Article courtesy of Mike Curry of America's Best Racing

ABR’s Guide to Throwing an Amazing Breeders’ Cup Watch Party

The Breeders’ Cup World Championships serves as the de facto Super Bowl of the Thoroughbred racing season with 14 championship races over the two-day event Nov. 3-4 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif..

The race winners very often take command in their respective divisions and go on to secure year-end championship (Eclipse Award) honors on the basis of their performance at the Breeders’ Cup, making Future Stars Friday for 2-year-olds and Championship Saturday must-watch TV.

This year marks the 40th anniversary on the Breeders' Cup and there is plenty to celebrate! While I highly recommend attending a Breeders’ Cup at least once, not everyone can fit the trip into their budget or schedule, so why not make the most of watching from home with a party for friends and family? What could be better than a day with great friends, terrific food and drink, and world-class horse racing!

Set a Welcoming Tone

When throwing any party, striking the right tone is essential. Breeders’ Cup is a day of fun and excitement, and you want that mood to translate to your party decor. The signature colors for the Breeders’ Cup are purple and gold, which is a great starting point for decorations like tablecloths, and napkins and cutlery. We love these Spirit of Racing Cups from the Breeders’ Cup store, a must-have for your soiree. Add a couple of bundles of purple balloons and some streamers … and voila!

If purple doesn’t fit your style or home décor, never fear, there are plenty of horse racing-themed decorations as well that you could opt for or use to accompany a purple theme. We love these racing-themed cutouts for the front door to let family and friends know you mean business. Pick up some racing plates and napkins, tack up a horse racing string banner and a “place your bets” banner and the race is on …

Ready to take the decorations to the next level? Check out the Breeders’ Cup store for some amazing items that can add a touch of elegance if you have a few dollars to spice things up. This serving platter commemorating this year’s 40th Anniversary of the Breeders’ Cup would be a wonderful addition. Check out these amazing rocks glasses for the 2023 Breeders’ Cup, and I love this vintage poster that would be a terrific touch – but be sure to order soon if you want to get them on time.

What is Your Style?

My friends are casual T-shirt and hooded sweatshirt types who are in it for the food, booze, and gambling. But if your friend group prefers to make a classy event of it, by all means encourage your guests to dress to the nines and break out the dresses and hats or nice jacket and tie for the gents.

For a casual party, there are all sorts of fun T-shirts in the Breeders’ Cup store and Old Smoke has an vast collection of horse-racing-themed shirts to choose from.

If your party will trend to the dressier side, Breeders’ Cup ambassador Carson Kressley has an outstanding guide to fall racing style or simply add a nice racing-themed accessory to spice up the outfit and get in the spirit of the Breeders’ Cup, perhaps a horse-themed tie for the men or a fantastic women’s scarf to put the finishing touch on a perfect ensemble.

Just be sure to let your guests know the plan in advance so they can dress accordingly.

Craft Up a Cocktail (Or Two!)

For Kentucky Derby parties, offering mint juleps to your guests makes sense. Hey, it’s the official drink of the first jewel of the Triple Crown. But nobody leaves a Derby party wanting your mint julep recipe because most people find them disgusting. The great thing about the Breeders’ Cup is they have two official drinks, and unlike mint juleps they taste great and will leave your guests wanting more … and the recipe.

ABR’s Dan Tordjman interviewed the expert mixologist, Mark Tubridy, who concocted the Torrie Cup and the Garland. Check out the interview here for some great background on Tubridy and insights into mixing up the perfect drink, but he provided one key tip to remember for the amateur mixologist preparing drinks for their friends:

“These drinks were designed to be made in batches, so ratios and measurements are very important! Make sure you keep track of how much you’re pouring of each ingredient.”

Check out the recipes below and be sure to take the time and effort to measure out the recipes correctly for a perfect batch of cocktails.

Torrie Cup

• 1 1/2 parts Maker’s Mark® Bourbon

• 3/4 part Sweet Vermouth

• 1 ½ parts Orange Juice

• 2 parts Lemonade (Simply or Tropicana)

Preparation: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker; add ice, shake vigorously and strain over fresh ice in a fancy wine glass or goblet. Garnish with a lemon wheel.

The Garland

• 1 part Tito’s Handmade Vodka

• 1 part Triple Sec

• 1 part Honey-Green Tea (Honest or Pure Leaf)

• 1/2 part Fresh Lemon Juice

Preparation: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker; add ice, shake vigorously and strain over fresh ice in a highball glass. Garnish with edible purple flowers.

SoCal Flavor

With Santa Anita Park hosting the 2023 Breeders’ Cup in Southern California, why not use the locale as inspiration for the menu at your party? Not everyone can be Bobby Flay in the kitchen, so pick a menu that you can actually pull off (and execute well!) for your guests – know your limitations.

Tacos are a great place to start and you have many options beyond what we suggest here, but the simplest might simply be classic street tacos. Grill the carne asada, dice up some cilantro, onions, and radishes, cut up some limes, and put out the salsa and taco shells and your guests can feast for themselves. I’ve used this marinade recipe before for grilling 3-4 pounds of flank steak, from The Recipe Critic website.

Carne Asada Marinade

• 1 tbsp Olive Oil

• 2 Limes, juiced

• 1/4 cup Orange Juice

• 1/4 cup Soy Sauce

• 6 cloves Garlic, minced

• 1 tsp Oregano

• 2 tsp Chili Powder

• 1 tsp Cumin

• 2 tsp Salt

• 1 tsp Pepper

Fish and shrimp tacos also are a great option with a Southern California vibe for those who prefer seafood to beef and there are many great recipes. We’ve used for a few years this amazing recipe for shrimp tacos with mango salsa that we have gotten many requests for from family on return visits. The prep work here is the time-consuming aspect (don’t believe the 25-minute estimate) but once that is done, the hard part is out of the way and you can simply cook up your marinating shrimp once everyone gets hungry.

If firing up the grill for burgers and dogs is more your style, do whatever is most comfortable. Maybe try to give the burgers a California flair by emulating the famous In-N-Out Burger and surprise your guests with a classic Animal Style burger with Thousand Island dressing, mustard grilled patties, and pickles. This was a handy resource for those interested in recreating the iconic burger.

Looking for something sweet after a great meal? I stumbled upon this delectable Caramel Cashew Cupcake recipe that actually was a part of a Breeders’ Cup edition of Cupcake Wars back in 2013. Who knew?!

Most importantly, have fun with the menu and don’t get too stressed out over it. You can always pick up some pre-made party trays at the grocery store or some desserts at the local bakery … or keep it simple and order some pizzas.

How to Watch

The two-day championship event will be shown live across NBC, Peacock, USA Network, and FanDuel TV on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 3-4.

Future Stars Friday on Nov. 3 features all five Breeders’ Cup World Championships races for 2-year-olds. USA Network coverage will take place from 4-8 p.m. ET and will include one undercard race and all five Breeders’ Cup races, concluding with the $1 million Prevagen Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at 7:40 p.m. ET. FanDuel TV coverage will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET with the first undercard race and will conclude with Race 10 at 8:10 p.m. ET.

The 12-race card on Saturday, Nov. 4, is highlighted by nine Breeders’ Cup races. First post time is 1:10 p.m. ET. Two undercard races will lead into the first Breeders’ Cup race, which will have a post time of 2:30 p.m. ET.

USA Network offers live coverage on Saturday from 1:30-3:30 p.m. ET, followed by an extended 3 1/2 hours of live programming on NBC and Peacock from 3:30-7 p.m. ET that will feature five World Championship races, concluding their coverage with the $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic. Post time for the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic is set for 6:40 p.m. ET.

FanDuel TV will also televise the first two undercard races and eight of the nine Breeders’ Cup World Championships races on Saturday. Following the running of the Breeders’ Cup Classic on NBC and Peacock, FanDuel TV will televise the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint and the $2 million Qatar Racing Breeders’ Cup Sprint and will conclude its coverage with a final undercard race with a post time of 8:32 p.m. ET.

Place Your Bets

For anyone new to horse racing, our Beginner’s Guide to the Breeders’ Cup is a great place to get your feet wet. When throwing a party, it’s good to remember that watching a horse race is always a little more exciting when you have some skin in the game. It could be as simple as putting the names of the horses in a hat for each Breeders’ Cup race and offering guests a chance to pick name for $1 or $5 and the person with the winning horse takes the pot. Maybe you pick up a few party gifts and give one of those out to the guest with the winning horse’s name.

If friends and family prefer a more serious gamble, remember pari-mutuel betting is available online – and rather than betting against the house, you are betting against other gamblers. The best part is, it’s never been easier to set up an online account. You can bet from home using what is called an advance-deposit-wagering platform. Using an “ADW” requires signing up for an account and depositing money in advance that can be used to bet online. Sometimes, it can be a bit of a process to start up, so don’t wait until the last minute if you are hoping to place some bets on the Breeders’ Cup. Set up the account at least a few days in advance.

FanDuel is the official betting partner of Breeders’ Cup, and for big-events like the World Championships they often run promotions for people interested in starting an account. You can also use America’s Best Racing’s handy gambling calculator to figure out how much your bets will cost in advance.

The Breeders’ Cup is the best betting weekend of the entire year in horse racing. Have fun and good luck!

Let the party begin!