Breeders' Cup 2015 Odds: Final Lines and Predictions for All Horses in Classic

Post time for the Breeders' Cup Classic is rapidly approaching, and this year's Classic promises to be an event you won't want to miss.

First and foremost, the Classic is the biggest race of the year. I much prefer the Kentucky Derby and the Travers, but the Classic is the richest race in the United States, and this year's version will serve as the swan song for one of the most prolific and legendary horses the sport has ever seen.

When American Pharoah takes to the Keeneland dirt track, it'll be the last time he does so in any kind of competitive manner. He, his owners (the Zayat family), trainer Bob Baffert and his rider, Victor Espinoza, would certainly like to win one last time before the Triple Crown winner sets off for greener pastures.

Throw in a bunch of other Grade 1 winners, and you've got all the makings of a truly incredible race.

Before then, though, we'll take one last look at the field, their odds to win the Classic as well as some final predictions for how things will shake out. Let's get started.

Race Entries

Post Position	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Odds	Projected Finish
1	Tonalist	John Velazquez	Christophe Clement	4-1	7th
2	Keen Ice	Irad Ortiz Jr.	Dale Romans	8-1	6th
3	Frosted	Joel Rosario	Kiaran McLaughlin	12-1	4th
4	American Pharoah	Victor Espinoza	Bob Baffert	4-5	1st
5	Gleneagles (IRE)	Ryan Moore	Aidan O'Brien	20-1	8th
6	Effinex	Mike Smith	James Jerkens	20-1	3rd
7	Smooth Roller	Tyler Baze	Victor Garcia	12-1	5th
8	Hard Aces	Joe Talamo	John Sadler	30-1	9th
9	Honor Code	Javier Castellano	Claude McGaughey III	5-1	2nd
10	Beholder	Gary Stevens	Richard Mandella	SCR	--

American Pharoah

American Pharoah is going to win the Classic. There's no horse in this group that can hold a candle to his resume—or his physical abilities. 

The soon-to-be-named three-year-old champion has a whopping seven Grade 1 victories to point to on his resume, making him easily the most decorated of this year's crop of contenders. Then there's that whole thing with him becoming the first Triple Crown winner since 1978 earlier this season.

Pharoah's resume isn't unblemished, though, and he was recently bested by fellow Classic contender Keen Ice in the Travers Stakes.

That race was a deathtrap for Pharoah. He came into the contest on short rest and was set up for failure by his ownership group—though I certainly commend them for bringing the legendary colt to Saratoga for myself and 49,999 other fans to watch.

Now, Pharoah is rested up and looking as good as ever. That, and the scratch of Beholder—the biggest threat to his emerging from this race victorious—have him primed to add yet another Grade 1 victory to his tally.

Everything points to Pharoah destroying his competition Saturday, and while I won't be betting him—he is a ridiculously short price, after all—he's easily the horse to beat.

Honor Code

At 5-1 odds, Honor Code is a gift from the horse racing gods.

The four-year-old son of A.P. Indy could have a resume closer to that of American Pharoah's if not for for a compromised three-year-old season. The colt logged just two starts in his three-year-old season but has bounced back in a big way here in 2015.

The Shug McGaughey-trained colt has appeared in five graded stakes races this year and has earned first-place finishes in three of those five—he won the Whitney (Grade 1), the Met Mile (Grade 1) and the Gulfstream Park Handicap (Grade 2).

It's been an impressive year for Honor Code, and his most recent victory in the Whitney hints at his ability to win the Classic later today.

In the Whitney, Honor Code dropped back from the leading group of Liam's Map and Moreno. That duo set a pretty stiff pace, logging a 46-second half-mile, but Honor Code bided his time and began to pick off horses one by one. 

The A.P. Indy colt chased down the hard-fighting Liam's Map—who actually just won the Las Vegas Dirt Mile—for a well-deserved victory.

If any horse is bred to hang back and chase down Pharoah, it's Honor Code.

Effinex

My third-place pick, Effinex, has me going out on a bit of a limb. The four-year-old offspring of Mineshaft and What a Pear has been running well in recent tries, and aside from the fact that he did not finish in the Brooklyn Invitational, he has logged first- and third-place finishes in four of his last five races.

His most recent showing was a third-place finish behind Tonalist and Wicked Strong in the Gold Cup, but his first-place effort in the Grade 2 Suburban shows the potential this horse possesses.

Piloted by Junior Alvarado, Effinex defeated some staunch competition, including a winner of multiple Grade 1 races in Tonalist, Mylute, Neck 'n Neck and the Big Brown colt Coach Inge.

It wasn't the best field we've seen in the Suburban, but the James Jerkens trainee showed something in the win. The leading group of Street Babe and Coach Inge set out to a blistering 46.13-second pace over the opening half-mile, and Effinex settled in over 10 lengths back of the leaders.

Alvarado kept Effinex comfortable but never really restricted him from running. From there, the Mineshaft colt made a bold move for the front and started gobbling up ground on his way toward the front.

Effinex settled a bit around the 3/4-mile mark and kicked out two wide to get away from the fading Street Babe. From there, Effinex was able to reel in Coach Inge while also managing to hold off a hard-charging Tonalist.

It was quite the impressive win for the New-York bred colt, and with Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith taking the mount, I like his chances, especially at the price.

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