2019 BREEDERS’ CUP BETTING

If you’re a horse racing ‘hardcore’ you already know that the Breeders’ Cup is the biggest racing weekend of the year. You also know that the best place to bet the biggest horse racing event is betonline.ag. You’ll find a full menu of betting options for every Breeders’ Cup race as well as daily racing action from the top tracks all over the world. In addition to the large betting menu, betonline.ag offers extras such as mobile betting, free handicapping information and a 7% rebate. betonline.ag is your best destination for Breeders’ Cup betting excitement.

Mainstream sports fans might view the Kentucky Derby as the biggest race of the year but for serious horse racing handicappers the Breeders’ Cup is the main event. Properly known as the ‘Breeders’ Cup World Championships’ this isn’t a race but rather a two-day series of races. The Breeders’ Cup is comprised of 14 total races at a variety of distances, on different surfaces and with a variety of entry conditions. The main event of the two-day Breeders’ Cup is the Breeders’ Cup Classic, a 1 ¼ mile race for horses ages 3 and up. It is not only one of the most prestigious races in the sport to win it is also among the most lucrative offering a total purse of $6 million US. All fourteen of the races on the Breeders’ Cup card have a purse value in excess of $1 million US for a total purse among for the two-day event coming in at $28 million US.

BASICS OF BREEDERS’ CUP BETTING

For serious horse racing handicappers the Breeders’ Cup is the biggest challenge of the year. There’s a couple of reasons for this. There are 14 races over the two-day event and each has a distinctly different ‘feel’ due to distance, surface or conditions. For most racing cards, there’s a good deal of similarity in these areas but at the Breeders’ Cup every race is a unique handicapping challenge. Making for an even greater challenge is the competitive level of the field. Due to a merit-based selection process there are very few horses that are overmatched. This means that a diligent handicapper can find great longshot betting opportunities throughout the Breeders’ Cup racing menu.

The Breeders’ Cup is similar to any other horse race terms of betting popularity. The biggest percentage of wagering is done via straight bets including bets to win, place or show. Even though straight bets represent the biggest percentage of Breeders’ Cup betting handle this percentage is smaller than many other races including the Kentucky Derby. This is likely due to the lower number of casual fans in the betting pool and the greater representation of expert horse racing handicappers.

OTHER TYPES OF BREEDERS’ CUP BETTING

As noted above, Breeders’ Cup betting attracts an audience of serious horse racing enthusiasts and as a result the race produces a larger percentage of exotic bets than events such as the Kentucky Derby. This might seem counterintuitive but there’s a good reason for this—high level handicappers are always mindful of betting value. Many prefer exotic bets because the net impact of the track’s ‘takeout’ is less significant on a big exotic payout than it is on a series of winning straight bets.

The most common exotic bets are the exacta (picking the first two finishers in correct order), the trifecta (picking the first three finishers in the correct order) and the superfecta (top four finishers in correct order). The strong competitive field for the Breeders’ Cup races can end up being a ‘mixed blessing’ for bettors. On one hand, the top to bottom quality means that there are always strong horses at good prices to use underneath on exotics. The bad news is that the flipside is also true—every horse in the field has a chance to win which can sometime make it difficult to structure an exotic wager.

BREEDERS’ CUP BETTING STRATEGY TIPS

With 14 distinctly different races on the Breeders’ Cup betting menu there are just a few generalizations that can be drawn about the entire event. In most cases, each race must be approached as a unique entity. Even what would appear to be universal factors such as the weather can have a different degree of impact on different races depending on the specific conditions, track surfaces and distance. The most salient handicapping concept to keep in mind has already been mentioned a couple of times but it is worth repeating—don’t forget about the strong competitive level of the entire field. In many horse races, it’s possible to ‘throw out’ a number of entries after quick evaluation. They might be overmatched in terms of talent or better suited to a different surface or distance. Alternately, they might be in bad form to the point that you have no interest in betting them. The Breeders’ Cup has strong fields top to bottom which means that favorites can often be overvalued and longshots can be worth a look.

Another concept to consider is the impact of a betting pool with a higher degree of handicapping expertise. An event like the Kentucky Derby attracts a huge audience of casual racing fans and recreational bettors. As a result, looking for handicapping cues in betting information isn’t as valuable. A strong move on a horse doesn’t necessarily indicate an expert ‘steam play’ in that environment. With a higher concentration of serious horse racing fans, the Breeders’ Cup is a much better environment for handicappers that like to follow the tote board in hopes of spotting the ‘smart money’ and going along for the ride.