For many racing events, races are drawn two or three days beforehand, with previous performances coming out within hours.
However, for the Breeders’ Cup, with 14 races within two weeks, handicappers need slightly bit more time to think about their weekend wagers, and with this in mind, the Breeders’ Cup races were attracted Monday afternoon in Louisville, KY.. This season’s event will be held on Friday and Saturday, November 3 and 2, in Churchill Downs.The centerpiece of the event is the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, which will take place Saturday evening, with an announced post time of 5:44 pm ET. The first retirement of Triple Crown winner Justify leaves a field of contenders that are not exactly household names, but with 14 horses entered and no clear favorite, the Classic will be a hell of a gambling race.
Check out gambling guides for Friday’s races here, and Saturday’s races here, and head over to Hi Race Fans for more information on wagering in general and this year’s Breeders’ Cup, including a look at the Distaff and Mile. In 2017 he earned a trip to the Kentucky Derby with a nose win in the Grade 1 UAE Derby, just to freak out soon after the gate started, bucking like a bronco and carrying himself out of the race off the rest. Until a few weeks ago, this has been his only race at the United States; he went on to a formidable career running in Europe and Dubai, winning this year’s Dubai World Cup by 5??3/4 spans along with the Grade 1 Prix Jean Prat in Chantilly. He looked like a winner in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park in late September, just to be nipped at the wire by longshot Discreet Lover, a horse he faces again. He’s finished in the top three in 15 of his 20 races for earnings of $8.5 million; he is owned and bred by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of the Emirate of Dubai.
2) Roaring Lion
Owner: Qatar Racing Limited
Trainer: John Gosden
Jockey: Oison Murphy
Morning line odds: 20-1
This three-year-old Kentucky-bred is located in England, and he makes his first visit to the U.S. to operate in the Classic. He eked out a neck win in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on October 20, and he’s never run on dirt, even though he did catch a six-length win on the synthetic trail at Kempton in September of 2017. So: he’ll be running on brief rest; he’s run on grass; and he travelled across an ocean. He’s won $3.5 million, therefore his gift is nothing to miss…but what a stunner it’d be if he could pull off this.
3) Catholic Boy
Owner: Robert LaPenta, Madaket Stables, Siena Farm, and Twin Creeks Racing Stables
Trainer: Jonathan Thomas
Jockey: Javier Castellano
Morning line odds: 8-1
That is a horse which more people should be familiar with. His coach was an assistant to Todd Pletcher, who dominated the game before Chad Brown came together; an accomplished rider, Thomas suffered a devastating injury before turning to training, leaving Pletcher’s use to strike out on his own. Catholic Boy started his career on bud, was switched to grime and won the Grade two Remsen, subsequently bled at the Grade 1 Florida Derby, sidelining him on the Kentucky Derby trail. Switched back to grass, he won the Grade 1 Belmont Derby, then cruised to victory in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes back on dirt. Versatile and talented, a win here would cap an unbelievable year which may involve some voters putting him in their ballot for champion 3-year-old.
g4) Gunnevera
Owner: Margoth
Trainer: Antonio Sano
Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr..
Morning line odds: 20-1
At once considered one of the leaders of his cohort, this four-year-old was a promising runner on the Kentucky Derby trail this past year before tailing away when the big races came along. He had been second at the Grade 1 Travers last year behind fellow rival here West Coast; he had been third at the Grade 1 Pacific Classic behind the last year’s Vintage winner Gun Runner and West Coast. He returned from an eighth-place finish in the Group 1 Dubai World Cup in March into a five-month layoff, winning his first return at a small race at Gulfstream Park, then running secon
D to Yoshida (also entered here) in the Grade 1 Woodward in Saratoga. He gets a top jockey in Ortiz, also as this horse purchased for $16,000 has got $3 million, he does not have a lot to prove, however that Grade 1 win has so far eluded him.
5) Lone Sailor
Owner: G M B Racing
Trainer: Tom Amoss
Jockey: James Graham
Morning line odds: 30-1
Last Marcha runner-up finish by a neck in the Grade two Louisiana Derby stamped him as a contender for its spring/summer classics, but operating in top-level races saw him on the outside looking into the winner’s circle. He’s won just twice at a 14-race profession: in Saratoga over a sloppy track in September 2017, and in late September when he won the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby. Founded by G M B Racing, the Thoroughbred performance of Gayle Benson and her late husband Tom, owners of the NBA Pelicans and NFL Saints, he has accumulated earnings of $870,000 by conducting in big races and frequently hitting on the board.
6) McKinzie
Owner: Michael Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Jockey: Mike Smith
Morning line odds: 6-1
Five races, four wins, 1 second. Back in the winter, he had been headed towards Kentucky Derby favoritism until he got hurt and Justify appeared. Following six months from the races, he also came back to win the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby by 1??3/4 lengths, his first excursion outside of California. He faces a much larger test here than he did at the Keystone State, but it would be foolish to miss him, given what he has accomplished. An adequate conclusion here makes him a millionaire, as he has already earned $900,000.
7) West Coast
Owner: Gary and Mary West
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Jockey: John Velazquez
Morning line odds: 5-1
Following a 2017 campaign that culminated with an Eclipse Award for champion three-year-old, this bay colt has conducted just three races this year, finishing second in all three of them, all Grade 1 races. He was third in this race this past year, and also the talent of the $425,000 yearling purchase is indisputable. He receives Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez in the saddle for the first time, his former jockeys having chosen to ride someplace .
8) Pavel
Owner: Reddam Racing
Trainer: Doug O’Neill
Jockey: Mario Gutierrez
Morning line odds: 20-1
His owner has a proclivity for seeing his horses after baseball players, especially Red Wings; Pavel [Datsyuk] joins equines Zetterberg and Nyquist, all owned by Paul Reddam. This one doesn’t quite live up to his namesake; he’s got three wins in 11 starts, but he has managed to charge $1.3 million, and in June he won the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs. Most recently he completed second–by 12??1/2 spans –to fellow rival here Accelerate at the Grade 1 Pacific Classic. Probably outclassed here, but possible to hit the board.
9) Mendelssohn
Owner: Derrick Smith, Mrs. John Magnier, and Michael Tabor
Trainer: Aidan O’Brien
Jockey: Ryan Moore
Morning line odds: 12-1
He had been Aidan O’Brien’s Derby horse, sending to the US after a stunning 18??1/2-length win in the UAE Derby at Dubai. He ran for the first time in Louisville on the first Saturday in May, finishing continue a sloppy track, but nonetheless, O’Brien persisted, sending Mendelssohn straight back into the U.S. three times: to operate third in the Grade 3 Dwyer at Belmont Park; next at the Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga; and third in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup back in Belmont. Known for his incessant vocalizing during instruction and prior to the races, this $3 million buy is a half-brother to the multiple champion Beholder, and has earned $2.3 million in his 11 life races.
Read more: nba betting tips