Betting Picks

Breeders' Cup Classic 2018 Odds

Over the past three years the Classic has seen several low-priced favorites take the race, including American Pharoah in 2015, who capped off his Triple Crown season by becoming the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby and the BC Classic in the same year. 

When this past season’s Triple Crown winner Justify was retired from racing, it set the stage for what could be one of the most competitive versions of the race in years. Over the past 10 years, the odds on the Classic winner have averaged right around 6-1. 

Here’s a look at the probable field, with the first number indicating the Churchill Downs pre-entry odds, the second the odds in Bovada’s online racebook as of October 25. All runners can be bet at Bovada on request.

Final entries and morning line odds will be announced on Monday, October 29. 

Accelerate (3/1, +275)

• He’s been very tough to beat this season, with five wins and a runner-up finish in six starts, and comes in with three wins in a row at the Grade 1 level. His sire was fourth in the Classic in 2010, while his grandsire won the race way back in 1998.  

West Coast (5/1, +700)

• You can never count Triple Crown winning trainer Bob Baffert out of a race he’s already won three times, and he has another solid contender this year with West Coast.  Third in this race last year, he has only made three starts in 2018 and was second each time, last out behind Accelerate in his first race after a six-month layoff. 

Catholic Boy (6/1, +700)

• A winner on both turf and dirt during his career, he has been improving as the season has gone along and rides a three-race winning streak, including a very impressive four-length score last out in the (G1) Travers at 1 1/4 miles. 

Betting Tips

• 1Longer Shot Runners Are Very Good
• 2Others Taking A Big Step Up
• 3Bet The Breeders' Cup Classic

Longer Shot Runners Are Very Good

McKinzie (6/1, +600)

• Another Baffert trainee, he was a strong contender for the 2018 Kentucky Derby until suffering an injury. After several months off he came back to win the (G1) Pennsylvania Derby, this will be his toughest test so far.

Mind Your Biscuits (8/1, +1100)

• Talented five-year-old will be making his third lifetime start at the Breeders’ Cup at his third different distance. He has been first or second in his last six graded-stakes races, but hasn’t scored a Grade 1 win in North America in almost two years.

Roaring Lion (12/1, +700)

• Cross entered in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, the surface where he has won a handful of top-level races in the UK, this is a tough spot for him to make his dirt-racing debut. 

Yoshida (12/1, +1100)

• Another former turf specialist, he did get a win on dirt last out in the (G1) Woodward Stakes coming from way back, but this is much tougher field. 

Mendelssohn (15/1, +1200)

• Won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf last year, he has spent this season racing on dirt and has been competitive in all his races without a win in North America on the season. Was second to Catholic Boy in the Travers. 

Thunder Snow (15/1, +1200)

• Irish-bred was a washout in the 2017 Kentucky Derby, but he was better in his second North American start last out in the (G1) Jockey Club Gold Cup, beaten just a neck by a 45-1 long shot. 

City Of Light (20/1)

• Cross-entered in the Dirt Mile, which is probably a better distance for him, he does have the distinction of having beaten Accelerate bck in April in the (G2) Oaklawn Handicap, the only horse to do that this year.

Axelrod (30/1)

• He has a pair of wins at the lower stakes level on the season, and last out ran very well to grab second at 10-1 odds behind McKinzie in the Pennsylvania Derby.

Others Taking A Big Step Up

Discreet Lover (30/1, +2500)

• Scored the big upset in the JC Gold Cup over Thunder Snow, but that appears to have been the race of his life and even a repeat might not be good enough to win here. 

Pavel (30/1, +3300)

• Won the (G1) Stephen Foster Handicap on the Churchill Downs dirt two starts back, so that’s an encouraging sign. What’s discouraging is that he’s been well-beaten by Accelerate three times. 

Lone Sailor (50/1)

• Comes in off a win in the (G3) Oklahoma Derby, his only win in nine starts in 2018 and only his second in 14 lifetime starts. Overmatched. 

Best Future Bet Value – West Coast

Live Long Shot – Mind Your Biscuits

Bet The Breeders' Cup Classic

You can bet the entire 14 races over two days of the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Classic with an account at Bovada’s online racebook.