Breeders' Cup 2015: Odds and Predictions for All Races
The 2015 Breeders' Cup is just under a week away, and fields are starting to take shape as we're now getting a look at some of the contenders in this year's races.
The top horses, jockeys and trainers from all around the world will flock to Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky, for this, the first Breeders' Cup on the East Coast since 2011, when the event took place at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Needless to say, excitement and anticipation for this year's event is at an all-time high.
The Breeders' Cup Classic is the crown jewel of the weekend-long festivities, but there are several other races that should provide us with an extremely entertaining weekend.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Every one of those races has the potential to be as good as the Classic, so we'll give them their due diligence here. In the chart below, I've predicted the winner of every race and also took the liberty of listing the surface the race is run on, the distance and also the purse.
After that, be sure to read on for a breakdown of arguably the two most intriguing races on the card, the Breeders' Cup Mile and the Classic.
Predictions for Breeders' Cup Races
| Juvenile Turf | $1 Million | 1 Mile | Turf | Conquest Daddyo |
| Las Vegas Dirt Mile | $1 Million | 1 Mile | Dirt | Liam's Map |
| Juvenile Fillies Turf | $1 Million | 1 Mile | Turf | Harmonize |
| Longines Distaff | $2 Million | 1 1/8 Miles | Dirt | Curalina |
| 14 Hands Winery Juvenile Fillies | $2 Million | 1 1/16 Miles | Dirt | Rachel's Valentina |
| Turf Sprint | $1 Million | 5 1/2 Furlongs | Turf | Ready for Rye |
| Filly & Mare Sprint | $1 Million | 7 Furlongs | Dirt | Cavorting |
| Filly & Mare Turf | $2 Million | 1 3/16 Miles | Turf | Stephanie's Kitten |
| TwinSpires Sprint | $1.5 Million | 6 Furlongs | Dirt | Private Zone |
| Mile | $2 Million | 1 Mile | Turf | Grand Arch |
| Sentient Jet Juvenile | $2 Million | 1 1/16 Miles | Dirt | Nyquist |
| Longines Turf | $3 Million | 1 1/2 Miles | Turf | Big Blue Kitten |
| Classic | $5 Million | 1 1/4 Miles | Dirt | Honor Code |
Breeders' Cup Mile
This used to be the Wise Dan show. Unfortunately, an injury forced the all-time great to retire, giving way to a new crop of challengers in the Breeders' Cup Mile.
That new crop makes for a wide-open race, though, and this is a race to take a shot in. So, I'm going to run with Tepin.
Tepin, the four-year-old daughter of Bernstein—he himself an offspring of the ever-influential Storm Cat—is in top form, logging top-two finishes in each of his last six efforts.
Last time out, Tepin crushed her competition in the Grade 1 First Lady. The race served as a proper tuneup for the veteran filly, as it's run at a mile over the Keeneland turf track.
Tepin went out and dominated in the First Lady, effectively shaking off two disappointing second-place showings in the Ballston Spa and Diana at this year's Saratoga meet. In addition to the impressive win over the Keeneland turf, Tepin has already shown the class necessary to win a Breeders' Cup race as she won the Distaff just last year.
Tepin also has trainer Mark Casse at the helm, and his status as one of the best turf trainers on the grounds that day certainly plays well in her favor come post time.
Breeders' Cup Classic
| American Pharoah | Bob Baffert | +160 |
| Beholder | Richard Mandella | +300 |
| Tonalist | Christophe Clement | +650 |
| Honor Code | Claude McGaughey III | +750 |
| Keen Ice | Dale Romans | +1000 |
| Frosted | Kiaran McLaughlin | +1000 |
| Smooth Roller | Victor Garcia | +1200 |
| Gleneagles | Michael Tabor | +1400 |
| Wicked Strong | James Jerkens | +3000 |
| Effinex | James Jerkens | +3500 |
| Hoppertunity | Bob Baffert | +4000 |
| Coach Inge | Todd Pletcher | +4000 |
| Hard Aces | John Sadler | +7500 |
The big kahuna, the Breeders' Cup Classic, has a chance to be the best race run this year.
This year's Classic features the best filly in the world (Beholder), the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years (American Pharoah) as well as a slew of other horses to round out this who's who of top runners.
Pharoah and Beholder are arguably the two best horses in this field, but neither of them are going to win. That honor will go to Honor Code.
Honor Code is just trending in the right direction.
Sure, the three-year-old son of A.P. Indy threw up a dud in the Grade 2 Kelso Handicap earlier this month, but his prior two races were a blueprint for how to prepare for, and possibly win, the Classic.
Prior to the Kelso Handicap, Honor Code won the Met Mile and the Whitney in back-to-back races. The last horse to do that was Tizway back in 2011, so it's not a very common feat.
With victories like those in his back pocket, a strong pedigree and trainer Claude McGaughey III pulling the strings, Honor Code has the connections and priors to win this race.
Follow me on Twitter! Follow @TylerDuma
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
