Breeders’ Cup 2025: Dates, how to watch on TV, trainers and jockeys to watch

The eyes of the racing world will turn stateside this weekend, as the 2025 Breeders’ Cup gets underway. 

Racing’s finest from across the globe will flock to California, as Del Mar Racecourse stages 14 Championship races, in which history will be written. 

The meeting takes its place as a highlight on the American sporting calendar, with over 30million dollars in prize money awarded at the event.  

As the sun sets on another flat season, here is everything that you need to know about the 2025 Breeders’ Cup. 

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When is the 2025 Breeders’ Cup?

The action kicks off on Friday, October 31, a day which plays host to four championship races – notably the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. 

The former is due off at 3:25pm local time (10:25pm GMT), whilst the latter is the next race on the card – due off at 4:05pm local time (11:05pm GMT). 

Saturday, November 1 stages The Breeders’ Cup Classic – due off at 3:25pm local time  (10:25pm GMT) it awards seven million dollars in prize money and is the meeting’s showpiece contest. 

It highlights a card in which nine other championship races are scheduled, including the Breeders’ Cup Turf, where a share of five million dollars is up for grabs. 

Trainers to watch 

Aidan O’Brien

All the talk before the meeting – at least on the eastern shores of the Atlantic Ocean – has been about leading Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien and his bid for a record-breaking season. 

He has enjoyed a year in which he is set to claim the British Champion Trainer title for the second consecutive season, following a plethora of wins – notably at the Epsom Derby Festival and at Glorious Goodwood. 

His Ballydoyle/Coolmore Stud contingent are set to play a strong hand, as he bids to break his own record number of Group/Grade One winners in a singular season.

Following success in the Futurity Stakes, the Irishman stands at 25 for the campaign, with four needed to better his tally – set in 2017. 

He is one of a host of challengers – hailing from Britain and Ireland – set to head stateside and will be joined by his sons Donnacha and Joseph O’Brien, in representing Ireland. 

Bob Baffert

Meanwhile, trainers including Charlie Appleby and Andrew Balding are notable British trainers set to send horses over the Atlantic. 

Other international trainers at the meeting include Frenchman Francis Graffard, whilst Yoshito Yahagi, Daishi Ito and Yoichi Kuroiwa will fly the Japanese flag. 

Two-time triple-crown winning trainer Bob Baffert is one of the most recognised trainers in racing, especially at this meeting. 

No one has started more runners in the Breeders’ Cup Classic than the 72-year-old, who is a four-time winner of the race. 

He is 11th in the top American Trainers by earnings this season, though has had only 280 runners this season – which is less than anyone above him and at least 500 fewer than any trainer inside the top four. 

Baffert’s seasonal earnings total just over 10 million dollars and he boasts a 31% win rate – the best of any trainer in the top 100 earners. 

Brad Cox

However, the top American trainer – according to earnings – is Brad Cox – who has accumulated over 25 million dollars, in prize money, this season. 

Cox boasts a 26% strike-rate this season and leads the standings by over four million dollars, despite having around 1000 fewer runners than second-placed Steven Asmussen. 

Around a million dollars in this season’s earnings separate Asmussen, Mark Casse and Chad Brown – though the latter mentioned has had fewer runners than all three trainers ahead of him in the standings. 

Brown has recorded a winning rate of 22% this season, which is better than Asmussen’s 14% and Casse’s 15%, whilst both Todd Pletcher and Saffie Joseph Jr – who are next in earnings order – boast a 20% win rate. 

They sit just under and just over five million dollars off of Brown, though Pletcher has had the fewest runners of any trainer in the top five earners. 

Jockeys to watch 

Christophe Soumillion

The Ballydoyle saddle is sure to be in the spotlight, not just for O’Brien’s record bid but also because first-choice rider Ryan Moore remains sidelined through injury. 

Regular rider Wayne Lordan seems set to play a role, but the fate of O’Brien’s leading chances are likely to be held in the hands of Belgian Christophe Soumillion.

He deputised for both Moore and Lordan at the St Leger meeting with his winning ride on Delacroix – in the Irish Champions Stakes – the highlight. 

Soumillion has since ridden O’Brien-trained winners at the Prix d’Larc De Triomphe meeting, as well as at the Dewhurst meeting and on British Champions Day.

William Buick

He will be joined by a number of European jockeys, who will make the journey ‘across the pond’ to compete. 

William Buick is no stranger to riding horses on the eastern side of the Atlantic Ocean, having done so already this season – winning in Canada. 

He looks set to play his part for prestigious owners Godolphin, in riding Appleby-trained horses this weekend. 

Oisin Murphy, David Egan, PJ McDonald, Shane Foley and Richard Kingscote are just some of the other names tipped to represent British and Irish yards at the meeting. 

Irad Ortiz Jr

America’s top-earning jockey, this season, is Irad Ortiz Jr, who has won 20 times at the meeting since gaining his first victory in 2014. 

He is one of two jockeys to have earned over 32 million dollars this season, with Frenchman Flavien Prat trailing by around 20,000 dollars – despite having around 300 fewer rides. 

The latter moved from his native-France, full-time, to the United States in 2015 and has won two of the last three renewals of the Breeders’ Cup Classic. 

He also boasts a better win-rate than Ortiz this season, with them recording 21% and 23%, respectively. 

Jose Ortiz

The next highest earner is the Jose Ortiz – brother of Irad – though his form at the Breeders’ Cup could be cause for concern, having ridden only six winners from 88 rides. 

Luis Saez is next with earnings totalling nearly 24 million dollars and he too is looking to correct some poor form at the Breeders’ Cup; he has ridden only one winner from 68 rides at the event. 

Then, just over two million dollars separate John Velazquez, Manuel Franco, Tyler Gaffalione and Junior Alvarado. 

Velazquez and Alvarado have had fewer rides than all of the aforementioned jockeys this season and have the worst win rate of the top-10 American jockeys (15%) – according to earnings. 

The former has 21 Breeders’ Cup victories to his name and is ranked first in career earnings at the meeting, whilst the latter has three wins from 22 rides. 

Mike Smith & Frankie Dettori

However, the jockey with the most wins of all time at the Breeders’ Cup is Mike Smith, with 27 total victories. 

He has ridden only one winner at the event since 2017, but still deserves a mention, as does world-renowned star Frankie Dettori, as he continues his stateside exploits after moving to America in 2023. 

Dettori is yet to win at the meeting since that year, though has ridden 15 Breeders’ Cup winners and could pick up some rides in Moore’s absence. 

How to watch the 2025 Breeders’ Cup? 

In the US, NBC’s Peacock streaming service and FanDuel TV will present live broadcasts of every one of 14 Breeders’ Cup races scheduled for Friday and Saturday. 

Sky Sports Racing is the sole broadcaster in the UK and they will show all the action live for Sky Sports Subscribers only.

READ MORE: Breeders’ Cup 2025: Breeders’ Cup Classic analysis and preview