The venues for the 14 Breeders’ Cup races will soon be determined, horses are undergoing their final training sessions and jockeys and trainers are discussing tactics.

As the week-long wait for the 41st Breeders’ Cup begins on Friday and Saturday, November 1 and 2, here you’ll find stories, helpful tips and more you need to know.

if you’re going

Ticket levels include infield general admission ($67 Friday, $133 Saturday), trackside general admission ($100 Friday but sold out Saturday $199), box seats ($475 Friday, sold out Saturday) and the Clubhouse Terrace restaurant (two $1,749 per seat per person). days).

Check BreedersCup.com for updates on ticket availability.

Participation is limited to 37,500.

…if you’re not

TV and broadcast video coverage of the five Breeders’ Cup races on Friday and nine Saturdays will be split between NBC, USA, Peacock and FanDuel TV. You can find exact times at BreedersCup.com and in your newspaper’s sports TV listings.

Online betting is available through FanDuel and other account betting sites and is quite legal in horse racing in California.

this week

Final fields, positions and morning match odds will be determined starting at 4:15pm on Monday (streaming live on FanDuel TV and BreedersCup.com). Historical performance charts will be available for purchase shortly from the Daily Race Form and Equibase sites.

Del Mar begins its month-long fall season on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. Racing starts at 11:35 a.m. on Friday (the first of five Breeders’ Cup races is at 2:45 p.m.) and 10:05 a.m. on Saturday (the first of nine Breeders’ Cup races are at noon).

What’s at stake?

As the full name of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships suggests, winners of races across a variety of genders and ages in gravel, turf, sprint and route specialties are selected at the annual Eclipse Awards, often as America’s best in their respective disciplines, and one is often named Horse of the Year.

This event, where horse owners compete for guaranteed purses of $30 million, is one of the richest events in the sports world. This year, purses were increased to $7 million ($6 million) for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, a major race for kids ages 3 and up, and $5 million ($4 million) for the Breeders’ Cup Turf, a race for kids ages 3 and up. Many of Europe’s best horses.

And this is it

There is a lot at stake for punters. Last year’s Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita attracted more than $176 million in bets, and the two previous Breeders’ Cups at Del Mar had $166 million covered in 2017 and $183 million in 2021. 6th pick on Saturday – this time 7-12 which will force the punters to combine. winners of the races paid $2,687,611.20 (in 2003, this was the only perfect ticket held by two men in South Dakota who risked only $8).

new this year

The Breeders’ Cup continues to become more international; Last week 212 horses passed the “pre-entry” stage; These included a record 80 horses from four other continents.

The racing lineup is different; NBC’s college football schedule is in line with the Classic’s placement as the fifth of Saturday’s nine Breeders’ Cup races, rather than the seventh in 2023 or the last as it had previously been.

horse stars

The Classic has a star-studded sphere: City of Troy, the English Derby winner and the world’s best horse, will look to capture his sire Justify’s interest in the dirt and give the great Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien his first Classic; Japanese colt Forever Young, who placed third by chance in the Kentucky Derby, and Fierceness, the US No. 1 3-year-old.

If the Classic fails to decide Horse of the Year, Thorpedo Anna could capture the crown by winning the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (to be run two races before the Classic). Thorpedo Anna, a 3-year-old filly who came within inches of beating Fierceness while outlasting six other males in the Travers Stakes, may be the closest thing to an American horse with the potential to attract the attention of the general public this year.

Among the stars not competing in the Breeders’ Cup is Mystik Dan, the Kentucky Derby winner and the top earner in North America this year.

human stars

Ryan Moore will arrive from England with the City of Troy. If you want to see why Moore is considered the world’s best jockey, watch him (on the rails in blue and orange) with Auguste Rodin. last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf.

French-born and California-seasoned Flavien Prat will ride Sierra Leone in the Classic, Chancer McPatrick and other contenders in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile as he attempts to claim his first Eclipse Award as the nation’s top jockey.

89-year-old Racing Hall of Famer trainer D. Wayne Lukas Caught the Gray in the Dirt Mile. The Breeders’ Cup win record (20) is threatened by O’Brien, Chad Brown and Hall of Famer Bob Baffert (18 each).

home team

More than 40 eligible horses compete in Southern California, led by major groups trained by Baffert and Phil D’Amato. Baffert looks strongest in Juvenile (Citizen Bull, The Game, Getaway Car) and Juvenile Fillies (Divergent, Nooni); D’Amato’s biggest hopes are in the Juvenile Fillies Turf (Thought Process) and Turf Sprint (Motorious).

The Juvenile usually sets the early favorite for the next Kentucky Derby, and Baffert’s horses are eligible for the Derby again after Churchill Downs announced in July that it was lifting the ban following the disqualification of 2021 Derby winner Medina Spirit for a failed doping test.

The Breeders’ Cup has avoided horse fatalities in four events since 2019, when Mongolian Spirit suffered a fatal injury during the Classic at Santa Anita. But in 2023, two horses died in training before the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita; The death of Santa Anita Derby winner Practical Move was attributed to a “cardiac event” and the death of Geaux Rocket Ride was attributed to a heel fracture.

Breeders’ Cup officials plan to discuss this year’s safety measures at a “race safety and integrity briefing” for reporters on Wednesday.