Suffolk Downs announced yesterday that the winner of the 66th Massachusetts Handicap Sept. 20 will automatically be eligible to race in the Breeders' Cup Classic Oct. 25 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif.
Suffolk will be one of five tracks to send winners of key stakes races to the Classic in a promotion that began last year.
The MassCap returned last year after a two-year absence, and was won by Brass Hat. The $500,000 Grade I race drew 19,191, the largest crowd at Suffolk since Cigar won the 1996 MassCap.
"Being associated with the Breeders' Cup is an important step for us," said Chip Tuttle, Suffolk's chief operating officer. "With the Breeders' Cup only five weeks in front, it gives us linkage."
Other automatic qualifiers for the $5 million Classic, which will have a maximum 14-horse field, will come from the Whitney Handicap at Saratoga (July 26), the Pacific Classic at Del Mar (Aug. 24), the
"Following last year's successful launch of the Breeders' Cup Challenge, there was a great deal of interest from tracks around the country and internationally to be part of the series," Breeders' Cup president Greg Avioli said in a statement. "That interest led to the expansion of the Challenge."
This year's expanded Breeders' Cup will include 14 championships with purses totaling $25.5 million.
Material from wire services was used in this report.
