Breeders’ Cup Classic 2018: Odds And Post Positions

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The centerpiece of the event is the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, which will take place Saturday evening, with an announced post time of 5:44 pm ET.  The early retirement of Triple Crown winner Justify leaves a field of contenders that aren’t exactly household names, but with 14 horses entered and no clear favorite, the Classic will at least be a heck of a betting race.

Betting guides for Friday’s and Saturday’s races will be posted in a day or two. For now, here’s a look at the field.

Breeders’ Cup Classic 2018: The field, odds, and post positions

1) Thunder Snow

Owner: Godolphin Racing

Trainer: Saeed bin Suroor

Jockey: Christophe Soumillon

Morning line odds: 12-1

In 2017 he earned a trip to the Kentucky Derby with a nose win in the Grade 1 UAE Derby, only to freak out shortly after the gate opened, bucking like a bronco and taking himself out of the race off the break. Until a few weeks ago, that was his only race in the United States; he went on to a formidable career running in Europe and Dubai, winning this year’s Dubai World Cup by 5 3/4 lengths and the Grade 1 Prix Jean Prat at Chantilly. He looked like a winner in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park in late September, only to be nipped at the wire by longshot Discreet Lover, a horse he faces here again. He’s finished in the top three in 15 of his 20 races for earnings of $8.5 million; he’s owned and bred by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of the Emirate of Dubai.

2) Roaring Lion

Owner: Qatar Racing Limited

Trainer: John Gosden

Jockey: Oison Murphy

Morning line odds: 20-1

This three-year-old Kentucky-bred is based in England, and he makes his first trip to the U.S. to run in the Classic. He eked out a neck win in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on October 20, and he’s never run on dirt, though he did get a six-length win on the synthetic track at Kempton in September of 2017. So: he’ll be running on short rest; he’s run on grass; and he travelled across an ocean. He’s won $3.5 million, so his talent is nothing to overlook…but what a stunner it would be if he could pull this off.

3) Catholic Boy

Owner: Robert LaPenta, Madaket Stables, Siena Farm, and Twin Creeks Racing Stables

Trainer: Jonathan Thomas

Jockey: Javier Castellano

Morning line odds: 8-1

This is a horse that more people should know about. His trainer was an assistant to Todd Pletcher, who ruled the sport before Chad Brown came along; an accomplished rider, Thomas suffered a catastrophic injury before turning to training, leaving Pletcher’s employ to strike out on his own. Catholic Boy began his career on grass, was switched to dirt and won the Grade 2 Remsen, then bled in the Grade 1 Florida Derby, sidelining him on the Kentucky Derby trail. Switched back to grass, he won the Grade 1 Belmont Derby, then cruised to victory in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes back on dirt. Versatile and talented, a win here would cap an incredible year that might have some voters putting him on their ballot for champion 3-year-old.

g4) Gunnevera

Owner: Margoth

Trainer: Antonio Sano

Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.

Morning line odds: 20-1

At one time considered among the leaders of his cohort, this four-year-old was a promising runner on the Kentucky Derby trail last year before tailing off when the big races came along. He was second in the Grade 1 Travers last year behind fellow rival here West Coast; he was third in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic behind the last year’s Classic winner Gun Runner and West Coast. He returned from an eighth-place finish in the Group 1 Dubai World Cup in March to a five-month layoff, winning his first start back in a modest race at Gulfstream Park, then running secon

d to Yoshida (also entered here) in the Grade 1 Woodward at Saratoga. He gets a top jockey in Ortiz, and as this horse purchased for $16,000 has earned $3 million, he doesn’t have a lot to prove, but that Grade 1 win has so far eluded him.

5) Lone Sailor

Owner: G M B Racing

Trainer: Tom Amoss

Jockey: James Graham

Morning line odds: 30-1

Last March, a runner-up finish by a neck in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby stamped him as a contender for the spring/summer classics, but running in top-level races saw him on the outside looking into the winner’s circle. He’s won only twice in a 14-race career: at Saratoga over a sloppy track in September 2017, and in late September when he won the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby. Owned by G M B Racing, the Thoroughbred operation of Gayle Benson and her late husband Tom, owners of the NBA Pelicans and NFL Saints, he’s compiled earnings of $870,000 by running in big races and often hitting the board.

6) McKinzie

Owner: Michael Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Jockey: Mike Smith

Morning line odds: 6-1

Five races, four wins, one second. Back in the winter, he was headed towards Kentucky Derby favoritism before he got hurt and Justify appeared. After six months away from the races, he came back to win the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby by 1 3/4 lengths, his first trip outside of California. He faces a much bigger test here than he did in the Keystone State, but it would be foolish to overlook him, given what he’s accomplished. A decent finish here makes him a millionaire, as he’s already earned $900,000.

7) West Coast

Owner: Gary and Mary West

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Jockey: John Velazquez

Morning line odds: 5-1

After a 2017 campaign that culminated with an Eclipse Award for champion three-year-old, this bay colt has run only three races this year, finishing second in all three of them, all Grade 1 races. He was third in this race last year, and the talent of this $425,000 yearling purchase is indisputable. He gets Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez in the saddle for the first time, his prior jockeys having elected to ride elsewhere here.

8) Pavel

Owner: Reddam Racing

Trainer: Doug O’Neill

Jockey: Mario Gutierrez

Morning line odds: 20-1

His owner has a proclivity for naming his horses after hockey players, specifically Red Wings; Pavel [Datsyuk] joins equines Zetterberg and Nyquist, all owned by Paul Reddam. This one doesn’t quite live up to his namesake; he’s got three wins in 11 starts, but he’s managed to bank $1.3 million, and in June he won the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs. Most recently he finished second—by 12 1/2 lengths—to fellow rival here Accelerate in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic. Likely outclassed here, but possible to hit the board.

9) Mendelssohn

Owner: Derrick Smith, Mrs. John Magnier, and Michael Tabor

Trainer: Aidan O’Brien

Jockey: Ryan Moore

Morning line odds: 12-1

He was Aidan O’Brien’s Derby horse, shipping to the US after a breathtaking 18 1/2-length win in the UAE Derby in Dubai. He ran for the first time in Louisville on the first Saturday in May, finishing last on a sloppy track, but nonetheless, O’Brien persisted, shipping Mendelssohn back to the U.S. three times: to run third in the Grade 3 Dwyer at Belmont Park; second in the Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga; and third in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup back at Belmont. Known for his incessant vocalizing during training and before the races, this $3 million purchase is a half-brother to the multiple champion Beholder, and has earned $2.3 million in his 11 lifetime races.

 10) Yoshida

Owner: WinStar Farm, China Horse Club International, S & F Racing, and Head of Plains Partners

Trainer: Bill Mott

Jockey: José Ortiz

Morning line odds: 10-1

He’s spent most of his 11-race career on turf, but Hall of Fame trainer wanted to run him on dirt, and that decision led to a two-length victory in the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes at Saratoga, giving him Grade 1 wins on both dirt and turf. Mott won this race in 2011 with Drosselmeyer, who also won the Belmont Stakes; this will be Yoshida’s fifth race this year, which included a trip to Royal Ascot in June, where he ran fifth in the Grade 1 Queen Anne Stakes.

11) Mind Your Biscuits

Owner: Shadai Farm, J Stables, Head of Plains Partners, M. Scott Summers, Daniel Summers, Chad Summers, and Michael Kisber

Trainer: Chad Summers

Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione

Morning line odds: 6-1

The richest New York-bred horse in history, he’s earned $4.7 million and will shortly head to Japan to begin a stud career there. Known primarily as a sprinter, he’s twice won the six-furlong Grade 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen at Meydan Racecourse, but trainer Summers has been determined to prove that his charge can run a winning race at a distance, and he did just that in late September, winning the Grade 3 Lukas Classic over this track by 4 3/4 lengths. He was second in the Met Mile and the Whitney, both Grade 1 races, both at a distance; he’s run 24 times and finished in the top three 21 times. He’s already made history; a win here makes him a Hall of Fame candidate.

12) Axelrod

Owner: Phoenix Thoroughbred III and Slam Dunk Racing

Trainer: Michael McCarthy

Jockey: Joe Bravo

Morning line odds: 30-1

This three-year-old has run mostly at several levels below his competition here, though he was a good second to McKinzie in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby in September. A $25,000 purchase, he’s earned $733,000 in 10 races, finishing out of the top three only three times. His best performance is a four-length win in the Grade 3 Indiana Derby in July; he’s a nice horse, and likely outclassed here.

13) Discreet Lover

Owner: Trin-Brook Stables

Trainer: Uriah St. Lewis

Jockey: Manuel Franco

Morning line odds: 20-1

44. That’s the number of races this five-year-old has run in, a throwback to a time when top-quality horses raced more than once every six or seven weeks. He and his trainer/owner got their first graded stakes win back in April in the Grade 3 Excelsior at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, then astonished a top-class field in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park in late September, winning by a neck at odds of nearly 46-1. St. Lewis runs a modest operation, training mostly his own horses out of Parx in Bensalem, PA, which is not among the top-tier Thoroughbred facilities. Working well outside of racing’s blue-blood establishment, this blue-collar horse and his blue-collar connections brings a big New York fan base to his most high-profile race.

 4) Accelerate

Owner: Hronis Racing

Trainer: John Sadler

Jockey: Joel Rosario

Morning line odds: 5-2

The morning line favorite has emerged this year as the top dirt-routing class, with five wins in six races, four of them in Grade 1 races, and his only loss coming by a neck. Based in California, this five-year-old has been overshadowed by bigger-name runners like West Coast, Arrogate, and Justify, but in 21 races, he’s finished out of the top three only twice, winning nine times for earnings of $2.5 million. He’s raced outside of California only once, and never at Churchill Downs; the big question for him may be how he does outside of his home base.

Collected and Toast of New York are on the also-eligible list and may draw in if any of the entered horses scratches.

 

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For most racing events, races are drawn two or three days ahead of time, with past performances coming out within hours.

But for the Breeders’ Cup, with 14 races over two days, handicappers need a little more time to think about their weekend wagers, and with that in mind, the Breeders’ Cup races were drawn Monday afternoon in Louisville, KY. This year’s event will be held on Friday and Saturday, November 2 and 3, at Churchill Downs.

The centerpiece of the event is the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, which will take place Saturday evening, with an announced post time of 5:44 pm ET.  The early retirement of Triple Crown winner Justify leaves a field of contenders that aren’t exactly household names, but with 14 horses entered and no clear favorite, the Classic will at least be a heck of a betting race.

Betting guides for Friday’s and Saturday’s races will be posted in a day or two. For now, here’s a look at the field.

Breeders’ Cup Classic 2018: The field, odds, and post positions

1) Thunder Snow

Owner: Godolphin Racing

Trainer: Saeed bin Suroor

Jockey: Christophe Soumillon

Morning line odds: 12-1

In 2017 he earned a trip to the Kentucky Derby with a nose win in the Grade 1 UAE Derby, only to freak out shortly after the gate opened, bucking like a bronco and taking himself out of the race off the break. Until a few weeks ago, that was his only race in the United States; he went on to a formidable career running in Europe and Dubai, winning this year’s Dubai World Cup by 5 3/4 lengths and the Grade 1 Prix Jean Prat at Chantilly. He looked like a winner in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park in late September, only to be nipped at the wire by longshot Discreet Lover, a horse he faces here again. He’s finished in the top three in 15 of his 20 races for earnings of $8.5 million; he’s owned and bred by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of the Emirate of Dubai.

2) Roaring Lion

Owner: Qatar Racing Limited

Trainer: John Gosden

Jockey: Oison Murphy

Morning line odds: 20-1

This three-year-old Kentucky-bred is based in England, and he makes his first trip to the U.S. to run in the Classic. He eked out a neck win in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on October 20, and he’s never run on dirt, though he did get a six-length win on the synthetic track at Kempton in September of 2017. So: he’ll be running on short rest; he’s run on grass; and he travelled across an ocean. He’s won $3.5 million, so his talent is nothing to overlook…but what a stunner it would be if he could pull this off.

3) Catholic Boy

Owner: Robert LaPenta, Madaket Stables, Siena Farm, and Twin Creeks Racing Stables

Trainer: Jonathan Thomas

Jockey: Javier Castellano

Morning line odds: 8-1

This is a horse that more people should know about. His trainer was an assistant to Todd Pletcher, who ruled the sport before Chad Brown came along; an accomplished rider, Thomas suffered a catastrophic injury before turning to training, leaving Pletcher’s employ to strike out on his own. Catholic Boy began his career on grass, was switched to dirt and won the Grade 2 Remsen, then bled in the Grade 1 Florida Derby, sidelining him on the Kentucky Derby trail. Switched back to grass, he won the Grade 1 Belmont Derby, then cruised to victory in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes back on dirt. Versatile and talented, a win here would cap an incredible year that might have some voters putting him on their ballot for champion 3-year-old.

g4) Gunnevera

Owner: Margoth

Trainer: Antonio Sano

Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.

Morning line odds: 20-1

At one time considered among the leaders of his cohort, this four-year-old was a promising runner on the Kentucky Derby trail last year before tailing off when the big races came along. He was second in the Grade 1 Travers last year behind fellow rival here West Coast; he was third in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic behind the last year’s Classic winner Gun Runner and West Coast. He returned from an eighth-place finish in the Group 1 Dubai World Cup in March to a five-month layoff, winning his first start back in a modest race at Gulfstream Park, then running secon

d to Yoshida (also entered here) in the Grade 1 Woodward at Saratoga. He gets a top jockey in Ortiz, and as this horse purchased for $16,000 has earned $3 million, he doesn’t have a lot to prove, but that Grade 1 win has so far eluded him.

5) Lone Sailor

Owner: G M B Racing

Trainer: Tom Amoss

Jockey: James Graham

Morning line odds: 30-1

Last March, a runner-up finish by a neck in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby stamped him as a contender for the spring/summer classics, but running in top-level races saw him on the outside looking into the winner’s circle. He’s won only twice in a 14-race career: at Saratoga over a sloppy track in September 2017, and in late September when he won the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby. Owned by G M B Racing, the Thoroughbred operation of Gayle Benson and her late husband Tom, owners of the NBA Pelicans and NFL Saints, he’s compiled earnings of $870,000 by running in big races and often hitting the board.

6) McKinzie

Owner: Michael Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Jockey: Mike Smith

Morning line odds: 6-1

Five races, four wins, one second. Back in the winter, he was headed towards Kentucky Derby favoritism before he got hurt and Justify appeared. After six months away from the races, he came back to win the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby by 1 3/4 lengths, his first trip outside of California. He faces a much bigger test here than he did in the Keystone State, but it would be foolish to overlook him, given what he’s accomplished. A decent finish here makes him a millionaire, as he’s already earned $900,000.

7) West Coast

Owner: Gary and Mary West

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Jockey: John Velazquez

Morning line odds: 5-1

After a 2017 campaign that culminated with an Eclipse Award for champion three-year-old, this bay colt has run only three races this year, finishing second in all three of them, all Grade 1 races. He was third in this race last year, and the talent of this $425,000 yearling purchase is indisputable. He gets Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez in the saddle for the first time, his prior jockeys having elected to ride elsewhere here.

8) Pavel

Owner: Reddam Racing

Trainer: Doug O’Neill

Jockey: Mario Gutierrez

Morning line odds: 20-1

His owner has a proclivity for naming his horses after hockey players, specifically Red Wings; Pavel [Datsyuk] joins equines Zetterberg and Nyquist, all owned by Paul Reddam. This one doesn’t quite live up to his namesake; he’s got three wins in 11 starts, but he’s managed to bank $1.3 million, and in June he won the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs. Most recently he finished second—by 12 1/2 lengths—to fellow rival here Accelerate in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic. Likely outclassed here, but possible to hit the board.

9) Mendelssohn

Owner: Derrick Smith, Mrs. John Magnier, and Michael Tabor

Trainer: Aidan O’Brien

Jockey: Ryan Moore

Morning line odds: 12-1

He was Aidan O’Brien’s Derby horse, shipping to the US after a breathtaking 18 1/2-length win in the UAE Derby in Dubai. He ran for the first time in Louisville on the first Saturday in May, finishing last on a sloppy track, but nonetheless, O’Brien persisted, shipping Mendelssohn back to the U.S. three times: to run third in the Grade 3 Dwyer at Belmont Park; second in the Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga; and third in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup back at Belmont. Known for his incessant vocalizing during training and before the races, this $3 million purchase is a half-brother to the multiple champion Beholder, and has earned $2.3 million in his 11 lifetime races.

 10) Yoshida

Owner: WinStar Farm, China Horse Club International, S & F Racing, and Head of Plains Partners

Trainer: Bill Mott

Jockey: José Ortiz

Morning line odds: 10-1

He’s spent most of his 11-race career on turf, but Hall of Fame trainer wanted to run him on dirt, and that decision led to a two-length victory in the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes at Saratoga, giving him Grade 1 wins on both dirt and turf. Mott won this race in 2011 with Drosselmeyer, who also won the Belmont Stakes; this will be Yoshida’s fifth race this year, which included a trip to Royal Ascot in June, where he ran fifth in the Grade 1 Queen Anne Stakes.

11) Mind Your Biscuits

Owner: Shadai Farm, J Stables, Head of Plains Partners, M. Scott Summers, Daniel Summers, Chad Summers, and Michael Kisber

Trainer: Chad Summers

Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione

Morning line odds: 6-1

The richest New York-bred horse in history, he’s earned $4.7 million and will shortly head to Japan to begin a stud career there. Known primarily as a sprinter, he’s twice won the six-furlong Grade 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen at Meydan Racecourse, but trainer Summers has been determined to prove that his charge can run a winning race at a distance, and he did just that in late September, winning the Grade 3 Lukas Classic over this track by 4 3/4 lengths. He was second in the Met Mile and the Whitney, both Grade 1 races, both at a distance; he’s run 24 times and finished in the top three 21 times. He’s already made history; a win here makes him a Hall of Fame candidate.

12) Axelrod

Owner: Phoenix Thoroughbred III and Slam Dunk Racing

Trainer: Michael McCarthy

Jockey: Joe Bravo

Morning line odds: 30-1

This three-year-old has run mostly at several levels below his competition here, though he was a good second to McKinzie in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby in September. A $25,000 purchase, he’s earned $733,000 in 10 races, finishing out of the top three only three times. His best performance is a four-length win in the Grade 3 Indiana Derby in July; he’s a nice horse, and likely outclassed here.

13) Discreet Lover

Owner: Trin-Brook Stables

Trainer: Uriah St. Lewis

Jockey: Manuel Franco

Morning line odds: 20-1

44. That’s the number of races this five-year-old has run in, a throwback to a time when top-quality horses raced more than once every six or seven weeks. He and his trainer/owner got their first graded stakes win back in April in the Grade 3 Excelsior at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, then astonished a top-class field in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park in late September, winning by a neck at odds of nearly 46-1. St. Lewis runs a modest operation, training mostly his own horses out of Parx in Bensalem, PA, which is not among the top-tier Thoroughbred facilities. Working well outside of racing’s blue-blood establishment, this blue-collar horse and his blue-collar connections brings a big New York fan base to his most high-profile race.

 4) Accelerate

Owner: Hronis Racing

Trainer: John Sadler

Jockey: Joel Rosario

Morning line odds: 5-2

The morning line favorite has emerged this year as the top dirt-routing class, with five wins in six races, four of them in Grade 1 races, and his only loss coming by a neck. Based in California, this five-year-old has been overshadowed by bigger-name runners like West Coast, Arrogate, and Justify, but in 21 races, he’s finished out of the top three only twice, winning nine times for earnings of $2.5 million. He’s raced outside of California only once, and never at Churchill Downs; the big question for him may be how he does outside of his home base.

Collected and Toast of New York are on the also-eligible list and may draw in if any of the entered horses scratches.