The Breeders' Cup is generally regarded as the end of the North America racing season, although a few Grade I events take place in later November and December.

Forever Unbridled, Roy H and World Approval likely wrapped up divisional Eclipse Awards with victories in the Distaff, Sprint and Mile respectively.

[5] In response to unusually heavy fatalities during its 2016 summer meet, Del Mar revamped the main track to increase the banking on the turns and even out the surface.

[9] On October 25, the Breeders' Cup announced that 187 horses had been pre-entered for the event, including nine returning or former champions: Arrogate, Highland Reel, Drefong, Oscar Performance, Lady Eli, Champagne Room, Queen's Trust, Finest City, and Mongolian Saturday.

Of this, $25,181,317 was bet at Del Mar itself, up sharply from $20,742,847 in 2016 despite the much lower attendance On Friday, November 3, the first four Breeders' Cup races were run before a crowd of 32,278.

[14] The highlight of the day was Forever Unbridled's win in the Distaff, in which she defeated a strong contingent of three-year-old fillies led by Abel Tasman.

[16] Source: Equibase Charts[2] The highlight of the day was Gun Runner's commanding victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic, which likely wrapped up Horse of the Year honors.

West Coast's third-place finish was likely good enough to earn him champion three-year-old honors combined with earlier wins in the Travers Stakes and Pennsylvania Derby.

His clear victory, combined with a strong second-place performance in the Champagne Stakes, moved him to the top of the two-year-old colt division and made him the likely winter book favorite for the 2018 Kentucky Derby.

[12][17] The day featured several wins by longshots, including Bar of Gold who won the Filly & Mare Sprint by a nose at 66–1, the second largest payout in Breeders' Cup history.