The Breeders Crown Charity Challenge (BC3), presented by Prolific Equine, has officially kicked off with a month to go until Breeders Crown being held at Eldorado Scioto Downs on Oct. 16-17 (eliminations) and Oct. 23-24 (finals).

The BC3 began in 2019 and raises funds for charities in the Breeders Crown host community. The 2026 Breeders Crown will be held at Scioto Downs in South Columbus, Ohio and the local charities are:

• Ronald McDonald House – Central Ohio – located directly across the street from Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, the charity provides housing for families whose child is receiving ongoing treatment.
• Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana – based out of Columbus and creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.
• Greater Columbus Sports Foundation – supports the development of amateur athletes and facilitates competition space as a platform for positive social impact.
• Folds of Honor – Central Ohio – provides scholarships, for both higher education and for grades K-12, to spouses and children of fallen and disabled U.S. military service members and first responders, including police, firefighters, EMTs and paramedics.

Each charity has been teamed up with an Ohio-based harness racing driver, with each driver having a BC3 Facebook page to help spread the word about raising the funds needed to help local community charities. The drivers are:

• David Miller (Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana) – the 61-year-old was inducted into the U.S. Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 2014 and is currently North America’s all-time leading driver in earnings ($303 million).
• Chris Page (Folds of Honor) – the 42-year-old is a 10-time winner of the Jerry Kaltenbach Memorial, awarded to the driver who earned the most during a single season of the Ohio Sires Stakes.
• Ronnie Wrenn Jr. (Greater Columbus Sports Foundation) – the 40-year-old is a second-generation horseman with 9,316 driving wins since his debut in 2008 and 40,217 starts.
• Austin Hanners (Ronald McDonald House-Central Ohio) – the 27-year-old made his driving debut in 2016 and already has 1,074 wins, and horses he has driven have earned more than $22 million.

Ways to donate to the BC3 include:

• Purchase a stallion breeding at the BC3 Stallion Auction, held during the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
• On-track during Breeders Crown eliminations weekend on Oct. 16 and 17
• Cheques can be mailed, with Breeders Crown Charity Challenge in the memo line, to: Scioto Downs, Attn: Jenna Otten, 6000 S High St, Columbus, OH 43207.

Cheques will be presented to each of the charities on Friday, Oct. 23. The amount each charity receives will be determined by points earned. Drivers will receive points via social media engagement through each driver’s Facebook page, a double-seated jog cart race on the Friday Breeders Crown elimination night, a handicapping contest between each charity on the Friday Breeders Crown elimination night, and via a poll on the @SciotoRacing X account, held during the last two weeks of the BC3.

(Scioto Downs)