Breeders' Cup Classic Odds: Preview And Future Bets

As a betting race, the Classic over the past decade has returned a modest +600 average for a win, a number skewed a bit by the fact the past two winners have gone off at odds of - 333 and -110. During that time there have been two winners at high odds of +1400. It could be noted that the French colt Arcangues holds the record for the highest odds win in all Breeders' Cup races when he took the 1993 Classic at +13300.   

Gun Runner - Was a very good horse at age three, picking up a couple graded-stakes wins and running third in the 2016 Kentucky Derby. Has become a great horse at four, winning four Grade 1 stakes. But he's lost to Arrogate all three times they've met.

Arrogate - Rolled over the opposition in 2016 and the first part of this year, racking up 7 consecutive wins, and 4 straight Grade 1 wins, including last year's BC Classic. But he's been beaten in his last two, and both of those came on the Del Mar dirt. 

West Coast - Like Arrogate, he's trained by Bob Baffert, and like Arrogate last year, he skipped the 2017 Triple Crown series and burst on the scene with a big win in the (G1) Travers Stakes, where he easily beat 7 horses that had run in the Kentucky Derby.

Collected - Beat Arrogate to win the (G1) Pacific Classic at Del Mar in his last start, running his record to four consecutive wins, although some of those have come against much weaker fields than this.

Classic Empire - Talented but injury prone colt has been retired to stud and won't be in the field.

Mor Spirit - Has been on a winning streak lately, including a Grade 1 last out in the Metropolitan Handicap, but he's all-but-declared to run in the BC Dirt Mile.

Shaman Ghost - Competitive Ontario-bred has been in the money in his last 6 starts, with a pair of Grade 1 wins in there, may be just a notch below the top three here. Not yet declared for the Breeders' Cup.

McCraken - Had high hopes going into the Kentucky Derby, where he ran 8th. Has added another win and a runner-up finish in graded-stakes since then, but he was a non-factor in his last race and has not yet been declared for the Breeders' Cup.

Keen Ice - Come-from-behind runner almost always manages to crack the top 3, but doesn't win very often. He's run 2nd or 3rd in 5 of his last 8, with 1 win. Finished 3rd in this race last year. 

Practical Joke - Has shown steady improvement through the year and has a pair of recent wins, but like Mor Spirit 1 1/4 miles isn't his distance and he'll likely run in the BC Dirt Mile.

Cupid - Won two starts back at Del Mar for his 6th win in 12 tries, 4 of those in graded-stakes. He's also thrown in some clunkers, and was the beaten favorite last out in the (G1) Awesome Again Stakes. Not yet declared for the Beeders' Cup.

Send It In - Five-year-old New York bred has lots of good results to his name, but almost all of those have come at a much lower level than he would face here. Not yet declared for the Breeders' Cup.

Vivios - Japanese-bred colt has not been entered in the Breeders' Cup.

Gunnevera - Is emerging from the pack as one of the better horses to have run in the 2017 Triple Crown without getting a win. Ran well through lots of traffic trouble getting up for 2nd last out in the Travers. 

2017 Breeders' Cup Classic Betting

The Classic is the final of 9 races held on the second day of the Breeders' Cup, on Saturday, November 4 from Del Mar race track. Scheduled post time is 8:35 PM Eastern. The race is open to horses age three and older, and is run on the dirt track at 1 1/4 miles, for a purse of $6 million. The field is limited to 14 runners.

The Key Betting Trends

• Other possible starters include Diversify, Mubtaahij, Pavel, Win The Space, War Decree
• Arrogate, West Coast, Collected trainer Bob Baffert has won last three Classics
• Five of last 10 Classic winners won their last race prior to the BC, four others finished 2nd
• Past two winners won the Travers Stakes, four of last 10 won the Jockey Club Gold Cup

Future Bet Overlays

Keen Ice and Gunnevera could both see their numbers drop from where they are in the futures, with both more likely in the +2000 range.

Future Bet Underlays

Either Gun Runner or Arrogate or both could move slightly, but West Coast is probably the best candidate of the top 3 to move up from +450 by post time. 

Next: Breeds' Cup Filly & Mare Turf Odds: Preview and Future Bets

Category : Betting Picks

Tag : Breeders Cup , Horse Racing