Back to back: Breeders' Cup will return to Del Mar for 2025

Del Mar will host the 2025 Breeders’ Cup.

Located on the edge of the Pacific Ocean in San Diego County, Del Mar is set to serve as a Breeders’ Cup host site for a fourth time after also hosting in 2017 and 2021 and having been announced previously as the host in 2024. Consisting of 14 Grade 1 races with purses and awards totaling more than $31 million, the 42nd World Championships are scheduled to be held on Friday, Oct. 31, and Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025.

“Our return to Del Mar in back-to-back years marks the continuation of a wonderful collaboration and successful partnership, both with our friends at the track and with the greater San Diego area, demonstrating our continued commitment to California horse racing,” said Drew Fleming, president and CEO of the Breeders’ Cup. “We look forward to once again gathering where the turf meets the surf as the world’s best Thoroughbreds put on an incredible show.”

Del Mar undertook an extensive expansion of its luxury seating options for its first Breeders’ Cup in 2017. The Breeders’ Cup’s debut at Del Mar resulted in a record-breaking, two-day on-track wagering mark and generated an estimated $96.8 million in economic benefits for San Diego County.

The 2021 edition, conducted during the COVID pandemic, set a wagering record for the Breeders' Cup while permitting fans to return in limited numbers with appropriate health measures in place. The 2024 running is scheduled to take place at the seaside oval Nov. 1-2.