How to watch Breeders' Cup 2024: free live streams for Future Stars Friday and Classic, schedule

The Breeders’ Cup 2024 will feature some of the top names in racing competing for major momey. The Breeders’ Cup Classic is North America’s richest race — and you can watch it from anywhere with a VPN, potentially for free.

The Breeders’ Cup meeting features 14 races over two days, starting with Future Stars Friday today. The top race of day one is the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. It all culminates in the Classic on Saturday. In total, there is $30 million to be won, with $7 million on offer for the winner of the 1.25-mile Classic alone.

City of Troy, trained by Aidan O’Brien in Ireland, is one of the fancied horses for the Classic. However, the surface might not quite suit it. Forever Young, from Japan, is the favourite going in, while USA-based Highland Falls is also well-backed. However, we all know these races can spring a surprise too. Read on to find out how you can watch the Breeders' Cup 2024 online and on TV wherever you are.

Watch the Breeders' Cup 2024 for FREE

The Breeders' Cup 2024 will be available to watch for FREE on Virgin Media Play in Ireland and ITVX in the UK (Saturday only).

Traveling abroad from one of these countries? Use a VPN to access your usual service. Our favourite is NordVPN.

How to watch Breeders' Cup from anywhere

Away from home at the moment and blocked from watching the horse racing on your usual subscription?

You can still watch the Breeders' Cup live thanks to the wonders of a VPN (Virtual Private Network). The software allows your devices to appear to be back in your home country regardless of where in the world you are, making it ideal for viewers away on vacation or on business. Our favorite is NordVPN. We believe it's the best on the market — find out why in our NordVPN review.

There's a good reason you've heard of NordVPN. We specialize in testing and reviewing VPN services and NordVPN is the one we rate best. It's outstanding at unblocking streaming services, it's fast and it has top-level security features too. With over 6,000 servers, across 110+ countries, and at a great price, it's easy to recommend.

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Using a VPN is incredibly simple.

1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite.

2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance, if you're away from the U.S. and want to view your usual U.S. service, you'd select U.S. from the list.

3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to a service listed below that's showing the Breeders' Cup and watch the racing.

How to watch Breeders' Cup in the U.S.

Horse racing fans in the U.S. can watch the Breeders' live stream on Peacock TV, NBC's streaming service. The streamer also has coverage of Premier League Soccer and the NFL to tune in, you'll need to be signed up for either a Premium subscription ($7.99/month) or Premium Plus ($13.99/month), which also gets rid of some ads.

You can watch Peacock on most smart devices including Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, games consoles and smart TVs. There are Peacock apps for most platforms including Android and iOS mobiles and tablets. You can also watch Peacock using your web browser on laptops and other devices.

Coverage will also be televised on USA Network, switching to NBC ahead of the Breeders' Cup Classic. Coverage will begin at 4 p.m. ET on USA Network on Friday. Saturday's coverage begins at 2 p.m. ET on USA Network, switching to NBC from 3:30 p.m. ET. It's back on USA Network from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m ET.

USA Network is available with most cable TV packages. For cord-cutters, one option is Sling TV. The Sling Blue package is priced from $40/month ($20 for your first month) and it comes with more than 40 channels including USA.

Or you could go for Fubo. Its Pro Plan costs $79.99/month, but it gives you 150+ channels for that hefty investment, including USA Network, plus lots more for sports fans to enjoy. USA is also on YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV and DirecTV Stream.

In addition to showing 2024 Breeders' Cup and selected Premier League 24/25 live streams, Peacock also has a huge library of licensed content drawn from various brands. That includes shows like "30 Rock", "The Voice", "Law & Order: SVU" and "This Is Us". Prices start at $7.99/month. You can cancel at any time.

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You'll need Sling TV's Blue package starts from $40/month ($20 for your first month). The plan comes with 40-plus channels, including USA and NBC in selected markets. New subscribers often get a discount on their first month.

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If you love sports, you might want to check out Fubo. It's got a 7-day free trial so you don't need to pay up front and has dozens of sports channels, including NBC and USA Network.

How to watch the Breeders' Cup in the U.K.

The Breeders' Cup live stream will be available on ITVX in the U.K. on Friday, November 1 and Saturday, November 2. On TV it will be live on ITV4.

It’s FREE to watch and carries thousands of great TV shows and movies. However, you will need a valid TV license to stream content live.

The Breeder's Cup is also available via Sky Sports Racing and Now Sports with membership plans starting from £14.99/day.

If you're outside of the UK when it's on, you can try using a VPN to get around the geo-restrictions that will prevent ITVX from working. Scroll down for more information and instructions.

Can you watch the Breeders' Cup in Canada, Australia and New Zealand?

Unfortunately there does not seem to be a way to watch the Breeders' Cup live stream in Canada, Australia or New Zealand.

Canadians, Aussies or Kiwis stuck abroad who still want their low-price alternative can use a VPN such as NordVPN to make your streaming device believe it's back home in Canada.

Breeders' Cup 2024 Schedule

(All times ET)

Saturday, November 2
3pm – Dirt Mile ($1 million)
3.41pm – Turf Sprint ($1 million)
4.21pm – Distaff ($2 million)
5.01pm – Turf ($5 million)
5.41pm – BREEDERS' CUP CLASSIC ($7 million)
6.25pm – Filly and Mare Turf ($2 million)
7.05pm – Filly and Mare Sprint ($1 million)
7.45pm – Mile ($2 million)
8.25pm – Sprint ($2 million)

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