Breeders' Cup Classic 2015: Vegas Betting Odds, Race Predictions and More

If the Triple Crown weren't so important, the Breeders' Cup Classic would be the biggest horse race of the year.

The Breeders' Cup is, arguably, the pinnacle of the sport. Nine of racing's top horses will trot across Keeneland Racetrack in Lexington, Kentucky, on Saturday, aiming for the $2.75 million top prize of a $5 million purse.

The purse makes the Classic so huge. Its 1 ¼ miles will present an exciting conclusion to a historic season of horse racing.

Let's take a look at the field, odds and some predictions for Saturday's huge race.

Post Position	Horse	Jockey	Line
1	Tonalist	John Velazquez	6-1
2	Keen Ice	Irad Ortiz Jr.	12-1
3	Frosted	Joel Rosario	15-1
4	American Pharoah	Victor Espinoza	6-5
5	Gleneagles	Ryan Moore	20-1
6	Effinex	Mike Smith	30-1
7	Smooth Roller	Tyler Baze	15-1
8	Hard Aces	Joseph Talamo	50-1
9	Honor Code	Javier Castellano	6-1

Show: Gleneagles

This year's Breeders' Cup Classic was supposed to be a 10-horse field. Due to unfortunate circumstances, Beholder was listed as a scratch because of bleeding in her throat. As heartbreaking as that is, Saturday will be an opportunity for some horses to make an unexpected run toward the top three.

One of those will be Gleneagles, trained by Aidan O'Brien and jockeyed by Canada's Ryan Moore. In a race of this magnitude, momentum is key. Moore finished high twice in early Breeders' Cup action on Friday, winning and placing, respectively.

The win came in the Juvenile Turf race, in which Hit It A Bomb made a late charge on the final turn to win. Moore came close to winning again in the Juvenile Fillies Turf race with Alice Springs.

This is going to be Gleneagles' last start before heading to Ireland full time, according to Racing Post. This will also be the first time he has gone farther than one mile on a track. Joseph O'Brien, who once rode Gleneagles, said it will be up to Moore to determine how the three-year-old colt reacts on the track, per Greg Wood of the Guardian:

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He’s a lot of pace, he’s a good mover, he travels and he can quicken. It’s his first time going a mile and a quarter and we’re not 100 percent sure [about the distance], we never thought he needed a mile and a quarter and it’s his first time on dirt, so it’s a shot in the dark. If he’s travelling and he’s happy after going half a mile, then he’s in with a shout but, if he’s not travelling, it’s not because he’s not able. It’s because he’s not liking it.

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While the distance may be an issue for Gleneagles, his track record is hard to go against. The colt has won seven times over the past two years and also has a show under his belt. If the distance does become a factor and fatigue kicks in, then Gleneagles may come up just short.

A valiant effort is likely, though. And if this will be his last hurrah in America, then Moore will do everything in his power to ensure this is a finish to remember for Gleneagles.

Place: Frosted

Again, momentum is going to play a factor in this race. Jockey Joel Rosario finished in show in three out of the four races on Friday, and if any horse is willing to rival American Pharoah, it's Frosted.

The three-year-old colt has come the closest against American Pharoah in his quest for the Triple Crown, albeit not even coming close in terms of lengths. Frosted was fourth in the Kentucky Derby, second in the Belmont Stakes and third in the Preakness. 

Frosted is a consistent horse who will compete to the very end, but when it comes to American Pharoah and keeping up with him stride for stride, it's going to need to be close to perfect. Steven Falk of the Asbury Park Press echoes that idea.

"With Rosario back on, Frosted is likely to try and come from off the pace again, as he did in the Pennsylvania Derby," Falk said. "He's a hard-hitter, who is capable of hitting the board, but would have to run the best race of his career to win."

TVG provided a replay of Frosted's most prominent win this year at the Pennsylvania Derby:

Frosted has two wins in 2015 and has also placed three times. He's come in second six times in the last two years. He's been close but not enough. Rosario should inch closer and put together a quality race after three finishes in show Friday. But it won't be enough, because this race is all about one horse in particular.

Win: American Pharoah

No horse has ever entered the Breeders' Cup Classic—which began in 1984—after winning the Triple Crown. It's being called the Grand Slam of horse racing, if it can be accomplished.

American Pharoah will get that opportunity Saturday.

Horse racing's first Triple Crown winner in 37 years will get the chance to make history yet again. If he's not the favorite or the projected winner in everyone's eyes, then it'd be tough to find any horse in this field who would come close to American Pharoah and jockey Victor Espinoza.

The one horse who could rival him, Beholder, is not racing Saturday. Simply put, it's Pharoah's race to lose. Trainer Bob Baffert believes Pharoah is ready to make history yet again, per LEX 18 News in Kentucky:

It'll also be the final time that American Pharoah races, and what better way to go out on top than by completing the emphatic sweep of horse racing's biggest events? After Saturday, it'll be a new life for American Pharoah, as Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde details:

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[Bob] Baffert has had a brilliant career, one of the greatest in the history of the sport, but this has been the apex. He has guided American Pharoah to eight wins in 10 starts, becoming just the 12th horse to complete the Triple Crown and the first since 1978, a gap that had many in the sport proclaiming it could never be done again.

Until Pharoah did it. His gate-to-wire victory in the Belmont is arguably the most stirring sporting achievement to date in 2015.

"In any sport you want to see something spectacular," Baffert said. "And he delivered."

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It's rare that a horse race will be defined by destiny. This is destiny for American Pharoah. When he won the Triple Crown, he won by a combined 15.5 lengths. When in doubt, go with the proven winner. American Pharoah is a proven winner.