Sports fans are in for a treat in 2025, with the upcoming calendar packed with a host of top-class events across different disciplines.
The NFL Super Bowl dominates proceedings at the start of the year, while the play-offs in the NBA take centre stage a little further down the line.
The race to win the Stanley Cup is another highlight, and is a time when fans will be clamouring to check out the best options for sports betting (Sportswetten in German) during each round of the post season.
Followers of horse racing also have plenty to look forward to this year, with the schedule once again featuring a plethora of showpiece meetings.
Read on as we take a closer look at what is on the agenda in US horse racing in 2025, starting with an event which will garner plenty of attention in Florida.
Pegasus World Cup Day
Pegasus World Cup Day at Gulfstream Park on January 25 is the first major horse racing event of the year in the US and generates massive interest in the betting industry.
The headline race is the $3 million Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes, which brings together some of the best older horses in the world.
The meeting features a total of seven graded stakes races with prize money totalling more than $5m, making this one of the most prestigious events in the US.
The Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes is the main support race, followed by the Grade 2 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational Stakes.
The organisers add to the allure of the event by running a handicapping tournament, which has a $225,000 prize pool on offer based on 200 entries.
Pegasus World Cup Day has become on the most popular social events in Florida since it was launched in 2017 and this year’s meeting will not disappoint.
American Triple Crown
The highlight of the horse racing calendar during May and June is the Triple Crown – the holy grail for three-year-old Thoroughbreds in North America.
It comprises the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes, and is recognised as one of the most coveted achievements in any sport.
Only 13 horses have ever won the Triple Crown including legends such as Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977) and Affirmed (1978).
American Pharoah (2015) and Justify (2018) are the only horses to achieve the feat during the 21st century, highlighting the elusive nature of the Triple Crown.
The concept of the American Triple Crown was popularised through the writings of Charles Hatton – a hugely respect horse racing columnist.
It remains a massively revered accomplishment in US sports and fans will hope to see a 14th horse join the Triple Crown roll of honour this year.
Breeders’ Cup World Championships
The 42nd edition of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships will be staged at Del Mar in California on Friday, October 31 and Saturday, November 1.
The meeting consists of 14 Grade 1 races with $31m prize money up for grabs, and is widely viewed as the culmination of the annual international flat racing calendar.
The standout race is the Breeders’ Cup Classic, which crowns the best middle-distance horse on the planet each year.
Top Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien failed in his quest to win the Classic for the first time in 2024, with his heavily hyped City Of Troy running a stinker on the dirt.
O’Brien will likely have another crack at the race this year, although his chances of toppling the top North American horses are remote.Sierra Leone won the Classic for trainer Chad Brown in 2024, and he will be aimed at the race again this year.
