| Championship Event Series race | |
 Seabiscuit statue at Santa Anita, draped in a Breeders' Cup winner's blanket | |
| Location | Santa Anita Racetrack |
|---|---|
| Race type | Thoroughbred |
| Website | www |
| Race information | |
| Distance | See individual races |
| Surface | Turf, Dirt |
| Track | Left-handed |
| Purse | Varies by race; Between $1,000,000 – $6 million |
The 2016 Breeders' Cup World Championships was the 33rd edition of the premier event of the North American thoroughbred horse racing year. A total of 185 pre-entries were announced on October 26 in what was considered a highly competitive year in most divisions. The races, all of which were Grade I, took place on November 4 and 5 at Santa Anita Racetrack in Arcadia, California and were telecast by NBC. 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.
The most anticipated events were the Classic and Distaff. The Classic pitted the five-year-old California Chrome, undefeated in 2016, against Arrogate, a late developing three-year-old, with Arrogate prevailing by half a length. The Distaff featured a face-off between three Eclipse Award winners: Songbird (2015 champion two-year-old filly, undefeated in her career before the Breeders' Cup), Stellar Wind (2015 champion three-year-old filly) and Beholder (2015 champion older female). Beholder prevailed over Songbird by a nose.