the lead cheaply. Luster is the big unknown. She could win this by daylight, but at what will likely be a short price on her first turf start since April, we'd rather take her on.
The post positions are set, and we'll add the morning lines once Keeneland publishes them.
Bet the QEII Challenge Cup With MyWinners
Three graded turf stakes, a Grade 1 field with form from the US, Canada, Ireland and France, and the Breeders' Cup just three weeks away. Keeneland's second weekend gives us plenty to work with from Friday's Sycamore through Sunday's Franklin.
Bet online at app.mywinners.com, on the MyWinners: Racing & Sports app on iOS or Android, or go here to find your nearest MyWinners or Winners venue in CT.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup is Race 9 at Keeneland on Saturday, October 10, 2026, with a 5:16pm ET post time. First post at Keeneland is 1:00pm ET.
The 11 invited fillies are Haute Diva, Luster, Tam Tam, Faithful Departed, Turner's Charm, Braida, Storm's Wake, Lookin At Diamond, Kensington Lane, Deep Learning and Soloist.
Lush Lips won the 2025 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup for trainer Brendan Walsh and jockey Tyler Gaffalione. The British bred filly won by 1¼ lengths and paid $19.22 to win.
No. Keeneland's eight Win and You're In races all ran on opening weekend, October 2 to 4. The QEII is still a key guide to the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf, which Keeneland hosts on October 30 and 31.
Bet online at app.mywinners.com, on the MyWinners: Racing & Sports app for iOS or Android, or at a MyWinners or Winners venue in Connecticut. Online betting is open to customers aged 18 and over.
