2023 Breeders' Cup Betting
Race Events > Breeders' Cup > Betting
| Betting | Odds | Handicapping | Challenge | Prep Races | Contenders | Winners | History | Results |
Last updated: August 8, 2023
Breeders’ Cup Betting, Picks and Wagers
Horseplayers look forward to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships every year and the 2023 Breeders’ Cup, to be held in Arcadia, California at Santa Anita on Nov. 3-4, will be no different. The 14-race program attracts the top horses, jockeys, and trainers in the world, which makes bettors salivate at the potential wagers they can make, knowing they’re betting on the best of the best within full fields.
Dubbed “the best bet in sports,” the Breeders’ Cup and its card featuring 14 grade-one races isn’t to be taken lightly. The two-day card is laden with stakes and boasts of Future Stars on Friday, with five Breeders’ Cup Juvenile races headlining the day, and Breeders' Cup closes on day 2 of Saturday, with nine Breeders’ Cup races and supported be several stakes.
The field selection system will be implemented as necessary following the drawing of per-entries on Oct. 23, 2023. However a list of probables will be available three weeks prior to Championships weekend at Brisnet.com.
The marquee races such as the BC Juvenile, the Mile, the Distaff, the Turf, and the $6 million Classic, get the most coverage, so you’ll need to research heavily to gain an edge over your fellow bettors. Another avenue to get that advantage is to spend time getting to know the lower-profiled races such as the Juvenile Fillies Turf and Turf Sprint.
TwinSpires.com account holders can receive free Past Performances and the Insider Picks and Power Plays handicapping report when they wager on the Breeders’ Cup through TwinSpires.com. Sign-up is free, with no subscription fees, and the online wagering site presents the latest online technology as well as the best racing content.
Breeders' Cup Betting Guide 2023 - Coming Soon
Expert Betting Consensus
| James Scully | Vance Hanson | Nicolle Neulist | Kellie Reilly |
| Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf | Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf | Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf | Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf |
| 4 Tiz the Bomb | 1 Modern Games | 4 Tiz the Bomb | 1 Modern Games |
| 8 Glounthaune | 6 Mackinnon | 10 Portfolio Company | 8 Glounthaune |
| 14 Dubawi Legend | 3 Dakota Gold | 5 Slipstream | 10 Portfolio Company |
Find more consensus picks by our betting experts in the Betting Guide!
- Breeders' Cup Betting Guide Archive:
Santa Anita Racetrack At a Glance Report
A look at the previous Santa Anita spring meet: April 21, 2023 through June 19, 2023.
WHO’S HOT, WHO’S NOT
| HOT TRAINERS | Starts | Wins | Place | Show | Avg. Odds | Winning Favorites | ‘22-’23 Win % |
| Neil Drysdale | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7.37 | 2 | 11% |
| Leonard Powell | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 12.81 | 0 | 16% |
| Tim Yakteen | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11.90 | 1 | 17% |
| Milton G. Pineda | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6.45 | 1 | 18% |
| HOT JOCKEYS | Starts | Wins | Place | Show | Avg. Odds | Winning Favorites | ‘22-’23 Win % |
| Antonio Fresu | 14 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 13.45 | 0 | 16% |
| COLD TRAINERS | Starts | Wins | Place | Show | Avg. Odds | Beaten Favorites | ‘22-’23 Win % |
| Vann Belvoir | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29.76 | 0 | 16% |
| COLD JOCKEYS | Starts | Wins | Place | Show | Avg. Odds | Beaten Favorites | ‘21-’22 Win % |
| Joe Bravo | 12 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 10.60 | 1 | 15% |
| Jose Valdivia, Jr. | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27.52 | 0 | 8% |
Santa Anita Racetrack At a Glance Report
A look at the previous Fall Santa Anita meet: September 30, 2022 through November 7, 2022.
WHO’S HOT, WHO’S NOT
| HOT TRAINERS | Starts | Wins | Place | Show | Avg. Odds | Winning Favorites | ‘19-’20 Win % |
| Kristin Mulhall | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 16.04 | 1 | 16% |
| Dan Blacker | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4.48 | 1 | 16% |
| Patrick Gallagher | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 15.48 | 1 | 12% |
| Bob Baffert | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4.18 | 2 | 30% |
| HOT JOCKEYS | Starts | Wins | Place | Show | Avg. Odds | Winning Favorites | ‘19-’20 Win % |
| Edwin Moldanado | 15 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10/05 | 3 | 14% |
| COLD JOCKEYS | Starts | Wins | Place | Show | Avg. Odds | Beaten Favorites | ‘19-’20 Win % |
| Diego Herrera | 16 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 34.16 | 0 | 11% |
Find the full At a Glance report inside the Breeders' Cup Betting Guide
Types of Breeders' Cup Bets to Make
Now that you know the race schedule, and which races to target, it’s time to figure out which bets to make. Straight Win-Place-Show bets are an easy way to bet the Breeders’ Cup, and if you feel really good about a horse in a certain race making a straight bet is the way to go.
Think you know the exact order of how a race will finish? Then exacta wagering if for you, and you have your choice of predicting the top-two finishes (exacta), top-three (trifecta), and top-four (superfecta).
With 13 races, a popular form of betting on the Breeders’ Cup is pick betting. Making a pick bet allows you to wager on who will win in consecutive races. Expanding your wager card to multiple races raises the risk, but also raises the award. The Daily Double is the most popular type of pick bet.
2018 witnessed the re-introduction of the exciting Breeders' Cup Future Wager. In the same veign as the popular Kentucky Derby Future Wager, the BCFW offers players a chance to lock in better odds and value for horses who could win their supported divisions.
The Value of Betting at the Breeders’ Cup
The Breeders’ Cup isn’t just an attractive event to bet on because you get to see the best horses. The fact that so many of the best horses in the world are present means you’re likely to get better odds on a good horse than you will at any other time during the season.
One great example of this is the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Songbird was undefeated coming into the race, and she hadn’t been at anything longer than 3-10 odds all year. But facing older fillies and mares for the first time, she went out at better than even money. She was beaten by champion older mare Beholder, who started at 3.3-1 after being no longer than 4-10 when racing fillies and mares the previous two years. Admittedly Beholder’s three defeats in 2016 affected her price as much as the arrival of Songbird, but it was still great value for her fans.
The arrival of European raiders for the turf races, in which many of them are racing in North America for the first time, means there can be great odds available – not only for them, but also for those running from local stables. One great example of this was Main Sequence in the Breeders’ Cup Turf in 2014. He had won all three of his starts that year, the last of them at odds of just under 2-1, but with the European arrival he started the Turf at 6.2-1, and he delighted those that had faith in him with a strong victory.
Don't forget to check out the Breeders' Cup Future Wager, where you could beat the odds at post time.
The Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge
Hailed as the country’s largest live handicapping tournament, the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge is the most exciting way to wager on the Breeders’ Cup and test your handicapping skills against the world’s top horseplayers.
A “real money” handicapping challenge, The Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge requires players to put down a $10,000 deposit ($7,500 used towards betting bankroll). The format of the challenge includes all Friday races and races trough the Cup Classic on Saturday. The only types of wages allowed are: Win, Place, Show, Exacta, and Trifecta.
$2,500 of the initial $10,000 deposit from each player will be put into the prize pool, which could reach $1 million if 400 players enter. First place comes with a $300,000 prize. You can qualify either live or online for the challenge. Make sure to register online for your shot at betting glory.
Further reading:
Strategies for Betting in Tournaments
Contest Strategies for Betting Horse Players