For many racing events, races have been attracted two or three days beforehand, with previous performances coming out in hours.
But for the Breeders’ Cup, with 14 races over two weeks, handicappers need a little bit more time to consider their weekend wagers, and with that in mind, the Breeders’ Cup races have been attracted Monday afternoon in Louisville, KY.. This year’s event will be held on Friday and Saturday, November 3 and 2, in Churchill Downs.The centerpiece of the occasion is the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, which will take place Saturday evening, with an declared post 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 and no clear favorite, the Classic will be a heck of a gambling race.
Have a look at betting guides for Friday’s races and Saturday’s races and head over to Hi Race Fans for more info on wagering in general and this year’s Breeders’ Cup, including a look 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, only to freak out soon after the gate opened, bucking like a bronco and carrying himself from the race off the break. Until a couple of weeks before, that has been his only race in 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 at the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park in late September, just to be nipped in the wire by longshot Discreet Lover, a horse he faces here again. He has finished in the top three in 15 of his 20 races for earnings of $8.5 million; he’s 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 based 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 over the synthetic track at Kempton in September of 2017. So: he’ll be running on short rest; he’s run on grass; and he travelled across an ocean. He has won $3.5 million, therefore his gift is nothing to miss…but what a stunner it’d 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
That is a horse which more folks should be familiar with. His trainer was an assistant to Todd Pletcher, who dominated the sport before Chad Brown came along; an accomplished rider, Thomas suffered a catastrophic injury before turning to instruction, leaving Pletcher’s use to hit out on his own. Catholic Boy began his career on bud, was switched to dirt and won the Grade 2 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 grime. Versatile and talented, a win here will cap an unbelievable year that might have 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 around the Kentucky Derby trail last year before tailing away when the large races came . He had been second in the Grade 1 Travers last year behind fellow rival here West Coast; he had been third in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic behind the last year’s Classic winner Gun Runner and West Coast. He returned in a eighth-place ending in the Group 1 Dubai World Cup in March to some five-month layoff, winning his first start back at a small race at Gulfstream Park, then conducting secon
D to Yoshida (also entered here) at the Grade 1 Woodward at Saratoga. He gets a top jockey in Ortiz, and as this horse bought for $16,000 has earned $3 million, so he doesn’t have a lot to prove, but 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 at the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby stamped him as a contender for its spring/summer screenplay, but operating in top-level races saw him on the outside looking into the winner’s circle. He has won just twice at a 14-race career: at Saratoga over a sloppy track in September 2017, also in late September when he won the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby. Owned by G M B Racing, the Thoroughbred performance of Gayle Benson along with her late husband Tom, owners of the NBA Pelicans and NFL Saints, he has accumulated earnings of $870,000 by running in large races and often 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 before he got hurt and Justify appeared. Following six months away from the races, he also came back to win the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby by 1??3/4 crosses, his first excursion out of California. He faces a far bigger evaluation here than he did in the Keystone State, but it would be foolish to overlook him, given what he has accomplished. A decent finish this makes him a millionaire, as he’s 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 only 3 races this season, 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 this $425,000 yearling purchase is incontrovertible. He receives Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez in the saddle for the first time, his prior 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 naming his horses following hockey players, especially Red Wings; Pavel [Datsyuk] joins equines Zetterberg and Nyquist, all owned by Paul Reddam. This one does not 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 equal here befriending at the Grade 1 Pacific Classic. Likely outclassed here, but potential 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 conducted for the first time in Louisville on the first Saturday in May, finishing continue a sloppy track, but O’Brien persisted, shipping Mendelssohn straight back to the U.S. three times: to run third in the Grade 3 Dwyer at Belmont Park; second at the Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga; and also third in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup back at Belmont. Known for his incessant vocalizing during training and before the races, this $1 million purchase is a half-brother to the numerous winner Beholder, and has made $2.3 million in his 11 life races.
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