How to bet the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint

A full field of 12 two-year-olds will go postward in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Del Mar on Friday.

The five-furlong heat on the lawn is always among the most challenging races of the weekend for me, and this year is no exception. The first four runnings of the dash saw domestically based horses come home first, but the last three editions have seen European shippers take home the trophy.

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint Wagers

• $15 to win and place on #11 Schwarzenegger ($30)
• $1 Exacta: box 8,9,10,11,12,13 ($30)

While I expect the pace to be rapid and contested, I can’t leave #11 Schwarzenegger (5-1) off of my tickets as he appears to be the ‘speed of the speed.’

Conditioned by Wesley Ward, who has saddled three winners of the tilt, the $950,000 son of white-hot sire Not This Time was nabbed on the line when second in a debut at Saratoga in the summer prior to leading at every call in the Indian Summer S. at Keeneland most recently. The April foal has room to improve in his third career try, and cutting back to five-eighths seems to be to his benefit, as well. John Velazquez stays in the silks. 

Cheveley Park S. (G1) heroine #9 True Love (7-2) has been first or second in all five lifetime runs to date and is among the top European threats in the field to run their streak to four straight in the heat. Trained by Aidan O’Brien, the No Nay Never filly is popular in the betting overseas, and it’s difficult to fault her form. She dominated the boys in the Railway S. (G2) at The Curragh three back and retains the services of Wayne Lordan. 

Phil D’Amato’s #13 Later Than Planned (20-1), first on the also-eligibles list, was second at The Curragh on debut and shipped to the States following that performance. The Cotai Glory colt graduated going long on this surface, and following an unplaced stakes try in his second stateside engagement, the youngster relished moving to five furlongs when putting in a strong late run en route to a victory in the Speakeasy S. at Santa Anita. The Irish-bred will need some racing luck to have a clear voyage in the stretch, but I can see him passing a lot of horses late and grabbing a share at a nice number if he gets in. 

Cheveley Park runner-up #8 Havana Anna (6-1), the once-beaten #12 Lennilu (8-1), and George Weaver’s #10 Cy Fair (6-1) all merit inclusion in the highly competitive contest.