Breeders’ Cup Classic Tips & Free Bets

Here we have available some of the best odds and betting tips for the grand finale of the thoroughbred racing calendar, the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

This is one of the biggest races of the series and always attracts a brilliant field and some brilliant racing betting offers. By far the most lucrative race of the Breeders’ Cup, the Classic is a weight for age race over 2000m, a mile and a quarter.

Breeders’ Cup Classic 2019 Betting Tips

It’s all eyes on California this weekend for the Breeders’ Cup carnival of racing. It’s one of the biggest and richest meetings in all of flat racing and is headlined by Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic. This year’s Breeders’ Cup takes place at controversial racecourse, Santa Anita. Everybody connected with the horses competing and racing fans watching on from around the world will be keenly hoping that the surface proves to be safe and it’s the high class racing that makes the headlines.

Another Beaten Favourite?

The wonderful American Pharoah is the only winning favourite of the Breeders’ Cup Classic in the last decade. That does not bode well for the chances of 2019 favourite, McKinzie. The four-year-old is trained by Bob Baffert but even he has had trouble getting a tune out of McKinzie over the 1 mile 2 furlong trip of the Classic.

McKinzie’s nearest rival in the betting, Code Of Honor, has had no such problems over this trip. That’s the distance the three-year-old ran over in each of his last two starts. He won both of those Group 1 contests although the most recent win came following a stewards’ enquiry despite him passing the post in second. This is another step up in terms of the calibre of his opposition, but Code Of Honor looks well priced to win the Classic.

Claude McGaughey III’s three-year-old is used to picking up good results in big races. He’s won over a quarter of a million dollars on average in his nine starts to date and will have no problems coping with the big crowds at Santa Anita.

Consistent Elate to Contend at the Top Level

Santa Anita is the venue that saw the only ever female winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Could we see history repeat itself 10 years on since that win? Connections of Elate certainly hope so.

It was initially thought that she would stick to competing with her same sex in the Distaff but William Mott and her owners have decided that they have a better chance of landing a big result in the Classic than taking on Midnight Bisou on Friday.

Elate is coming towards the end of her career and many racing fans would be elated indeed for it to end on a high. Whether she has what it takes to get the win remains to be seen but there is no question that she will be in the running come the closing stages. She is very consistent, incredibly hardy and perfectly suited to this trip.

Betting Predictions

It’s great to see Elate in the field for the Breeders’ Cup Classic. She would be arguably the most popular winner of the race and is well worth an each way bet at a tempting price of 13/2 with bet365. However, when it comes to a straight win bet, it’s tough to look past the 4/1 that Paddy Power are quoting on Code Of Honor to win. He has the class and the proven ability over 10 furlongs and should get the favourite beaten.

Breeders’ Cup Classic Previous Winners

  • 2018 – Accelerate – jockey Joel Rosario, trainer John W Sadler
  • 2017 – Gun Runner – jockey Florent Geroux, trainer Steve Amussen
  • 2016 – Arrogate – jockey Mike E Smith, trainer Bob Baffert
  • 2015 – American Pharoah – jockey Victor Espinoza, trainer Bob Baffert
  • 2014 – Bayern – jockey Martin Garcia, trainer Bob Baffert
  • 2013 – Mucho Macho Man – jockey Gary Stevens, trainer Kathy Ritvo
  • 2012 – Fort Larned – jockey Brian Joseph Hernandez Jr, trainer Ian Wilkes
  • 2011 – Drosselmeyer – jockey Mike E Smith, trainer William Mott
  • 2010 – Blame – jockey G K Gomez, trainer Albert M Stall Jr
  • 2009 – Zenyatta – jockey Mike E Smith, trainer John Shirreffs
  • 2008 – Raven’s Pass – jockey Frankie Dettori, trainer John Gosden
  • 2007 – Curlin – jockey Robby Albarado, trainer Steven Asmussen
  • 2006 – Invasor – jockey Fernando Jara, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin
  • 2005 – Saint Liam – jockey J D Bailey, trainer Richard Dutrow Jr

Race History

This is the grand finale event of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships and is the climax of the thoroughbred racing calendar in the US. The race is held at a different track each year and as of 2015 had only left the US once, with the 1996 renewal being held at Toronto’s Woodbine. The Breeders’ Cup Classic is a class one race for three-year-olds and older, and is run over a 10 furlong distance on dirt and is a weight for age race in which three- and four-year-olds have enjoyed most success.

It is the richest race in all of North America and so therefore draws in some of the year’s best performing thoroughbreds from across the world. With its prize fund amounting to over double that of any other race across the weekend, this is the contest that all spectators are waiting for. There are just 14 starting places for horses to fill in this race, with half of these being allocated automatically to those who triumph during The Breeders’ Cup Challenge and the rest decided by a panel of experts.

The Classic has been notoriously difficult to predict due to the highly selective nature of its participants, with each of the competitors earning their right to participate through their individual successes throughout the season. The status that comes with winning this race has proved decisive in the awarding of the US Horse of the Year honours, after four of the Classic winners between 2004 and 2007 went on to be rewarded with this accolade.

This prestigious race has accumulated a great number of world-class thoroughbreds, jockeys and trainers during its history. Chris McCarron and Jerry Bailey go down in the record books as legends in this particular race, both winning the Classic on five occasions each, spanning from 1988 until 2005. There are only a few trainers who have managed to win this one more than once, giving us an insight into the unpredictability of such a fascinating contest.

In 2011 William Mott joined the trio of handlers to boast two Breeders’ Cup Classic victories, alongside Charlie Whittingham and Jay M. Robbins. However, last year Bob Baffert made it three wins in a row to really cement his place in the history of this race.

It truly is an astonishing feat for a single jockey or trainer to be successful on multiple occasions here and this is made evident when viewing the past decade of results in this race – Mike E. Smith is the only jockey who has appeared on this triumphant list twice, winning the race for a fourth time in his career in 2016. Two jockeys have won it five times: Chris McCarron and Jerry Bailey.

From an owner’s perspective, just one person has ever possessed two Breeders’ Cup Classic winning horses – Stronach Stables has been successful with Awesome Again in 1998 and the record-time holder Ghostzapper in 2004.

Check out our Breeders Cup Mile betting tips as well as our Filly and Mare Turf tips and Breeders’ Cup Turf preview and offers too!