Del Mar had long been considered one of horse racing’s most treasured venues, but like Keeneland Race Course its seasonal boutique meets did not seem to be an ideal fit for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. That all changed with an announcement by Breeders’ Cup officials on June 24, 2014.

Keeneland was named a first-time host track for 2015, Santa Anita Park would follow as the Breeders’ Cup venue in 2016, and Del Mar would host its first World Championships the following year in 2017.

The success of the first Breeders’ Cups at these new venues, Keeneland and Del Mar, led to the return of the event to the Lexington, Ky., track in 2020 and 2022 and to seaside Del Mar in Southern California in 2021 and again this year on Nov. 1-2.

Heading into the third Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar, let’s take a look back at some of the best moments from the first two World Championships “where the turf meets the surf” … and there were many!

2017 Breeders Cup (Nov. 3-4)

Before Friday’s card was rebranded “Future Stars Friday” for the 2018 event at Churchill Downs, the Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff served as the anchor race on the first card of the two-day Breeders’ Cup.

And so it was that on Friday of the 2017 Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar, a crowd of 32,728 watched 4-year-old filly Forever Unbridled win the $2 million Longines Distaff by a half-length over Abel Tasman.

Bar of Gold (#5) wins at huge odds. (Eclipse Sportswire)

Budding star Rushing Fall won the first World Championships race on the Friday card by three-quarters of a length in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. She would go on to earn over $2.9 million in her career through four seasons of racing.  

Breeders’ Cup Saturday got off to a rollicking start highlighted by three straight upsets from Caledonia Road ($36.60) in the 14 Hands Winery Juvenile Fillies, Stormy Liberal ($62.40) in the Turf Sprint, and Bar of Gold ($135.40) in the Filly and Mare Sprint. Bar of Gold’s 66.70-1 odds produced, at the time, the second highest win price in Breeders’ Cup history behind only Arcangues’ $2 win payout of $269.20 in the 1993 Classic.

Speaking of the Classic, Gun Runner set the pace as the second betting choice in the $6 million race and simply dominated in front of 37,692 fans, winning by 2 ¼ lengths under Florent Geroux en route to Horse of the Year honors for 2017.

Earlier on the card, history was made when Good Magic became the first horse to break his maiden (earn his first career win) in a Breeders’ Cup race with a victory in the Sentient Jet Juvenile. The Chad Brown trainee would go on to finish second to eventual Triple Crown winner Justify in the 2018 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve and, after retiring from the track, become one of the most successful young stallions in North America.

The two-day on-track wagering total of $25,181,317 was the highest-ever for the event.

2021 Breeders’ Cup (Nov. 5-6)

On Aug. 17, 2018 – nine months after the first World Championships at Del Mar – Breeders’ Cup confirmed that the event would return to the seaside track in 2021. The 38^th Breeders’ Cup benefited from an expansion of international broadcast coverage in the U.K. and Ireland through contracts with ITV, Sky Sports Racing, and Racing TV.

Future Stars Friday lived up to its name as future champions Echo Zulu, Corniche, and Modern Games dazzled. Echo Zulu won the NetJets Juvenile Fillies to cap an unbeaten season that culminated with the Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old filly, while Corniche improved to 3-for-3 with a win in the TVG Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance on his way to champion 2-year-old male honors.

A star is born: Modern Games. (Eclipse Sportswire)

After being inadvertently scratched prior to the start of the $1 million Juvenile Turf, Modern Games was reloaded into the gate and won by 1 ½ lengths while running for purse money only. The Godolphin homebred would go on to attain international stardom for trainer Charlie Appleby and won the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile Presented by PDJF a year later at Keeneland to cement the Eclipse Award as 2022 champion turf male.

Fortunately for racing fans, the weekend was just getting warm.

Knicks Go, the 2020 Big Ass Fans Dirt Mile winner, recorded his fourth straight stakes win with a dominant, front-running 2 ¾-length win in the $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic for owner Korea Racing Authority. He subsequently was named 2021 champion older dirt male and Horse of the Year.

Earlier on the card, an international storyline with global implications captivated racing fans as history was made in the $2 million Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf when Japan earned its first victory in the World Championships. Five-year-old star Loves Only You charged to the front in deep stretch under Yuga Kawada and edged My Sister Nat by a half-length for trainer Yoshito Yahagi and owner DMM Dream Club.

Japan did not have to wait long for its second Breeders’ Cup winner, as three races later overlooked Marche Lorraine, also trained by Yahagi, closed from ninth of 11 runners to win the $2 million Longines Distaff, nipping Dunbar Road by a nose in a thriller at odds of 49.90-1.

The unforgettable two-day event established a then-record for total all-sources handle ($183,260,127) for the World Championships.

For the first time, Breeders’ Cup, America’s Best Racing, and Hípica TV collaborated to present live coverage, entirely in Spanish, of all 14 Breeders’ Cup World Championships races via “Breeders’ Cup en Vivo,” which drew more than 282,000 views on Hípica TV’s YouTube channel over the two days.

The 2021 Breeders’ Cup truly was an international event.