Breeders' Cup Odds 2014: Betting Guide to Favorites and Dark Horses

The Breeders' Cup Classic is one of the most anticipated horse racing events of the year. Handicapping a field full of the best horses in the world can be a daunting task. 

With a full field of 14 expected for the Breeders' Cup Classic, the race has shaped up to be one of the most competitive and intriguing of the day. With a showdown looming between the two top three-year-olds on the West Coast—Shared Belief and California Chrome—there is more on the line than just the $5 million purse. The three-year-old championship and possibly even the coveted title of Horse of the Year will be decided in the Classic. 

Even though those two contenders will likely vie for favoritism, there is some value to be had. Read on for some basic betting tips and wagering strategies. With a little bit of racing luck, you can impress your friends with your handicapping skills and maybe walk away a few dollars richer. 

Betting 101: The Basics

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In a full field, you are likely to still get appealing odds on many horses, which makes a straight win, place or show wager a potentially lucrative bet. These are simple wagers, though there is still nothing simple or easy about actually picking the winner. 

 

Win

This is where you put your money where your mouth is. With a win wager, you can bet any denomination of your choosing, but the horse you select must finish first. 

 

Place

Place is the second-place position. When you bet a horse to place, you win the amount shown in the second payout position if the horse finishes first or second.

 

Show 

A Show wager is a useful bet to use on a long shot that you think could hit the board but may not be good enough to actually win. With this wager, you cash a ticket if your horse finishes first, second or third and would win the amount displayed in the third-place payout.

Betting 102: Exotics

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Exotic wagering ups the stakes a notch. With an exotic wager, there is the potential for a significant return on investment but because of that, there is a higher degree of difficulty. It was hard enough to pick a horse to simply win; now with exotics, you are selecting the order of finish for multiple horses.

Exacta

In an exacta, to cash in you must select the horses that will finish first or second. There is the option of playing the wager "straight" where they must come in the exact order you select, or, to increase your chances, you can "box" the wager and you will win if the two you select finish in either order.

Trifecta

In a trifecta, you must select the top three finishers. Like with the exacta, you can box your selections to increase your odds, but that will increase the overall investment of the wager. This can be a lucrative bet to utilize if you like long shot to hit the board.

Superfecta

Hitting a big superfecta is a Holy Grail for horseplayers. As if an exacta or trifecta were not complicated enough, a superfecta involves picking the top four finishers. This is a wager that can offer a big payoff, and boxing will dramatically help the chances of cashing in. 

Betting 103: Multirace Wagers

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So you are picking winners left and right and nailing cold trifectas like a pro. You're ready for the big leagues. The next step is to take on a multirace wager. Now that picking a single winner is easy, let's try to pick two, three or even six consecutive ones.

Double

A double is a preselected series of two races. To win, you must select the winner of both.

Pick 3

To win a Pick 3, you must pick the winner of three consecutive races. A pick three will begin at various points during a race card. 

Pick 4

Like a pick three, only with an additional race to figure out. The more races in the wager, the higher likelihood of a big payoff.

Pick 6

A Pick 6 is the ultimate combination of knowledge and strategy. It is not just about picking winners but about maximizing your chances to cash in while making the smallest investment possible. In a Pick 6, you must pick six consecutive winners. A common strategy is to pick a couple of short-priced horses as "singles" and then go deep into several, more complex races in the hopes a long shot comes in.

Dark-Horse Contender: Cigar Street

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Bill Mott has been a dominant force on Breeders' Cup day for decades. With nine separate wins in Breeders' Cup races, two of which have come in the Classic, the Hall of Fame trainer does not often make the trip with a horse unless there is a legitimate chance to win.

Cigar Street, after a career plagued with serious injury, is finally going to get his chance to prove he is a top-caliber horse. With Cigar Street, it is not necessarily his record that makes him so interesting but the way Bill Mott speaks of him, as he told Jennie Rees of USA Today:

"He's a big, strong horse with plenty of talent and looks like he should get the 10-furlong distance. He's meeting a tough group of horses, but we've always felt that he probably belonged."

With five wins from only eight starts, there is no telling how good Cigar Street may actually be. Physically, he is a powerhouse with a big, ground-covering stride and the presence of a horse who could actually be something special. Mott is no stranger to finding special horses, as he has trained greats like Cigar, Royal Delta and Drosselmeyer. If he thinks Cigar Street deserves a shot at glory, that is a good enough endorsement.

Dark-Horse Contender: Footbridge

Footbridge has been a frustrating horse to watch develop. After knocking on the door of a maiden win against talented California competition as a three-year-old, he finally broke the ice and looked like a star on the rise. That was followed up with a 14th and last-place finish in the Blue Grass (G1), knocking him off the Triple Crown trail and sidelining him for nearly nine months.

Since his return, he has steadily gotten sharper and earned his second career victory against allowance/optional claiming competition. He stepped back up to the big leagues in the San Diego Handicap (G2) and the Awesome Again Stakes (G1) and held his own, finishing second and third, respectively.

He has serious pedigree and has shown some real talent. At this point, he has proved that he can hold his own against the best in the country and will get a chance to show that he can win against them as well.

Dark-Horse Contender: Tonalist

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Tonalist played the role of the villain in the Triple Crown this year and spoiled California Chrome's bid for immortality in the Belmont Stakes. Though fellow three-year-old contenders California Chrome and Shared Belief are getting more buzz heading into the Breeders' Cup Classic, Tonalist is lurking dangerously under the radar.

Tonalist was able to prove in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) that he can not only hold his own against older horses but is good enough to win against them. With a victory in the Belmont under his belt, there are also no questions about possible distance limitations. Several of the rivals he will be facing have yet to show that the 1 1/4-mile distance is within their scope, whereas he is a known contender at that distance and beyond.

The Eclipse Award for champion three-year-old is still very much up in the air. With the Belmont and Jockey Club Gold Cup on his resume, Tonalist has a chance to earn the coveted Eclipse Award with a win in the Classic. 

The Favorite: Shared Belief

Ringo H.W. Chiu/Associated Press

It is difficult to argue with perfection and at this point. Shared Belief is just that. The reigning champion juvenile has kept his flawless record intact this year and has four consecutive victories, bringing his grand total to seven all time.

Sure, there is the minor detail that the impressive, near-black colt has never run outside of California, but with the Breeders' Cup being run in his backyard at Santa Anita, it winds up being an argument for another day. He proved the naysayers who thought him to be a synthetic specialist wrong in the Awesome Again (G1) at Santa Anita with an impressive win despite a roughly run race.

Is he unbeaten? Yes. Unbeatable? That remains to be seen. 

Breeders' Cup Wagering Selections

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Here are my selections for the big race:

Win: Cigar Street

Place: Shared Belief

Show: Footbridge