Aidan O'Brien Breeders' Cup Wins: How He Reached a Record 23

Aidan O'Brien Breeders' Cup wins: 23 through Friday, Oct. 30

Through Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, Aidan O'Brien has the most Breeders' Cup wins of any trainer, with a record 23. Bob Baffert is one behind on 22. That lead is only a few hours old, and it can still change.

Both men came to Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky, tied on 21. Then the all-time lead changed three times in a single evening of 2-year-old racing. Saturday has nine more races, so this page gives the count through Friday only.

New to this? The Breeders' Cup is racing's two-day world championship, with 14 races. "Juvenile" simply means a 2-year-old, and Friday is the day set aside for them.

How the lead changed on Friday

Here is the evening in order:

• Race 8, Juvenile Fillies Turf: Sun Goddess beat Green Empress under Ryan Moore. O'Brien goes to 22 and leads alone.
• Race 9, Juvenile: unbeaten Hughes held off American History by 2 1/4 lengths under Flavien Prat. Baffert goes to 22 and it's tied again.
• Race 10, Juvenile Turf: Haffner collared the front-running Avec Toi late, with Folsom Blues second. O'Brien goes to 23.

The last race had a family twist. Folsom Blues is trained by Joseph O'Brien, Aidan's son, so father and son finished first and second.

The winning ride almost belonged to someone else. Moore was first named on stablemate Great Barrier Reef, who was scratched after a stone bruise. Moore then took over Haffner from Christophe Soumillon.

Friday's five juvenile results

Two other trainers had their own big moments. Boughey won his first Breeders' Cup race with Libertango, by 1 1/4 lengths. Walsh also got his first when Emphatic stayed unbeaten, holding off Baffert's favored Miss Monica by 1 1/2 lengths. It was his 14th Breeders' Cup starter after 13 without a win.

Most Breeders' Cup wins by a trainer

The top of the list through Friday, Oct. 30:

1. Aidan O'Brien: 23
2. Bob Baffert: 22
3. D. Wayne Lukas: 20

Lukas held the record for years. O'Brien tied him with win No. 20 in 2024, then passed him with Gstaad in 2025. Lukas died in June 2025 at 89, so his total is final. Baffert was also on 21 when this week began.

The two leaders got here in opposite ways. FanDuel's pre-race count had all 10 of O'Brien's runners on turf and all six of Baffert's on dirt. Baffert's wins go back to Thirty Slews in the 1992 Sprint, and this is his 34th Breeders' Cup.

How O'Brien reached 23

It started 25 years ago. Johannesburg won the 2001 Juvenile for O'Brien, ridden by Mick Kinane, and that was the first of the 23.

Here's where all of them have come from, through Friday:

Two numbers stand out. Thirteen of the 23 came in 2-year-old races, and 21 came in races on turf.

Nine Juvenile Turf wins, all with Coolmore

This is O'Brien's signature race. Coolmore, the Irish breeding and racing operation, is part of every one of the nine:

• Wrote (2011)
• George Vancouver (2012)
• Hit It A Bomb (2015)
• Mendelssohn (2017)
• Victoria Road (2022)
• Unquestionable (2023)
• Henri Matisse (2024)
• Gstaad (2025)
• Haffner (2026)

That's five in a row. It also explains the system. Coolmore breeds and buys horses, O'Brien develops them, and the best young turf horses have a clear late-season target.

Volume plus quality

NBC Sports lists O'Brien's 193 Breeders' Cup starters as the most by any trainer. That works out to roughly one winner in every eight or nine runners, which is strong in championship races.

Sheer numbers help, but they don't explain everything. Sending that many horses across the Atlantic year after year also gives a stable a long record of what travels and what handles American tracks.

Keeneland suits him

The Irish Times notes that O'Brien had won at every Breeders' Cup held at Keeneland before this week. Sun Goddess and Haffner keep that going.

Through Friday, eight of his 23 have come at this track, across 2015, 2020, 2022 and 2026.

Why European juveniles do so well on Keeneland's turf

Friday was a clean sweep. Europeans won all three turf races, and the two dirt races went to American-based trainers. The same turf sweep happened at Keeneland in 2022.

Some results from this year:

• Juvenile Turf: a European-based colt has now won six straight. Before Friday, Europeans had run first and second in two of the last four, in 2022 and 2023.
• Juvenile Fillies Turf: Irish horses filled the top three, with Green Empress and Johnny Murtagh's Curracloe behind Sun Goddess.
• Juvenile Turf Sprint: Libertango gave Britain the opener.

Nobody has one proven answer, but this year's results suggest some likely reasons:

• Grass is the norm. Top European racing is mostly on turf, so their best 2-year-olds grow up on it.
• Hard form. Many arrive from Royal Ascot and Group 1 races. Libertango beat 24 rivals in the Albany Stakes in June.
• Plenty of racing. Friday was Sun Goddess's ninth start of the year.
• Varied courses. Europeans handle uphill finishes and very different layouts at home, so Keeneland's short stretch is less of a shock.

It isn't automatic. Keeneland's homestretch is short by overseas standards, and Sun Goddess was running a mile for the first time. For Keeneland's layout, see our Juvenile Turf guide. For more on the age group, read about two-year-old racehorses.

What to watch next

Saturday, Oct. 31, has nine races, and the two trainers aren't evenly matched in numbers. Baffert lost Splendora from the Distaff and Nooni from the Filly & Mare Sprint to scratches, which leaves him one listed runner, so a tie is the most he can reach on Saturday. Runners as listed Friday (posts ET; check for scratches):

• 1:10 p.m., Filly & Mare Sprint: Baffert's Explora. It's his only remaining chance for a new tie.
• 3:04 p.m., Filly & Mare Turf: O'Brien's Precise.
• 4:20 p.m., Mile: O'Brien's True Love and Puerto Rico.
• 5:36 p.m., Turf: O'Brien's Benvenuto Cellini and Diamond Necklace.

When you check the final number, keep three things in mind:

• Look for the date. Any total published before Saturday's last race is already out of date if either man wins.
• Check the outlet. Live trackers can lag, so a total can differ for an hour or two.
• Know the dead heat. High Chaparral's shared Turf win in 2003 counts as a full win in O'Brien's total.

For the full schedule, see our Breeders' Cup 2026 guide. Racing terms are in the glossary, and more coverage is in trends.