The Breeders’ Cup Classic is the final event in the 36th World Championships at Santa Anita Park this weekend. The “classic” refers to the distance (1 ¼ miles) — the same as that of the Kentucky Derby. McKinzie is the expected favorite, at 3-1 odds, even though he has only won one Grade 1 race before — and come in second three times in 2019 despite running as the favorite. The record for the largest margin of victory is 6 ½ lengths, set in 2015 by American Pharaoh, and the record for the smallest margin is a win by a nose, which has happened five times, most recently five years ago, when Bayern edged out Toast of New York. If you are considering including this race in your sports betting for the coming weekend, take a look at the opening 2019 Breeders’ Cup odds for each horse, along with our thoughts on some of the dark horses and long shots in the field.
2019 Breeders’ Cup Classic Betting Dark Horses and Long Shots
Schooling time at @santaanitapark! #BreedersCup #SchoolisinSession pic.twitter.com/tlavakLx5a
— Breeders' Cup (@BreedersCup) October 30, 2019
| Post | Horse | Trainer | Rider | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Math Wizard | Saffie Joseph Jr | Ricardo Santana Jr | 30-1 |
| 2 | Seeking the Soul | Dallas Stewart | Brian Hernandez Jr | 30-1 |
| 3 | Owendale | Brad Cox | Javier Castellano | 15-1 |
| 4 | War of Will | Mark Casse | Tyler Gaffalione | 15-1 |
| 5 | Yoshida | William Mott | Mike Smith | 8-1 |
| 6 | Elate | William Mott | Jose Ortiz | 6-1 |
| 7 | Higher Power | John Sadler | Flavien Prat | 6-1 |
| 8 | McKinzie | Bob Baffert | Joel Rosario | 3-1 |
| 9 | Mongolian Groom | Enebish Gambat | Abel Cedillo | 12-1 |
| 10 | Vino Russo | Todd Pletcher | Irad Ortiz Jr | 4-1 |
| 11 | Code of Honor | Claude McGaughey | John Velasquez | 4-1 |
The Dark Horses & Longshots
Math Wizard and Seeking the Soul are the two longest shots in this field. Math Wizard is an intriguing story, as he won the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby, delivering on 31.1-1 odds. Back in the summer, he finished second and third in a pair of Grade 3 stakes. In his win at the Pennsylvania Derby, he beat War of Will, winner of the 2019 Preakness Stakes, as well as Improbable. This will be the toughest field he has ever faced, but if he can deliver, that will mean a huge payout. Seeking the Soul has 29 career starts, with seven wins, six seconds and seven thirds. He is six years old, and he has shown a bit of a decline since winning the Stephen Foster Stakes. He came in seventh, 18 ½ lengths back, in the TVG Pacific Classic, and then he came in fourth, 8 ½ lengths back, in the Awesome Again Stakes. He has put together a pair of impressive timed workouts at Santa Anita since the Awesome Again, but he is a long shot here for a reason.
War of Will has 13 career starts with four wins, one second and two thirds. He rebounded nicely from that chaos at the end of the Kentucky Derby by winning the Preakness Stakes. However, since then he has gone through a decline, coming in ninth at the Belmont Stakes, fifth at the Jim Dandy Stakes and third in the Pennsylvania Derby. In that last race, he did improve, pushing hard through the stretch but eventually finishing behind Math Wizard and Mr. Money. The problem that War of Will faces here is the distance of the event, as he faded down the stretch at Belmont (1 ½ miles) and even at the Jim Dandy (1 ⅛ miles). Tyler Gaffalione should try to get him down the rail and then help him push away from the field midstretch, which is how he won the Preakness.
Owendale has twelve career starts, with five wins, one second and two thirds. He is one of the top horses in the three-year-old division, with three Grade 3 stakes victories and two concerted efforts in Grade 1 stakes in 2019. But can he beat older horses in an elite Grade 1 race? He beat Math Wizard in the Ohio Derby three starts ago, by half a length. However, he ran out of gas late in the Travers Stakes, his only 1 ¼-mile event. He did win the Oklahoma Derby (1 ⅛ miles) on September 29 by 1 ¾ lengths, and so he appears in the field this race. He needs a good pace ahead of him to bring him as a closer, and it will be interesting to see if this race can provide it.
