The inaugural Breeders' Cup was held in 1984 at Hollywood Park in Los Angeles, California.

The first Breeders' Cup Classic remains one of the most exciting finishes in the race's history. Wild Again, at odds of 31-1, held off both Gate Dancer and Slew O' Gold in a dramatic stretch duel.

Arcangues had raced only on grass in Europe before being sent to California to compete on the dirt track at Santa Anita Park in the 1993 Breeders' Cup Classic. Bettors sent the longshot off at odds of 133-1. Under last-minute jockey Jerry Bailey, Arcangues caught Bertrando in the home stretch to score the biggest upset in Breeders' Cup history. His $269.20 payoff for a $2 wager remains a Breeders' Cup record.

In her final start, Inside Information won the 1995 Breeders' Cup Distaff at Belmont Park by 13½ lengths.

2015 marked the first time a Triple Crown had been won since the inception of the Breeders' Cup, and thus the first opportunity to win the so-called Grand Slam of Thoroughbred racing. American Pharoah completed the feat in a decisive wire to wire victory.

The 1996 Breeders' Cup was held in Canada at the historic Woodbine Racetrack, just outside Toronto.

In 2012, Calidoscopio won the Breeders' Cup Marathon at the age of nine.

Miesque achieved international stardom when she defeated a talented field of mostly male horses in the prestigious 1987 Breeders' Cup Mile, setting a Hollywood Park course record of 1:32⅘ in the process. She returned to defend her Breeders Cup title at Churchill Downs in Kentucky the following year and won the race by four lengths, despite a sodden turf course that one jockey described as "the worst turf I've ever ridden on."

The Breeders' Cup Classic is run at the American classic distance of 1 1/4 miles, usually over dirt.

Stone & Dixon won $2,687,611.20 on their $8 ticket, a Breeders' Cup record.