Breeders' Cup 2015 Post Positions: Horse Odds, Prize Money, Predictions and More
The Breeders' Cup Classic is horse racing's version of its season-ending championship. With a $5 million prize to finish off the year, the richest horse race in America allows the sport to celebrate some of the world's best horses by putting them on display one last time.
This season, though, the Breeders' Cup Classic is going to provide an extra punch, as it is the final race in the historic career of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.
If he wants to go out with one final win, he is going to have to find a way to make it to the front of a very talented field of horses as we take a look at the race's post positions and odds:
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| 1 | Tonalist | 6-1 |
| 2 | Keen Ice | 12-1 |
| 3 | Frosted | 15-1 |
| 4 | American Pharoah | 6-5 |
| 5 | Gleneagles | 20-1 |
| 6 | Effinex | 30-1 |
| 7 | Smooth Roller | 15-1 |
| 8 | Hard Aces | 50-1 |
| 9 | Honor Code | 6-1 |
| 10 | Beholder | 3-1 |
American Pharoah is the favorite, but there are a few horses in the field that could provide a very stiff challenge for him.
Keen Ice, who is two stalls over from the Triple Crown winner, actually beat American Pharoah in the Travers Stakes toward the end of August. The improvement he made on his runs as the year progressed will make him a horse to watch out for, according to AmericasBestRacing.net:
"The Classic’s mile-and-a-quarter distance should benefit Keen Ice, a son of Curlin. With the increasing distances later in the year, he is willing to stay closer to the pace. That will be one of the keys to his chances after he breaks from post two in the Classic since there is not a great deal of front-end speed beyond American Pharoah.
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But at 12-1 odds, he's not projected as Pharoah's biggest threat to a title. That honor belonged to Beholder, who was scratched for the race after being listed as a 3-1 favorite.
Now it looks like Tonalist and Honor Code will be the best challengers, as they sit at 6-1 odds. But I can't see American Pharoah being denied a win in his last go-around. Let's take a look at my predictions for the finish and prize money distribution:
| 1 | American Pharoah | $2,750,000 |
| 2 | Tonalist | $900,000 |
| 3 | Keen Ice | $500,000 |
| 4 | Honor Code | $300,000 |
| 5 | Effinex | $150,000 |
It's not going to be easy. Even though it's a smaller field, I anticipate this pack of horses to create some heavy traffic. That makes it imperative for Pharoah to have a good start and be within the top three by the first few strides.
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