Contenders bred in a record 13 countries were entered Monday for the 42nd running of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships Oct. 31-Nov. 1 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, underscoring the international festival’s status as the ultimate global stage for Thoroughbred racing.
The 2025 World Championships will again feature 14 Grade 1 races and more than $34 million in purses and awards, bringing together the sport’s top horses, owners, breeders, trainers, and jockeys on racing’s biggest stage. Del Mar, “Where the Turf Meets the Surf” on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, will host the Breeders’ Cup for the fourth time, on the heels of a record-setting edition in 2024 that achieved a new global wagering benchmark of $203.7 million.
Thirteen countries are represented (Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Japan, Peru, South Africa, the United States, and Uruguay) from five continents – Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America. There are 55 international contenders.
A total of 177 horses were entered in the World Championships, including seven previous Champions: Citizen Bull, Fierceness, Full Serrano (ARG), Rebel‘s Romance (IRE), Sierra Leone, Straight No Chaser, and White Abarrio.
Godolphin homebred Sovereignty has been installed as the morning-line favorite at odds of 6-5 as he takes on older horses for the first time in the $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1). A field of 10, including the top three finishers from last year’s running, will go forward in the marquee race of the World Championships.
A three-time Grade 1 winner this year, with victories in the Kentucky Derby (G1), Belmont Stakes (G1), and Travers Stakes (G1), Sovereignty is trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott and will be ridden by Junior Alvarado from post 6.
Lined up to face the son of Into Mischief are Sierra Leone, Fierceness, and Forever Young (JPN), the 1-2-3 finishers from last year’s Classic at Del Mar.
Sierra Leone (8-1) is attempting to join Tiznow (2000-2001) as the only repeat Classic winner. The son of Gun Runner is campaigned by trainer Chad Brown for Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, Brook T. Smith, and Peter M. Brant. Flavien Prat will ride from post 7.
Fierceness (4-1) – a son of City of Light bred by Repole Stable and raced by that entity, in partnership with Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith and Mrs. John Magnier – is seeking a second Championships victory to go with his 2023 score in the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) for trainer Todd Pletcher. John Velazquez has the mount from post 1.
Susumu Fujita’s $15.7 million earner Forever Young (6-1), by Real Steel (JPN), will try to give Japan its third World Championships score and first Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic victory. He is trained by Yoshito Yahagi and will be ridden by Ryusei Sakai from post 5.
Completing the field in post-position order are Baeza (post 2, 15-1), Nevada Beach (post 3, 20-1), Contrary Thinking (post 4, 50-1), Mindframe (post 8, 10-1), Journalism (post 9, 10-1), and Antiquarian (post 10, 15-1).
All entries on the Breeders’ Cup site HERE.
Talent Abounds Across the Board in World Championships
The World Championships kick off Oct. 31 with Future Stars Friday, which features five championship races for 2-year-olds, highlighted by the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1). Trainers Bob Baffert and Todd Pletcher have combined to win the Juvenile nine times and will saddle the top morning-line choices. Pletcher has Spendthrift Farm’s homebred Ted Noffey (4-5), by Into Mischief, and Baffert will send out Zedan Racing Stables Inc.’s Brant (5-2), a son of Gun Runner.
On Saturday, blockbuster action surrounds the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic. In the $5 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1), 5-2 second choice Rebel’s Romance will bid for a third victory in the race for Godolphin, to accompany his 2022 win at Keeneland and his victory at Del Mar last year. Among the challengers to the son of Dubawi (IRE) is the brilliant 3-year-old Frankel (GB) filly Minnie Hauk (IRE), favored at 8-5, a three-time Group 1 winner and narrow runner-up finisher as the favorite in the recent Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1).
Another son of Dubawi, Godolphin’s Notable Speech (GB), is the 5-2 favorite for the $2 million FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) on the turf, a race in which he finished third last year as the favorite.
Gezora (FR), a daughter of Almanzor (FR) and winner of the Group 1 Prix de Diane Longines (French Oaks), is the morning-line favorite at odds of 7-2 against a strong contingent for the $2 million Maker’s Mark Filly & Mare Turf (G1), which includes last year’s runner-up Cinderella’s Dream (GB) and five-time Grade 1 winner She Feels Pretty.
Completing the Saturday program are the $2 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1), led by Seismic Beauty; the $2 million Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1), featuring last year’s 1-2 finishers in Straight No Chaser and Bentornato; the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1), led by defending champion Full Serrano (ARG) and 8-5 favorite Nysos; the $1 million PNC Bank Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1), headed by 2-1 favorite Sweet Azteca; and the $1 million Prevagen Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1), led by 2024 runner-up and 7-2 favorite Motorious (GB).
Photos from Breeders’ Cup:
Ted Noffey, heavily favoured for the BREEDERS’ CUP JUVENILE (G1) and trained by Todd A. Pletcher, at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, California on October 27, 2025. (Carlos J. Calo/Eclipse Sportswire/Breeders Cup)
Ontario bred Gas Me Up, trained by Kevin Attard, drew post 12 for the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) on turf. Here he is exercising at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, California on October 27, 2025. (Shamela Hanley/Eclipse Sportswire/Breeders Cup)
Governor Sam, trained by George Weaver, at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, California on October 27, 2025. (Carlos J. Calo/Eclipse Sportswire/Breeders Cup)
Touch of Destiny, a grandson of Canadian Triple Crown winner With Approval, trained by Michael W. McCarthy, exercises in preparation for the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, California on October 26, 2025. (Tim Sudduth/Eclipse Sportswire/Breeders Cup)
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