For most racing events, races are drawn two or three days ahead of time, with past performances coming out in hours.
However, for the Breeders’ Cup, with 14 races over two days, handicappers need a little bit more time to consider 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, at Churchill Downs.The centerpiece of this event is the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, which will take place Saturday evening, having an declared article time of 5:44 pm ET. The early retirement of Triple Crown winner Justify leaves a field of contenders that aren’t exactly household names, but with 14 horses entered without a clear favorite, the Classic will at least be a hell of a gambling race.
Check out betting guides for Friday’s races and Saturday’s races here, and head to Hello Race Fans for more info on wagering in general and this year’s Breeders’ Cup, including a peek at the Distaff and Mile. In 2017 he made 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 taking himself out of this race off the rest. Until a few weeks before, this has been his only race at the United States; he moved to some formidable career running in Europe and Dubai, winning this year’s Dubai World Cup by 5??3/4 lengths along with the Grade 1 Prix Jean Prat in Chantilly. He seemed like a winner at 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 that he faces again. He has finished in the top three at 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 run in the Classic. He eked out a neck win in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on October 20, and he has 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 short rest; he’s run on bud; he travelled across a sea. He’s won $3.5 million, so his talent is nothing to miss…but what a stunner it would be if he could pull this off.
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
This is a horse which more folks should know about. His trainer was an assistant to Todd Pletcher, who dominated the game before Chad Brown came together; an accomplished rider, Thomas suffered a catastrophic harm before turning to instruction, leaving Pletcher’s use to strike out on his own. Catholic Boy began his career on bud, was switched to grime and won the Grade two Remsen, subsequently bled in 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 grime. Versatile and talented, a win here will cap an incredible year which may involve some voters putting him on their ballot for winner 3-year-old.
g4) Gunnevera
Owner: Margoth
Trainer: Antonio Sano
Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr..
Morning line odds: 20-1
At once considered among the leaders of his cohort, this four-year-old was a promising runner on the Kentucky Derby trail this past year before tailing away if the large races came . He was second in the Grade 1 Travers last year behind fellow rival here West Coast; he had been third in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic supporting the previous 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 to some five-month layoff, winning his first return in a small race at Gulfstream Park, then running secon
D to Yoshida (additionally entered here) in the Grade 1 Woodward at Saratoga. He has a top jockey in Ortiz, also as this horse purchased for $16,000 has got $3 million, he doesn’t have a lot to prove, however that Grade 1 triumph 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 March, a runner-up finish by a neck in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby stamped him as a contender for the spring/summer screenplay, but operating in top-level races saw him on the outside looking in the winner’s circle. He’s won only twice at a 14-race profession: at 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 operation of Gayle Benson and her late husband Tom, owners of the NBA Pelicans and NFL Saints, he has compiled earnings of $870,000 by conducting in large 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, one second. Back in the winter, he had been headed towards Kentucky Derby favoritism until he got hurt and Justify appeared. Following six months away from the races, he came back to win the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby by 1??3/4 crosses, 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 overlook him, given what he’s 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 run just three races this season, finishing second in all three of them, all Grade 1 races. He was third in this race this past year, and the talent of the $425,000 yearling buy is indisputable. He receives Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez in the saddle for the first time, his former jockeys having elected 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 naming his horses after hockey players, especially Red Wings; Pavel [Datsyuk] joins equines Zetterberg and Nyquist, all owned by Paul Reddam. This one doesn’t really live up to his namesake; he has 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 finished second–by 12??1/2 lengths–to fellow rival here Accelerate at the Grade 1 Pacific Classic. Likely outclassed here, but possible to strike 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 was Aidan O’Brien’s Derby horse, sending to the US following a stunning 18??1/2-length win in the UAE Derby at Dubai. He conducted for the first time in Louisville on the first Saturday in May, finishing last on a sloppy track, but O’Brien persisted, shipping Mendelssohn straight back to the U.S. three times: to run next in the Grade 3 Dwyer in 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 training and prior to the races, this $3 million buy is a half-brother to the numerous champion Beholder, and has made $2.3 million into his 11 lifetime races.
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