Horse racing continues to maintain its popularity amongst sports fans and the Breeders’ Cup is one of the most prestigious international events on the calendar. The 2018 staging of the event gets underway at the beginning of November with racing enthusiasts and bettors already greatly anticipating the iconic championships.

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The Breeders’ Cup is an annual event which takes place across a number of interchanging venues, including Monmouth Park, Santa Anita and Keeneland. In 1996, it was held in Canada for the first time with Woodbine racetrack staging the event. It returns to Churchill Downs in 2018 after a seven-year hiatus, with the Louisville circuit widely considered one of the finest and most recognizable tracks in the USA. It can also boast the highest-ever attendance back in 2010 when over 114,000 spectators flocked to watch some of the world’s finest thoroughbreds.

This year’s event is set to be held at Del Mar for the first time and they are also expecting a bumper crowd. The season ended at the racetrack on September 4 and will return for the Breeders’ Cup on November 2.

It will be the 35th staging of the event and racing fans from around the world will be glued to the action. There are 13 races taking place across the two-day extravaganza, with over $25 million worth of prize money available to connections. NBC will be broadcasting every single contest whilst viewers in the UK, Ireland, France and Germany all enjoy streaming the action. Television figures were down in 2016 but the Breeders’ Cup Classic still chalked up 2.6 million viewers.

Breeders’ Cup winners come from far and wide, with countries such as Japan, Ireland and France all claiming victories in previous years. Britain found success in 2016 with Queens Trust and Highland Reel both travelling back across the Atlantic having clinched victory in the Filly and Mare Turf and Breeders’ Cup Turf respectively.

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There are a number of high-profile races taking place across the two days including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, Breeders’ Cup Distaff, Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint and the Breeders’ Cup Classic. The Breeders’ Cup Marathon and Juvenile Sprint were discontinued in 2012 and 2013 respectively.

American Pharoah became the first horse to win the “Grand Slam of racing”, claiming a victory in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and clinched the Triple Crown with a commanding success in the Belmont Stakes. This triumphant year for the Bob Baffert-trained horse was capped off with a six-and-a-half-length success in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. He captured the imagination of the racing public and his progress was followed by thousands of racing fans. He became one of the most recognisable racehorses in the history of the sport and it is likely to be many years before another Triple Crown is clinched.

The chance to watch well-known horses and jockeys competing in prestigious events against top-class thoroughbreds is always enjoyable for racing fans and punters will often invest heavily in a number of competitors across the card. Aidan O’Brien is one of the top trainers at the Breeders Cup and Irish racing fans are keen to witness his charges in action despite the time-difference. If you’re looking for Irish racing tips when you’re online, sites including The Winners Enclosure offer daily selections on a number of contests, including key buildup races ahead of the Breeders’ Cup in November.

There are always surprises and unexpected outcomes at the Breeders’ Cup and a number of narratives thrown up by the winners and losers in each race. Trainers and jockeys travel far and wide to compete in the prestigious contest and all eyes will be on Del Mar racecourse at the beginning of November as the Breeders’ Cup gets underway for 2017.