The Breeders Cup Classic is a Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for horses three years or older. It is run at a distance of 1 ¼ mile or 2000m on dirt and held annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the United States as part of the Breeders Cup World Championship which is held in either October or November of every year.
The Classic is the highlight race of the Breeders Cup and it has been held in the same breath as America’s most prestigious races. The traditional Triple Crown races of horse racing in the United States are the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and The Belmont Stakes but the Breeders Cup Classic is unofficially considered as the fourth leg.
This year’s Breeders Cup World Championship is scheduled for November 1-2, 2019 at the Santa Anita Park, Arcadia in California, U.S.A. The 2019 Breeders Cup Classic is scheduled for November 2, 2019, and has a total prize money of $6M, the largest among the races during the weekend.
Last year, Accelerate won the 2018 Breeders Cup Classic held at Churchill Downs with a time of 2:02.93. Gunnevera finished second while Thunder Snow from Ireland came in third. This year, Thunder Snow is expected to race in the Classic again and he is the horse betting favorite to win this time around.
Here are the latest odds to win the 2019 Breeders Cup Classic. Odds were taken from MyBookie.ag as of 7/4/19:
Horse | Odds |
---|---|
Thunder Snow | +800 |
McKinzie | +1000 |
Omaha Beach | +1000 |
Maximum Security | +1200 |
Game Winner | +1400 |
Bravazo | +1600 |
Catholic Boy | +1600 |
Yoshida | +2000 |
Hofburg | +2000 |
Improbable | +2000 |
Catalina Cruiser | +2000 |
Wissahickon | +2500 |
Audible | +2500 |
Core Beliefs | +3300 |
Intrepid Heart | +3300 |
Who Are The Favorites?
Thunder Snow is a 5-year old bay horse bred in Ireland and owned by Godolphin Racing and trained by Saeed bin Suroor. Thunder Snow is the only two-time winner of the Dubai World Cup, having won the race in 2018 & 2019. He was pulled out from the 2017 Kentucky Derby after acting rank coming out of the gate but bounced back by finishing third in the 2018 Breeders Classic last November at Churchill Downs. He began his 5-year old campaign with a second place finish at the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 before winning his second straight Dubai World Cup. In his most recent start, Thunder Snow finished third behind Mitole and McKinzie in the 2019 Metropolitan Handicap (G1) at Belmont.
McKinzie is a 4-year old bay colt owned by the Three Amigos Racing Stable LLC, a partnership made up of Karl Watson, Michael E. Pegram, and Paul Weitman. This American thoroughbred is trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Mike E. Smith. He won five out of his first seven starts, including victories at the 2017 Lost Alamitos Futurity (G1), 2018 Pennsylvania Derby and 2018 Malibu Stakes. Most recently, McKinzie finished 2nd behind Gift Box in the 2019 Santa Anita Handicap (G1) last April 6th and also 2nd to Mitole in the 2019 Metropolitan Handicap last June 8th.
Omaha Beach is a 3-year old dark bay colt owned by Rick Porter or Fox Hill Farms Inc. and trained by Richard E. Mandella. This American thoroughbred was the morning-line favorite in the 2019 Kentucky Derby but missed the race after he was diagnosed with an entrapped epiglottis. Last March, Omaha Beach outlasted Game Winner to win the 2019 Rebel Stakes (G2) and followed that up with an April victory over Improbable to win the 2019 Arkansas Derby.
Maximum Security is a 3-year old bay colt trained by Jason Servis and owned by Gary and Mary West. It can be recalled that Maximum Security crossed the line first at the 2019 Kentucky Derby but was disqualified for interference. Last March, Maximum Security won the 2019 Florida Derby ( G1 ) and in his last race, he was the morning line favorite in the 2019 Pegasus Stakes but ended up finishing second, one length behind winner King for a Day.
Game Winner is a three-year-old bay colt owned by Gary and Mary West and trained by Bob Baffert. He was the champion 2-year old colt of 2018 after going undefeated in four starts at two years of age. He began his age three campaign by finishing second in both the 2019 Rebel Stakes and the 2019 Santa Anita Derby. He placed 5th in the 2019 Kentucky Derby.
Who Wins?
It’s still too early to tell who wins the 2019 Breeders Cup Classic because not only is the race still too far out, these are ante-post odds or before the race course’s betting market has opened. We’re not sure yet if the horses in the current odds board are even going to run the race.
But when it comes to the favorites above, I like Maximum Security because no matter what anyone says, that colt crossed the line first at the 2019 Kentucky Derby. He set the pace and was in the lead when jockey Luis Saez was accused of failing to control his mount and maintaining a straight course during the race. Sure, anything could still have happened had Saez rode “fair” but that controversy does not diminish the horse.
Maximum Security was the morning line favorite at the Pegasus Stakes but was upset and lost by a length to King for A Day. Again, he didn’t get the win. But he still finished second. He is scheduled to run in the Haskell Invitational (G1) later this month and we’ll see if he really is who we think he is at this stage of the year.