QEII Challenge Cup 2026 Weekend Guide: Keeneland, Belmont, the Dewhurst and the Red Mile
Last weekend threw everything at us. Keeneland opened its fall meet with eight Breeders' Cup Win and You're In races, Belmont Park ran Champagne Day, Woodbine staged the Canadian International and the Red Mile hosted the Kentucky Futurity. This weekend brings a smaller set of stakes spread across more tracks, and there's still plenty worth betting.
Keeneland leads the way with the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup on Saturday, flanked by the Sycamore on Friday and the Franklin on Sunday. Belmont Park adds the Hill Prince and the first ever Bricks and Mortar Stakes on Saturday. Newmarket's Dubai Future Champions Festival delivers the Fillies' Mile, the Dewhurst Stakes and the Cesarewitch before lunch on the East Coast. The Red Mile closes its Grand Circuit meet, and Woodbine and Santa Anita round things off through holiday Monday.
The Weekend at a Glance
The Red Mile starts things on Thursday, October 8, with first post at 1:00pm ET on all three days of its closing weekend. Friday, October 9, brings Newmarket's Fillies' Mile at 9:25am ET and Keeneland's Sycamore Stakes later in the afternoon.
Saturday, October 10, is the big one. The Dewhurst Stakes goes at 10:00am ET and the Cesarewitch at 10:40am ET. Belmont Park's first post is 12:05pm ET for a card featuring the Hill Prince and the Bricks and Mortar. Keeneland stages the QEII Challenge Cup, and the Red Mile, Woodbine and Santa Anita all run stakes too. Sunday brings the Franklin at Keeneland, two juvenile stakes at Woodbine and the California Distaff at Santa Anita. Santa Anita closes the weekend on Monday, October 12, with the Swingtime Stakes.
Newmarket times stay provisional until the final declarations, and US feature post times firm up when the fields are drawn midweek.
| Day | Track | Race | Post Time (ET) | Purse |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, Oct 8 | Red Mile | International Stallion Stakes (2yo colt trot, 2yo filly pace) | First post 1:00pm | TBC |
| Fri, Oct 9 | Red Mile | International Stallion Stakes (2yo colt pace, 2yo filly trot) | First post 1:00pm | TBC |
| Fri, Oct 9 | Newmarket | bet365 Fillies' Mile (G1), 1m | 9:25am | £500,000 |
| Fri, Oct 9 | Keeneland | Sycamore Stakes (G2), 1½m turf | TBC (first post 1:00pm) | $400,000 |
| Sat, Oct 10 | Newmarket | Darley Dewhurst Stakes (G1), 7f | 10:00am | £500,000 |
| Sat, Oct 10 | Newmarket | Club Godolphin Cesarewitch (Heritage Handicap), 2¼m | 10:40am | £175,000 |
| Sat, Oct 10 | Belmont Park | Hill Prince Stakes (G3), 1 3/16m turf | TBC (first post 12:05pm) | $200,000 |
| Sat, Oct 10 | Belmont Park | Bricks and Mortar Stakes, 7f turf | TBC (first post 12:05pm) | $175,000 |
| Sat, Oct 10 | Keeneland | Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1), 1 1/8m turf | TBC (first post 1:00pm) | $750,000 |
| Sat, Oct 10 | Red Mile | Tattersalls Pace, Glen Garnsey Memorial, Allerage Open Trot, Allerage Open Pace, Bluegrass Stakes (3yo colt trot, 3yo filly trot) | First post 1:00pm | TBC |
| Sat, Oct 10 | Woodbine | Ontario Damsel Stakes, 1 1/16m | TBC | C$125,000 |
| Sat, Oct 10 | Santa Anita | California Flag Handicap, about 6½f hillside turf | TBC | $100,000 |
| Sun, Oct 11 | Keeneland | Franklin Stakes (G2), 5½f turf | TBC (first post 1:00pm) | $400,000 |
| Sun, Oct 11 | Woodbine | Display Stakes, 7f | TBC | C$125,000 |
| Sun, Oct 11 | Woodbine | Glorious Song Stakes, 7f | TBC | C$125,000 |
| Sun, Oct 11 | Santa Anita | California Distaff Handicap, about 6½f hillside turf | TBC | $100,000 |
| Mon, Oct 12 | Santa Anita | Swingtime Stakes, 1m turf | TBC | $80,000 |
Keeneland: QEII Challenge Cup 2026 Headlines the Breeders' Cup Build Up
Keeneland hosts the Breeders' Cup World Championships on October 30 and 31, so everything that runs on this turf course from now on is part of the build up. Every one of the meet's eight Win and You're In races ran last weekend, which means this weekend's stakes carry no automatic Breeders' Cup berths. They still show us who handles the Keeneland turf three weeks before the world arrives.
Saturday's $750,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup is the feature. This Grade 1 for three year old fillies runs over 1 1/8 miles on the turf, and Keeneland describes it as an internationally recognized invitational. Last year Brendan Walsh's Lush Lips won it under Tyler Gaffalione and paid $19.22 to win, a British bred filly who started her career in Ireland before joining Walsh's Kentucky barn. Cherie DeVaux, the trainer of Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner Golden Tempo, took the 2024 running with She Feels Pretty.
One filly has already been pointed this way. Tam Tam, a daughter of Medaglia d'Oro trained by Phil Bauer, won the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks over the same 1 1/8 mile turf trip by 1¼ lengths under Junior Alvarado. Bauer said afterward that she would ship to Kentucky and "most likely point to the GI Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Keeneland Oct. 10." The invitations and the draw will tell us who else turns up.
Friday's $400,000 Sycamore Stakes (G2) goes 1½ miles on the turf for three year olds and up. It's a race that rewards stamina and can produce a big price. Desvio won it last year for trainer Madison Meyers and John Velazquez and paid $70.90 to win.
Sunday's $400,000 Franklin Stakes (G2) gives us a Sunday hook. It's a 5½ furlong turf sprint, the kind of race where gate speed and a good draw matter as much as class. Keeneland races Wednesday through Sunday this meet, so the Franklin card is the last before the track goes dark on Monday and Tuesday.
Belmont Park: The Hill Prince and the First Bricks and Mortar Stakes
Belmont Park is the closest major track to our Connecticut customers, and the rebuilt facility only reopened on September 18. Saturday's card, with first post at 12:05pm ET, features two turf stakes for three year olds. Belmont has no stakes on Friday, Sunday or Monday, so Saturday is the day to focus on.
The $200,000 Hill Prince Stakes (G3) is the 52nd running, over 1 3/16 miles on the turf. Its last three runnings all took place at Aqueduct, which closed for good in June, so this is the Hill Prince's first year back at Belmont Park. Tiz Dashing won it last year.
The new race on the card is the $175,000 Bricks and Mortar Stakes, a seven furlong turf sprint for three year olds. Its namesake was one of the best turf horses of the last decade. Chad Brown's Bricks and Mortar won 11 of his 13 starts, swept the Pegasus World Cup Turf, the Manhattan, the Arlington Million and the Breeders' Cup Turf in 2019, and was named Horse of the Year. With no past runnings to study, we'll lean on recent turf sprint form and wait for the draw.
Newmarket: the Fillies' Mile, the Dewhurst and the Cesarewitch
Newmarket's Dubai Future Champions Festival runs Friday and Saturday on the Rowley Mile, and Friday's Fillies' Mile card is on the World Pool. That's the same commingled betting setup we covered at Goodwood this summer, so expect deeper pools and steadier exotic prices.
bet365 Fillies' Mile
The bet365 Fillies' Mile (G1, £500,000) goes at 9:25am ET on Friday. Charlie Appleby has had it marked down for Musical Times since her Yarmouth win. The Godolphin filly by Lope De Vega then blew the May Hill Stakes apart at Doncaster, winning by 7½ lengths as the 7/4 favorite under William Buick. The big question is Sun Goddess. Aidan O'Brien's filly holds an entry after winning the Moyglare Stud Stakes by nearly seven lengths and then breaking the two year old track record in the Cheveley Park Stakes, two Group 1 wins inside a fortnight. Both of those races came at shorter trips, so a run here would stretch her out to a mile. On Racing Post Ratings she (124) and Musical Times (123) sit clear of the other 48 entries.
| Filly | Trainer | Key Form | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Musical Times | Charlie Appleby | Won May Hill Stakes (G2) by 7½ lengths | TBC |
| Sun Goddess | Aidan O'Brien | Won Moyglare Stud Stakes (G1) and Cheveley Park Stakes (G1) | TBC |
| Alpha | Aidan O'Brien | Entered, RPR 118 | TBC |
Darley Dewhurst Stakes
The Darley Dewhurst Stakes (G1, £500,000) goes at 10:00am ET on Saturday over seven furlongs. Andrew Balding's Gewan won it at 25/1 last year and was crowned Europe's champion juvenile. Thirty two year olds remain entered, 13 of them for Aidan O'Brien, including Richmond Stakes winner Man's Best Friend and Royal Lodge winner Haffner. Appleby's Desert Castle, a son of Frankel, sets the standard after winning the Champagne Stakes by three lengths at even money under Billy Loughnane. Appleby said straight afterward, "We'll head to the Dewhurst now." Joseph O'Brien's Folsom Blues brings the Irish form after a six length National Stakes win, and his trainer has floated "the Dewhurst en route to America" as a path. That route leads straight to Keeneland.
| Colt | Trainer | Key Form | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desert Castle | Charlie Appleby | Won Champagne Stakes (G2) by 3 lengths | TBC |
| Folsom Blues | Joseph O'Brien | Won National Stakes (G1) by 6 lengths | TBC |
| Man's Best Friend | Aidan O'Brien | Won Richmond Stakes (G2), Goodwood | TBC |
| Haffner | Aidan O'Brien | Won Royal Lodge Stakes (G2) | TBC |
| Sergei Diaghilev | Aidan O'Brien | 2nd, Champagne Stakes (G2) | TBC |
Club Godolphin Cesarewitch
Forty minutes after the Dewhurst, the Club Godolphin Cesarewitch goes at 10:40am ET. This 2¼ mile Heritage Handicap is worth £175,000, and more than 70 horses remain entered. Willie Mullins won it three years running from 2018 through 2020 and has Absurde and The Reverend near the top of the weights this time. Defending champion Beylerbeyi returns for Ian Williams. Stamina wins this race, so we want proven form at two miles or beyond.
Red Mile Grand Circuit Roundup
The Red Mile's opening weekend finished with a shock in the 134th Kentucky Futurity on October 3. Nix Nacken won for Bjorn Goop and Marcus Melander, paying $37.48 to win, after Hambletonian winner Apex went off stride at the start. Read The Room ran second at 67/1.
Week two has no headline race, but it has plenty of stakes. The International Stallion Stakes for two year olds fill Thursday and Friday. Saturday packs in the Tattersalls Pace, the Glen Garnsey Memorial, the Allerage Open Trot, the Allerage Open Pace and two Bluegrass Stakes divisions for three year old trotters. First post is 1:00pm ET each day. After the Futurity result, the Bluegrass trots look like the spot to spread out in the exotics.
Woodbine and Santa Anita: Best of the Rest
Woodbine runs three stakes on its main track this weekend. Saturday's Ontario Damsel Stakes is a C$125,000 race for three year old fillies over 1 1/16 miles. Sunday pairs the Display Stakes for two year olds and the Glorious Song Stakes for two year old fillies, each worth C$125,000 over seven furlongs.
Santa Anita keeps it local. Saturday's $100,000 California Flag Handicap, for horses bred or sired in California, runs about 6½ furlongs down the hillside turf course, and Sunday's $100,000 California Distaff Handicap uses the same trip for fillies and mares. Santa Anita also races on holiday Mondays, and the $80,000 Swingtime Stakes for fillies and mares over a mile on the turf headlines Monday's card.
How We're Playing the Weekend
At Keeneland, Tam Tam has the Grade 1 form at the right trip, and we'll want to see her draw before getting stuck in. The Sycamore's recent history says we shouldn't be afraid of a price at 1½ miles.
At Belmont, the Bricks and Mortar has no form book, so we'll treat it as a spot for spreading in the exotics rather than a single.
At Newmarket, we side with Musical Times in the Fillies' Mile because she has already won impressively over the mile. In the Dewhurst, Desert Castle is our pick with Folsom Blues the main danger. The Cesarewitch is a race for spreading the stake, and we'll build around the Mullins pair and Beylerbeyi once the final field lands on Thursday.
Bet the QEII Challenge Cup Weekend With MyWinners
From the Red Mile on Thursday afternoon to the Swingtime on Monday, this weekend gives us five straight days of stakes racing across six tracks in three countries, with the Breeders' Cup now just three weeks away. Fields and morning lines drop through the week, so check back before you build your Saturday tickets.
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
Lush Lips won the 2025 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland for trainer Brendan Walsh and jockey Tyler Gaffalione. The British bred filly won by 1¼ lengths and paid $19.22 to win.
The Bricks and Mortar Stakes is a new $175,000 turf sprint for three year olds over seven furlongs. Its first running is on Saturday, October 10, 2026, at Belmont Park. It honors Bricks and Mortar, the 2019 Horse of the Year.
The Darley Dewhurst Stakes is scheduled for 3:00pm UK time on Saturday, October 10, 2026, which is 10:00am ET. Newmarket post times stay provisional until the final declarations.
Yes. Newmarket's Fillies' Mile Day on Friday, October 9, 2026, is a confirmed World Pool fixture, so pools are combined with bettors around the world.
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