Breeders Cup Results 2014: Winner, Payouts and Order of Finish for Classic Race

The 2014 Breeders' Cup Classic would be noteworthy enough on its own, simply because this is the biggest weekend of horse racing on the calendar. When you add the return of California Chrome to the national stage, it had all the makings of great theater.

However, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner wasn't the favorite to win the Classic coming into Saturday. That honor belonged to Shared Belief, who entered with 7-5 odds thanks to seven wins in seven career races, according to OddsShark.com. 

Neither would come out on top, though the race did have drama. Bayern was declared the winner after an inquiry about how he started the race. 

With so much star power at the top, not to mention a full 14-horse field composed of the best three-year-olds in the from around the world competing for the $5 million purse, the best thing to do was expect the unexpected. Here's how the results turned out, as well as analysis from around the Internet. 

Position	Horse	Morning-Line Odds	Purse Payout
Win	Bayern	13-2	$2.75 million
Place	Toast of New York	12-1	$900,000
Show	California Chrome	7-1	$500,000
Fourth	Shared Belief	7-5	$300,000
Fifth	Tonalist	11-2	$150,000
Sixth	Candy Boy	25-1	-
Seventh	Cigar Street	20-1	-
Eighth	Zivo	15-1	-
Ninth	Imperative	30-1	-
10th	Footbridge	20-1	-
11th	V.E. Day	20-1	-
12th	Prayer For Relief	30-1	-
13th	Majestic Harbor	30-1	-
14th	Moreno	25-1	-

Bayern spoiled the party between California Chrome and Shared Belief, though it was not without controversy. Out of the gate, Bayern came out of the seventh gate and slid over to cut off Shared Belief in the sixth gate on the first jump, via Jay Privman of Daily Racing Form: 

After an inquiry, Bayern was officially declared the winner, via Breeders' Cup:

"

CONGRATULATIONS #Bayern on winning the $5 Mil. #BreedersCup Classic #BC14 @santaanitapark pic.twitter.com/2TRtKZXJD1

— Breeders' Cup (@BreedersCup) November 2, 2014"

In addition to being a great moment for Bayern, it was a huge win for Bob Baffert. The legendary trainer had never won this event before, according to Jo McKinnon of A Racetrack Somewhere:

"

Legendary US trainer Bob Baffert wins his first @BreedersCup Classic with Bayern. The only race to have eluded him is now his.

— Jo McKinnon (@Jo_McKinnon) November 2, 2014"

All eyes were on the battle between California Chrome and Shared Belief before the race began. In fact, this matchup has been anticipated since the Kentucky Derby. Frank Girardot of The Pasadena Star-News noted that things may have been different that day at Churchill Downs were it not for an injury:

"Just a few months before their meeting on the Derby patio," Girardot wrote, "handicappers and experts said Shared Belief would be the horse to beat in the Kentucky Derby. An untimely injury and a lengthy recovery prevented it from happening."

California Chrome trainer Art Sherman sounded like a kid on Christmas when talking to Jennie Rees of USA Today about the potential for this showdown:

"I've been waiting for this matchup, just to see who is the best horse coming down the lane," Sherman said. "They have the same style of running. I'd just like to see turning for home, either we're on the inside, the outside, and say 'Let's go from here."

Per Rees after the race, there was a scenario where the two could have finished in the top two spots depending on disqualifications:

"

Wow: There's a scenario where California Chrome & Shared Belief finish 1-2 if there's a double DQ. Just saying. Don't know what will happen

— Jennie Rees (@CJ_Jennie) November 2, 2014"

That didn't happen, so it was a third- and fourth-place finish, respectively, for the two colts.

It's rare to find a rivalry in this era of horse racing, yet the Breeders' Cup offered exactly what the sport needed with California Chrome being the established star after winning two Triple Crown races and Shared Belief missing out on his chance at immortality due to an injury. 

Unfortunately, due to a controversial start to the race and the nature of the sport, we never got to see the battle between these two horses pay off. It was a great day for Bayern, who deserves credit for going wire to wire for the victory.