Racing’s Championship Days – It’s Time to Play!

Photos by Eclipse Sportswire, unless otherwise noted
The 31st Breeders’ Cup World Championships, the Super Bowl of horse racing, will be held on Friday, Oct. 31 and Saturday, Nov. 1 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif.
There are 13 Breeders’ Cup races – four on Friday and nine on Saturday - with combined purses of $24.5-million.
Horses from all over the world are pointed to the event.
The Breeders’ Cup is a showcase of champions (262 in the event’s 30-year history) … and champions to be.
Eclipse Awards in all categories are on the line, including Horse of the Year. With two-time defending champ Wise Dan forced to watch from the sidelines off a perfect campaign, which saw him will all four starts, the door is open for Classic contenders Shared Belief, California Chrome and Bayern and the super filly Untapable.
With full fields of the best horses competing on both turf and dirt at various distances, the Breeders’ Cup is a horseplayer’s dream.
If you want to get a head start on your handicapping, Breeders’ Cup pre-entries with free past performances are available, courtesy of Equibase.
Let’s examine the best ways to maximize Breeders’ Cup enjoyment and ice the cake with a tidy profit at the betting windows.
The Venue
If you haven’t been to Santa Anita, there is no better time than for Breeders’ Cup.
The Art Deco style of the building is classically classy, and the mountainous backdrop comes straight out of a dream.

Visit Clocker’s Corner in the morning. Chances are you’ll run into your favorite jockey or trainer, and you might even overhear some valuable information!
The Attire
Southern California gives fans the opportunity to dress for warmth and comfort —
big hats, accessories and dresses for the ladies, fedoras or fascinators and colorful sport coat/dress slacks ensembles for the gentlemen. 

Photo by Penelope P. Miller/America's Best Racing
Get festive and fashion scheme using deep purple and gold - the Breeders’ Cup signature colors.
The Drinks
There is no shortage of fantastic wines (14 Hands is the official partner) and West Coast-style IPA craft beers in the area, but the the Breeders’ Cup Classic is the signature adult beverage.

1.5 oz Tito’s Handmade Vodka
.5 oz St. Germaine
1.5 oz fresh grapefruit juice
Top with Club Soda
Served on the rocks

The Food
Fish tacos, California-style pizza (BBQ meats and fresh produce), Tri-tip beef, California roll (sushi) and gourmet burgers.
Cool Bets to Consider
Ten-cent superfectas, 50-cent trifectas, Pick 3s, Pick 4s and Pick 5s (LOW 14% takeout) will be offered both event days.
Friday, Oct. 31

$500,000-guaranteed Pick 5 (races 1-5)
$750,000-guaranteed Ultra Pick 6 (races 4-9)
$1.5 million guaranteed Late Pick 4 (races 6-9)
Distaff/Classic Double

Saturday, Nov. 1

$750,000-guaranteed Pick 5 (races 1-5)
$2.5-million-guaranteed Ultra Pick 6
$1.5-million-guaranteed Early Pick 4 (races 4-7)
$3-million-guaranteed Late Pick 4 (races 9-12)

On the Air (all times ET)
Friday, Oct. 31
5 p.m. Breeders’ Cup Championship Friday (NBC Sports Network)
Saturday, Nov. 1
3:30 p.m. Breeders’ Cup Saturday (NBC Sports Network)
8 p.m. Breeders’ Cup Classic (NBC)
Click here for complete broadcast information
It’s Party Time
Lots of people throw Triple Crown parties, and although other stakes are run on the day, the true focus is on just one race – the Kentucky Derby, Preakness or Belmont Stakes.
With four championship races on Friday and nine on Saturday, fans can make the Breeders’ Cup a weekend event!
The event lands on Halloween weekend.
Why not combine a costume and wagering party?
Jockey costumes are festive and popular or you can take it a step further and dress as your favorite trainer, with Bob Baffert an obvious target!
If you’re throwing a Breeders’ Cup party, print out past performances for your guests.
Run a pool. Throw all of the Breeders’ Cup Classic names in a hat and have each of your guest’s pick one out. You can award scaled prizes for those holding the name of the win, place and show horses.
If you want to take it a step further, have your guests pick one horse in each of your designated Breeders’ Cup races. Add up the win, place and show prices for each entry and total them all up at the end. The highest score wins!
Betting on Breeders’ Cup but don’t want to deal with long lines and mayhem?
Open an advanced-deposit-wagering account.

They’re legal (in most states), convenient and very easy to use!
If you’re mapping out a day of wagers, calculate your bets before you step up to the window here.
Wagering
If you’re wagering on the Breeders’ Cup, start by identifying your budget and goals.
Serious horseplayers stash away cash and come out firing.
With a $10,000 buy in and a live-money format, the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge is serious business. If you’re a tournament player, this dance is a big as the championship races themselves.
The value is tremendous, so it’s an excellent time to swing for the fences, but if you’re a conservative player, don’t be intimidated. Safe waters can be found in the win, place, show and even the exacta pools. Make a few simple wagers and just have fun. Remember, in the end, horse racing is a form of entertainment!

Average Win Prices (listed lowest to highest) and % of winning favorites
Filly & Mare Sprint: $15.34 (favorites 29%, 2 for 7)
Juvenile: $17.09 (37%)
Distaff: $17.43 (43%)
Juvenile Turf: $17.46 (14%, 1 for 7)
Juvenile Fillies: $17.58 (57%)
Sprint: $21.35 (23%)
Mile: $21.57 (37%)
Juvenile Fillies Turf: $21.63 (favorites are 0 for 6)
Turf: $21.71 (30%)
Filly & Mare Turf: $22.20 (27%)
Turf Sprint: $25.57 (50%, 3 for 6)
Classic: $28.22 (27%)
Dirt Mile: $29.11 (favorites are 0 for 7)
Beginner
It’s all in the name!
With roughly 150 horses expected to compete over 13 races, there will be plenty of personal hunch plays.
Scour through the races and see if any of the names jump out at you.
Bet the connections!
By dollars earned, the top active U.S.-based Breeders’ Cup trainers are D. Wayne Lukas, Bill Mott, Bob Baffert, Todd Pletcher, Dick Mandella and Shug McGaughey.
Foreign trainers who also have enjoyed Breeders’ Cup success are Aidan O’Brien, Sir Michael Stoute, Saeed bin Suroor, Andre Fabre and John Gosden.
By dollars earned, the top active U.S. Breeders’ Cup jockeys are: Mike Smith (who has won with nearly 20% of his BC mounts), John Velazquez, Gary Stevens (who is named to ride just one horse – Sivoliere in the Juvenile Fillies Turf on Friday - this Breeders’ Cup following full knee replacement surgery), Corey Nakatani, Edgar Prado, Kent Desormeaux, Javier Castellano and Julien Leparoux.
Joel Rosario, Rosie Napravnik, the Ortiz brothers (Irad and Jose) and Jose Lezcano are up-and-coming riders who should be well mounted during the course of the Cup.
Foreign jockeys who have enjoyed Breeders’ Cup success are Frankie Dettori and Ryan Moore, but Jamie Spencer and Joseph O’Brien are others to keep a close eye on.
Maximize your money – weekend budget $100!
If you’re new to racing or are just playing the races socially, there are two wagers I like to suggest.
An across the board “ladder” play of $2 to win, $3 to place and $5 to show (=$10 total) on your horse of choice and/or a $1 exacta “with” bet using your two preferred horses on top and second with your next two choices for second only.
For example: If you like the 2 and 5 best but think the 7 and 8 also have a chance, try a $1 exacta 2,5 with 2,5,7,8. The race can finish 2-5, 2-7, 2-8, 5-2, 5-7 OR 5-8 and you WIN. Six combinations at $1 each is only a $6 investment. Catch a longshot in first, or even in second, and you can turn that $6 into hundreds!
It’s Post Time with Joe Kristufek: Simple Wagering Strategies (También en Español)

Intermediate
Home Court Advantage
Santa Anita’s main track is speedy and horses with front-running or pace-pressing ability tend to have an advantage. If the pace figures to be super quick, of course horses have a chance to rally from behind, but all things being equal, in the main track races, look for horses who like to race up close early on. If they’ve also enjoyed previous success on the track, consider them doubly dangerous.
Breeders’ Cup week buzz!
Pay attention to horse experts who are on the grounds (columns and Twitter accounts) in California and how they assess the physical condition and morning track work of the contenders, particularly of the foreign contenders who are forced to acclimate to warmer climates in a short amount of time.
Read the daily stable notes on the Breeders’ Cup website. The vast majority of the contenders are covered like a blanket and reading between the lines of the trainer quotes can often provide a handicapping advantage.
Beauty contest!
To get a handle on which horses are race ready, watch the post parade for each of the Breeders’ Cup events before finalizing your wagers.
Evaluating physicality is that much more important in the four juvenile races, where inexperience comes into play.
It's Post Time with Joe Kristufek - Let's Get Physical (También en Español)

Angles, Angles, Angles

Gravitate to the Europeans in the turf races and the Americans on dirt.
Now that Keeneland has returned to dirt, its main track Breeders’ Cup prep races must be taken much more seriously than in recent years.
Every trainer’s goal is to have a horse in peak form leading up to the Breeders’ Cup.
Did the horse’s schedule go according to plan or were there bumps along the way?
Are they racing in peak form now?
Are they entered at their best distance/surface?
How strong was field of the horse’s final prep and following the running of the race would you upgrade or downgrade the performance?

Maximize your money – weekend budget $300!
I suggest you play the horse you like best in each Breeders’ Cup race to win, place and show with the amount invested determined by your level of confidence. There is no worse feeling that seeing your preferred horse finish in the top three and not cashing a ticket.
For example: $2 to win $5 to place and $10 to show on a horse you like and $5 to Win, $10 to Place and $25 to Show on a horse you LOVE.
If the horse is 3-1 odds or less, you may want to forget about show all together and simply play win and triple your place bet ($5 to win and $15 to place, for example).
If you’re dabbling in exactas, play in $5 increments using the two horses you like best on top with your secondary contenders underneath.
For example: $5 exacta 2,7 with 2,5,7,8,9 = $40.
Expert
Do your homework!

Watch replays of recent prep races. Who finished their race with authority and something left in the tank? Who was all out? Did pace, trip or track bias work for or against them?
Research the foreign horses. Use the Racing Post website as a tool. You can find articles on races and horses and valuable trainer quotes. Unlike in the U.S., where trainers are very measured, static and conservative about what they say about their horses, Euro conditioners tend to be more open, honest and candid.

It’s Post Time with Joe Kristufek: European Invasion (también en Español)

Create a pace scenario and visualize how each Breeders’ Cup race will play out.

Maximize your budget – weekend budget $1,000 and up!
Take advantage of the 14% takeout Pick 5. Find the sequence that suits you best and, if you’re a home run hitter, sink your teeth into it.
The Ultra Pick 6 is a beast of a wager. The $2 minimum greatly reduces the number of horses you can use on a reasonable ticket.
If you want to swim with the Pick 6 sharks, find silent investors with disposable income who understand risk versus reward.
Always wager in the smallest increment possible.
If you want to play a trifecta combination for $2, bet it for 50 cents four times.
If you want to play a superfecta combination for $1, bet it for 10 cents ten times.
Final Thoughts
Championships are on the line.
Memories will be made.
Who could ever forget Zenyatta beating the boys in the Classic and falling a nose short to Blame just a year later?
Breeders' Cup is also the best betting weekend of the year.
For some horses and handicappers, the stars will align.
Preparation is key but good fortune is paramount.
Win, lose or draw, most importantly … enjoy the 2014 Breeders’ Cup!