2019 Breeders Cup Classic

The 36th Breeders’ Cup World Championships will take place this weekend as we’ll see a parade of 14 important races. Sunday alone will see $21 million in prize money handed out over nine different races. The festivities will be capped off with the epic Breeders’ Cup Classic, which will be the richest race of the weekend with $6 million on the line. It’s not exactly the strongest field as the favorite looks vulnerable, but that could mean we’re in for a wide-open race.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some good bets for the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Classic:

FAVORITES

MCKINZIE
ODDS: +300

This horse is the current favorite and likely to close that way because he’s trained by Bob Baffert. This four-year-old colt has a very solid track record, finishing either first or second in 12 of his 13 career starts. Seven of those outings resulted in wins.

He’s fresh off a second-place result at the Awesome Again after winning the Whitney Stakes and Alysheba earlier this year. Baffert has put Joel Rosario on his back instead of Mike Smith, and that might be just what he needs. He’s been atop the Breeders’ Cup Classic rankings since the late summer and is probably the best bet among the favorites.

MID-TIER

HIGHER POWER
ODDS: +600

From the mid-tier of horses, I’ll be looking at Higher Power, who is currently at 6/1. Although he was third in his last start at the Awesome Again, finishing right behind McKinzie, he was incredible at the Pacific Classic right before that. If he runs anywhere near the way he did there, he has a good shot to win this race.

This four-year-old colt feels like a bit of a boom-or-bust candidate. He has just two wins in his career but has finished in the money in six of his eight starts. His last three outings are a third, first and second, so I do like how he’s running heading into this race.

LONGSHOTS

YOSHIDA
ODDS: +800

Alright, so maybe he’s not exactly the longest of long shots but I tried to find a horse who has a bit more value with a legitimate shot to win. Sure, someone like Math Wizard is a longshot that will payout a fortune if he wins but I don’t think he’ll win this race.

Yoshida is interesting as he’s a Bill Mott-trained five-year-old. He actually hasn’t picked up a win in any of his last six starts but he did place third at the Woodward and second at the Whitney in his two most recent starts. We should see a decent early pace but I don’t think they’ll be moving blazingly fast. That should set up well for Mike Smith to ride this closer hard late and make a good rally.

I’m not sure I’d bet him to win outright. It’s possible but I am more confident that he finishes in the money. And you might want to use him for your trifectas.

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