The Breeders' Cup is America's flagship race meeting, and it celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2023 with a two-day extravaganza at Santa Anita Park racecourse.

Billed as "the place where the world's greatest come together to crown champions" the meeting has a 14-race programme that makes up the Breeders' Cup World Championships, with $31million in prizemoney on the line.

The bet365 guide to the 2023 Breeders' Cup will provide all the information you require for the meeting.

What is the Breeders' Cup?

The inaugural Breeders' Cup took place at the now-defunct Hollywood Park in California back in 1982 and the meeting has grown from strength-to-strength ever since.

A two-day event in early November each year, it routinely attracts the best thoroughbreds from the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia to compete for multi-million dollar pots on both turf and the US-dirt surfaces.

Since the turn of the century, the popularity of the Breeders' Cup has soared. To that end, it became a two-day meeting in 2007 and it now boasts 14 'Breeders' Cup races' on the programme.

The meeting moves around some of America's most storied racetracks year-on-year, amongst them the likes of Santa Anita, Churchill Downs, Keeneland and Belmont Park.

In 2023, Santa Anita Park will host the event for the 11th time, and no other track has hosted the Breeders' Cup more.

When is the Breeders' Cup?

The Breeders' Cup in 2023 takes place on Friday 3rd November and Saturday 4th November. The opening evening features five races, while viewers can look forward to nine contests on Saturday.

Where is the Breeders' Cup?

The 2023 Breeders' Cup meeting takes place at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California.

What is the Breeders' Cup running order?

Friday 3rd November 2023
Race 1 - Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (Grade 1) 1m½f 
Race 2 - Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (Grade 2) 5f 
Race 3 - Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (Grade 1) 1m 
Race 4 - Breeders' Cup Juvenile (Grade 1) 1m½f 
Race 5 - Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (Grade 1) 1m

Saturday 4th November 2023 
Race 1 - Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (Grade 1) 7f 
Race 2 - Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (Grade 1) 5f 
Race 3 - Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (Grade 1) 1m 
Race 4 - Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (Grade 1) 1m1f 
Race 5 - Breeders' Cup Sprint (Grade 1) 6f 
Race 6 - Breeders' Cup Mile (Grade 1) 1m 
Race 7 - Breeders' Cup Distaff (Grade 1) 1m1f 
Race 8 - Breeders' Cup Turf (Grade 1) 1m4f 
Race 9 - Breeders' Cup Classic (Grade 1) 1m2f

What are the key Breeders' Cup races?

Friday
Breeders' Cup Juvenile
The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is the richest two-year-old race in North America and often tends to showcase potential contenders for Triple Crown races in the States the following season.

It's worth $2,000,000 to the winner and is routinely dominated by the home team, with Vale Of York (2009), Wilko (2004) and Johannesburg (2001) the exceptions since the turn of this century in scoring for European-based handlers.

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf
The main event on day one is the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, a 2YO-only race for males with $1,000,000 in prize-money.

Since its inception in 2007 the race has been won eight times by European trainers, with Aidan O'Brien (4), John Gosden (2) and Charlie Appleby (2) all excelling.

Saturday
Breeders' Cup Sprint
No hanging around in the Breeders' Cup Sprint as some of the world's fastest go hell-for-leather over a 6f trip. Midnight Lute and Roy H are dual winners of this race, while trainer Bob Baffert has won it five times.

Run on the dirt, it's a race the Americans tend to dominate.

Breeders' Cup Mile
The world's best turf milers compete in this race around two turns on the turf course for horses three-years-old and older with a prize of $2,000,000 offered.

Superstar mare Goldikova (2008, 2009, 2010) made the race her own under Olivier Peslier for three glorious years, and Charlie Appleby has won the last two renewals with Space Blues and Modern Games.

Breeders' Cup Distaff
Often known as the 'Ladies Classic', the Distaff brings together the best female dirt horses for a championship showdown over the mile-and-a-quarter Classic trip for $2,000,000.

There have been four repeat winners - with three of those in recent years coming via Royal Delta (2011, 2012), Beholder (2013, 2016) and Monomoy Girl (2018, 2020).

Clairiere is hoping to land a hat-trick for trainer Steven Asmussen and can do so at 7/2.

Breeders' Cup Turf
The penultimate race of the meeting, over a mile-and-a-half journey with a purse of $4,000,000 on offer, this race routinely attracts the top grass talent from Europe and North America.

Aidan O'Brien (2002, 2003, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016) has dominated, winning with the likes of High Chaparral, St Nicholas Abbey, Found and Highland Reel; while legendary trainer Dermot Weld won for Ireland in 2020. Appleby has won the last two renewals through Yibir and Rebel's Romance.

Breeders' Cup Classic

The main event is run over a mile-and-a-quarter on the dirt and has an impressive $6,000,000 purse. Runners come from all over the world to contest the Classic, which has a limited field of 14.

With four wins since 2014, trainer Bob Baffert is the most successful in the races' history and he triumphed in 2020 with Kentucky Derby winner Authentic.

Tiz Now (2001), Curlin (2007), Zenyatta (2009) and American Pharoah (2015) are amongst some of the stellar winners this century, while Zenyatta's 2010 defeat remains one of the most remarkable Classics of all-time.

John Gosden won with Raven's Pass in 2008, ridden by Frankie Dettori, and that remains the lone success for European runners since Andre Fabre saddled Arcangues 28 years ago.

Aidan O'Brien has tried and failed many times and this remains one of the missing pieces of his jigsaw.

William Mott's Cody Wish is the antepost favourite at 7/1 after winning six on the spin, closely followed by Forte at 9/1 and Arcangelo at 9/1.