Betting on Favorites at the Breeders Cup
The Breeders' Cup is an annual series of Grade One Thoroughbred horse races which takes place in the United States and is considered as one of the biggest horse racing events of the year.
The prize money for the whole Breeders’ Cup is $30 million this year and the race with the biggest share of that prize pool is the Classic, with prize money totaling $6 million. The Classic is one of the top Grade I races in the world as per the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), and that’s why it is understandable that the stakes for the winner of the race are so high.
Breeders’ cup betting for the Classic is in full swing at the moment and favorites such as Accelerate, Mckinzie and Catholic Boy are already mentioned as the hottest candidates for the top spot. Let’s take a look if that is really the case.
In-form Accelerate is the Hottest Betting Proposition
Accelerate is absolutely on fire coming into the Breeders’ Cup Classic this year as he has won three races in a row. These races include the popular Awesome Again Stakes, the lucrative Pacific Classic, and the always prestigious Gold Cup at Santa Anita.
Accelerate is the top rated horse with bookmakers and they place him ahead of high flying candidates such as Catholic Boy, McKinzie, and West Coast mostly based on his terrific current form.
Bob Baffert Might Win his 4th Classic
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has had an excellent record at the 1 1/4 miles long race and in four years has managed to win the event 3 times. His two prized assets for this years’ edition of the race are McKinzie and West Coast.
West Coast was third in the 2017 edition of the Classic and was second in the Awesome Again. He comes into the race as the fourth favourite behind Accelerate, McKinzie and Catholic Boy, but may spring a surprise if given the chance. Wheel these horses in a trifecta for an easy winning ticket.
McKinzie, on the other hand, is the main rival to Accelerate and the 3-year-old, having missed the Triple Crown races will be raring to go here after he finished a six-month layoff with a convincing win at the Pennsylvania Derby this September.
Can Catholic Boy Challenge for the Top Spot?
Catholic Boy is the last of the top four contenders for this year’s Classic and the 3 year old colt is good value for money should you decide to back him. The horse is trained by Jonathan Thomas and this year has won at the illustrious Travers Stakes, Belmont Derby, and Pennine Ridge. These three victories came in three consecutive races and this means that if Catholic Boy finishes first in the Classic he will make it four wins out of four.
Last year, Catholic Boy placed only 4th in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, but that performance will probably be meaningless to the Classic’s outcome as they are two somewhat different races.
