Saturday's Shoemaker Mile Is "Win and You're In" for Breeders' Cup Mile

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 29, 2012) – Saturday’s winner of the $300,000 Shoemaker Mile (GI) at Hollywood Park will receive an automatic berth into the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile (GI) through the Breeders’ Cup Challenge series.

From inside out, the field for the Shoemaker Mile (with morning line): Dubai You X Y Z (15-1), Brice Blanc rides, 124 pounds; Hudson Landing (20-1), Juan Hernandez, 124; Little Mike (3-1), Joe Bravo, 124; Suggestive Boy (6-1), Joe Talamo, 124; Jeranimo (7-2), Garrett Gomez, 124; Corporate Jungle (5-1), Rafael Bejarano, 124; Liberian Freighter (12-1), Martin Garcia, 124 and Mr. Commons (2-1), Mike Smith, 124.

Little Mike, winner of five of his last six starts, including the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at Churchill Downs, leads the eight horse field.

The Breeders’ Cup Challenge is a global series of 73 stakes races whose winners receive automatic starting positions into a corresponding race of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, to be held November 2-3 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. The Shoemaker Mile is the year’s first of 14 Breeders’ Cup Challenge race to be run in California this year.

As a part of the incentives for horsemen in this year’s Challenge series, if the Shoemaker Mile winner is nominated to the Breeders’ Cup program by October 22, Breeders’ Cup Ltd. will benefit the winning stable by paying the $60,000 in entry fees into the Breeders’ Cup Mile and provide them a $10,000 travel allowance to Louisville for the Championships.

Liberian Freighter and Suggestive Boy are not currently nominated to the Breeders’ Cup program.

In addition, if the Breeders’ Cup Challenge winner was nominated to the Breeders’ Cup program as a foal, the foal nominator will receive a $10,000 breeder award from Breeders’ Cup Ltd.