American Horse Racing Calendar

American Horse Racing Calendar: America's racing year at a glance

American Pharoah

American racing runs on two big ideas: the Triple Crown in spring, and the Breeders' Cup in autumn. Almost everything else in the year is either building towards one of them or catching its breath afterwards.

It's also a very different sport from the European version. Most big races are run on dirt rather than turf, on tight oval tracks, and with much bigger fields. The racing is fast and the action comes thick and fast, which is part of the appeal if you're used to the longer, tactical races in Britain.

The other thing to know is that America doesn't really do festivals in the British sense. Instead, you get a series of famous tracks, each with its own season and its own marquee races: Churchill Downs for the Derby, Saratoga for the summer, Keeneland and Belmont Park in the autumn.

Key 2027 dates for the major races

These are the dates published so far for 2027. A couple are still to be confirmed, so check the track websites before you book travel.

USA Racing Calendar

January and February: the winter season

Winter racing is based in Florida and California, where the weather allows it.

Pegasus World Cup (Gulfstream Park, Florida): the richest race of the winter, a 1 1/8 mile Grade 1 on dirt for older horses, with a turf version on the same card. It's scheduled for Saturday 23 January 2027. One listing showed 30 January, so check the track before you book.

From this point the Road to the Kentucky Derby gets going. Three-year-olds run in a series of preps from January onwards, earning points to qualify for the Derby field.

March and April: the Derby preps

The spring is all about the prep races. Each is a Grade 1, 2 or 3 stakes run at a major track, and the points they award decide who gets into the Kentucky Derby.

Rebel Stakes (Oaklawn Park, 13 March 2027): a Grade 2 for three-year-olds over a mile and a sixteenth.
Florida Derby (Gulfstream Park, late March or early April): one of the most important preps in the country.
Wood Memorial (Belmont Park, 3 April 2027): the main New York prep, over a mile and an eighth.
Santa Anita Derby (Santa Anita, early April): the key West Coast prep.
Arkansas Derby and Blue Grass Stakes (Oaklawn and Keeneland, April): the last big preps before the Derby.

Santa Anita Races

May: the first two legs of the Triple Crown

Kentucky Oaks (Churchill Downs, Friday 30 April 2027): the main race for three-year-old fillies, run the day before the Derby. It's a big occasion in its own right, and a lot of locals think of it as the best day of Derby week.
Kentucky Derby (Churchill Downs, Saturday 1 May 2027): the most famous race in America, run over a mile and a quarter. It's the 153rd running in 2027, and it goes off at about 6.57pm Eastern, which is just before midnight in the UK.
Preakness Stakes (Pimlico, Sunday 23 May 2027): the second leg of the Triple Crown, over a mile and three-sixteenths. In 2027 it's run later than usual, on a Sunday, to give horses more time to recover from the Derby and encourage more of them to take part.

Churchill Downs

The Belmont Stakes (Saturday 5 June 2027)

This is the final leg of the Triple Crown, and the longest. It's traditionally run over 1 1/2 miles. In 2027 it goes back to Belmont Park in New York, after three years at Saratoga while the track was rebuilt. The distance for 2027 hadn't been confirmed when I checked.

Belmont Park will also host the July 4th Racing Festival from 2027

July and August: the summer meets

Summer racing belongs to Saratoga and Del Mar.

Haskell Stakes (Monmouth Park, New Jersey, July): the top summer race for three-year-olds before the autumn.
Saratoga summer meet (Saratoga Springs, New York, July to early September): about 40 days of racing in 2027, a return to the traditional length. It's the most famous summer meet in the country.
Whitney Stakes (Saratoga, August): a Grade 1 over a mile and an eighth for older horses. The winner earns a place in the Breeders' Cup Classic.
Travers Stakes (Saratoga, late August): the Midsummer Derby, over a mile and a quarter for three-year-olds.
Pacific Classic (Del Mar, California, August): the biggest race of the Del Mar summer meet, over a mile and a quarter.

September: the autumn begins

The focus shifts to the Breeders' Cup, with a run of trials known as the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series. A win in one of these "win and you're in" races earns a place in the field for the big weekend.

Woodward Stakes (Saratoga, early September): a Grade 1 for older horses.
Kentucky Downs meet (Kentucky, September): a short but rich meet on a unique turf course.

October and November: the Breeders' Cup

The Breeders' Cup World Championships is two days of Grade 1 racing and the high point of the American Horse Racing Calendar, with 14 championship races across dirt and turf, and the best horses from America, Europe, Japan and beyond. The headline race is the Breeders' Cup Classic, the championship for older horses over a mile and a quarter.

The venue moves each year. In 2026 it's at Keeneland on 30 and 31 October. In 2027 it moves to Belmont Park on Friday 29 and Saturday 30 October. Check the Breeders' Cup website for the final schedule.

Around the same time you'll find the Keeneland fall meet in October, and the Jockey Club Gold Cup, which returns to Belmont Park in the autumn.

December: the year winds down

The big races of the winter American Horse Racing Calendar are the Cigar Mile, a Grade 1 mile race, and a quieter run of stakes in Florida, Louisiana and California as the next Road to the Kentucky Derby begins.

American Horse Racing Calendar FAQ

When is the Kentucky Derby in 2027? Saturday 1 May 2027, at Churchill Downs in Louisville. It's always run on the first Saturday in May.

When is the Preakness in 2027? Sunday 23 May 2027, at Pimlico in Baltimore. It's later than usual, and the first Sunday running of the race.

When is the Belmont Stakes in 2027? Saturday 5 June 2027, at Belmont Park.

When are the Breeders' Cup in 2027? Friday 29 and Saturday 30 October 2027, at Belmont Park.

What is the American Triple Crown? The Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, run over five weeks in the spring for three-year-olds. A horse that wins all three takes the title.

What time is the Kentucky Derby in UK time? It goes off at about 6.57pm Eastern, which is roughly 11.57pm in the UK.

World Horse Racing Calendar