It is all eyes on the Churchill Downs on Saturday, November 5th for perhaps one of the greatest days in the horse racing calendar. It is time for the Breeders Cup Classic, the highlight of a packed day of racing on November 5th, with a massive $5 million prize purse up for grabs. The Breeders Cup Classic is a G1 race, going over one and a quarter miles, for 3 year olds and up. For the Breeders Cup Classic itself, while it looks like a fiercely competitive field, it just does not have the hype of last year’s running, but still, you can’t ignore the impact of the 28th running of the Breeders Cup Classic in Louisville, Kentucky. Uncle Mo is heading the field as favourite with the bookmakers, and that will be on the back of his win here last year in the Breeders Cup Juvenile. Out of seven starts in his career, Uncle Mo has notched up five wins, and has never finished outside of third place. However, only one of those wins have come over the race distance here and if punters are having a hesitation over him, it is because of that. Injury ruined his chance of putting in an appearance at the Kentucky Derby, but heads to the Breeders Cup Classic on the back of a great win at Belmont Park. He is the star attraction in the field and will continue to be heavily backed, and his priced has shortened over the past week, so it’ll be worth getting a little ante post flutter on him. The biggest pressure on Uncle Mo in the market, is perhaps coming from a surprising source, as it is the only female in the 2011 Breeders Cup Classic betting to take a look at. This is Havre De Grace, far more experienced than Uncle Mo, picking up eight career wins out of her 14 career starts. Don’t doubt her ability to beat the males, she has done it before this year when she won the Woodward Stakes. Havre De Grace has almost had an absolutely perfect year, suffering just one second place. Definitely worth a look.
We start heading down the list of main contenders in your 2011 Breeders Cup Classic betting, and we land on So You Think. Again, another one in the field with a hugely impressive career record of twelve wins under his belt. The most experienced and, some will argue, the most accomplished of the front runners here and is the only foreigner in the field. Ran in the Arc de Triopmhe and the Ascot Champion Stakes (where he finished second). A big challenger if he can get his footing right on the somewhat unfamiliar dirt. Has never been off the turf before and that could be a factor in how well he runs, but trainer Aiden O’Brien will believe that he has a genuine chance at winning the Breeders Cup Classic. Flat Out is also trading well amongst the front runners, with five careers wins to his name. Has really come into his own in 2011 and is trading well because of impressive workouts at Churchill Downs. Definitely worth an outside look, though don’t see him being as strong as Uncle Mo and Havre De Grace. Flat Out trailed in second, a good two lengths behind Havre De Grace in the Woodwards Stakes, and that is a big enough gap to suggest that Flat Out may come close, but perhaps not close enough. You know, if So You Think doesn’t hit the dirt running, then Flat Out will probably make for a very sensible place option in the 2011 Breeders Cup Classic betting. So those are the four big names who are expected to really be contesting each other to hit the finish line first on Saturday. But of course, with such a good field in place, there are always great options to look out in the pack a little further back in the betting.
Stay Thirsty is a horse that has attracted our attention a little bit, and comes from the same team as Uncle Mo. Stay Thirsty won the Travers Stakes earlier in the year, and has also won over the race distance. Definitely an outside bet, and not as classy as Uncle Mo. He is going to be a bit of hit and miss because he has never won outside of New York. There he has looked mightily dominant, but send him off on his travels and he has failed somewhat miserably, such as a 12th in the Kentucky Derby. Is it travel problems or track problems hindering him? It is this bit of an unknown quantity which may make him a decent each way shot in the Breeders Cup Classic Market. One of the main problems in picking an outsider here this year, is the lack of established results against more experienced three year olds. We can start throwing To Honour and Serve and Drosselmeyer in to the hat here, but there is hidden value potential in them. Drosselmeyer landed a second in his last race behind Flat Out, and easily beat Stay Thirsty in that same race. Scanning the field for your horse racing betting, Drosselmeyer perhaps makes one of the best place market bets outside of the top four contenders. Has not really impressed to the degree of some of the other names on the list here, but is a former Belmont Stakes winner and could muscle his way through the field to place. As for To Honour and Serve, he hasn’t had the greatest three year old career, has not lived up to the potential as a strong 2 year old anyway. Has been bothered by injury this year, and has only been back on track for the past couple of months, but has picked up a couple of victories. Not sure about the finishing speed against the higher quality field here. Could spring a surprise for a place, but remains a real outside shot.
2011 Breeders Cup Classic Horse Racing Betting Odds
Uncle Mo: 4/1 at SportingBet
Havre De Grace: 4/1 at Ladbrokes
So You Think: 5/1 at Blue Square
Flat Out: 6/1 at William Hill
To Honour And Serve: 14/1 at Victor Chandler
Stay Thirsty: 16/1 at BetFair
Ruler On Ice: 20/1 at SkyBet
Drosselmeyer: 25/1 at Boylesports
This is the big feature at the Churchill Downs on Saturday, and worth taking a lot at for your horse racing betting. Naturally it is time to see where there is some good value for not only your Breeders Cup Classic, but all of your horse racing betting. We will head to online bookmaker Bet365 for that. The highly rated bookie, which provides some awesome horse racing betting coverage. The bookie offers a great 4/1 Racing Special, which gives you a free bet if you land a winner at 4/1 or greater in any Channel 4, BBC or Featured Race with them. If you land another winner of 4/1 or greater with that free bet, then you get another free bet. Superb value and of course if you get Best Odds Guaranteed on all of Bet365’s daily racing, meaning that if the starting price is greater than an early price you take, you’ll be paid out at the higher value. Check to see full coverage of what races are featured at Bet365 for their 4/1 Special. The highly popular online bookmaker offers a free £200 bet for new customers registering an account with them. The bookie will match the value of your first deposit up to that generous limit, giving you great free betting cash to enjoy and make profit off!
