With 14 races being held over two days, the 2023 Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Santa Anita Park offers bettors an abundance of opportunities to find great value.
While some races have clear favorites, there are plenty of spots that appear ripe for an upset result.
In addition to the headline event, the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 4, we take a look at some of the best Breeders’ Cup bets and predictions for Thoroughbred racing’s year-end event.
Best Bets and Predictions for Breeders’ Cup Friday
$2 Million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies
The biggest favorite on the entire card might end up being Spendthrift Farm’s Tamara (4-to-5 on the morning line) in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. As the daughter of Hall of Famer Beholder, Tamara is aiming to follow in the footsteps of her famous mother, who counts the 2012 edition of the Juvenile Fillies among her three Breeders’ Cup race wins.
Trained by Richard Mandella — who also conditioned Beholder — Tamara has been brilliant in winning her two career starts including a 6 3/4-length triumph in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante on Sept. 9. Friday’s 1 1/16-miles race will mark the first time Tamara has run longer than seven furlongs, however. So if you’re looking for a horse proven around two turns who will offer better odds, Candied (4-to-1 on the morning line) posted a strong speed figure in winning the Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades at Keeneland over the same distance the Juvenile Fillies will be contested at.
$2 Million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile
The winner of the Juvenile often earns the status as the Winterbook favorite for the Kentucky Derby and this year’s race has several youngsters that have shown flashes of classic ability. The Todd Pletcher-trained Locked was deemed the morning-line favorite off the strength of his win in the 1 1/16-miles Breeders’ Futurity (G1) at Keeneland on Oct. 7, but he’s a tepid pick at 7-to-2.
Trainer Bob Baffert has a strong pair in Grade 1 winners Prince of Monaco and Muth (both 4-to-1) — the latter of whom won the American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 7. But another Pletcher trainee that could be worth watching is Noted (20-to-1 on the morning line), most recently second in the Grade 2 Bourbon Stakes on the turf at Keeneland. The son of Cairo Prince has won on dirt and could come running if the early speed on paper materializes.
More from the Breeders’ Cup: 2023 Breeders’ Cup Classic post position draw & field | Breeders’ Cup 2023 exacta, trifecta, and superfecta picks
Best Bets and Predictions for Breeders’ Cup Saturday
$6 Million Breeders’ Cup Classic
Where Flightline won last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic in a canter en route to Horse of the Year honors, this year’s race is much more up for grabs, especially with the announcement that Belmont and Travers (G1) winner Arcangelo will scratch due to a hind left foot issue.
Arabian Knight is the morning-line choice at 3-to-1, but he and Saudi Crown (12-to-1) both love life on the lead so the potential is there for some hot fractions. If Dubai World Cup (G1) winner Ushba Tesoro (JPN) (4-to-1) can handle the track conditions and atmosphere, the Japanese racing contingent could earn a massive feather in its cap. Though he has spent most of his career coming just short in big spots, a strong pace is exactly what Grade 1 winner Zandon (12-to-1) needs to do his best running. The Chad Brown trainee will have an expert pilot too in legendary jockey Frankie Dettori.
Breeders’ Cup Classic Post Positions and Odds
| 🐎 Post Position | Trainer | Jockey | Morning Line Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| (SCRATCHED) PP. 1 Arcangelo | Jena Antonucci | Javier Castellano | SCRATCHED |
| PP. 2 Zandon | Chad Brown | Frankie Dettori | 12-1 |
| PP. 3 White Abarrio | Richard Dutrow, Jr. | Irad Ortiz, Jr. | 4-1 |
| PP. 4 Missed the Cut | John Sadler | Luis Saez | 30-1 |
| PP. 5 Derma Sotogake (JPN) | Hidetaka Otonashi | Christophe Lemaire | 20-1 |
| PP. 6 Saudi Crown | Brad Cox | Florent Geroux | 12-1 |
| PP. 7 Clapton | Chad Summers | Tyler Gaffalione | 20-1 |
| PP. 8 Ushba Tesoro (JPN) | Noboru Takagi | Yuga Kawada | 4-1 |
| PP. 9 Senor Buscador | Todd Fincher | Geovanni Franco | 30-1 |
| PP. 10 Dreamlike | Todd Pletcher | Jose Ortiz | 30-1 |
| PP. 11 Bright Future | Todd Pletcher | John Velazquez | 10-1 |
| PP. 12 Arabian Knight | Bob Baffert | Flavien Prat | 3-1 |
| No. 13 Proxy | Michael Stidham | Joel Rosario | 12-1 |
$2 Million Breeders’ Cup Sprint
In a twist, the Classic is not the last Breeders’ Cup race on the card this year with that honor going to the six-furlong sprint. Elite Power is the 9-to-5 choice on the morning line and won the Sprint last year at Keeneland en route to earning divisional honors. The 5-year-old horse did have his eight-race win streak halted on Aug. 26 when rival and fellow Sprint entrant Gunite (4-to-1) got the best of him in the Grade 1 Forego Stakes going seven furlongs at Saratoga.
Speaking of eight-race winning streaks, that is exactly what the California-based gelding The Chosen Vron (5-to-1) brings into this year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint. After quietly racking up a series of stakes victories, the 5-year-old veteran scored the first Grade 1 win of his career on July 19 when he captured the Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar. Oh, and he loves Santa Anita with nine of his 13 career wins coming at the Arcadia track.
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How to Watch the 2023 Breeders’ Cup
USA Network and FanDuel TV will both televise Friday, Nov. 3 of this year’s World Championships. USA Network coverage will take place from 4-8 p.m. ET/1-5 p.m. PT and will include one undercard race and all five Breeders’ Cup races, concluding with the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. FanDuel TV coverage will begin at 2:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. PT with the first undercard race and will conclude with undercard Race 10.
The USA Network coverage on Saturday, Nov. 4 begins at 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT followed by an extended 3 1/2 hours of live programming on NBC and Peacock from 3:30-7 p.m. ET/ 12:30-4 p.m. PT that will feature five World Championship races, including the Breeders’ Cup Classic. NBC Sports will provide continued coverage of the final two Breeders’ Cup races on Peacock starting at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. These races will also stream live on BreedersCup.com and Breeders’ Cup social media channels.
FanDuel TV will televise the first two undercard races and eight of the nine Breeders’ Cup World Championships races on Saturday.
Breeders’ Cup Bet Minimums
- $3 All-Turf Pick 3
- $2 WPS and Daily Double
- $1 Exacta, High 5, Pick 6, and SPDD
- $.50 Trifecta, Pick 3, Pick 4, All-Turf Pick 4, All-Dirt Pick 4 and Pick 5
- $.10 Superfecta
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