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Breeders' Cup Classic 2018: Latest Odds, Predictions Heading into Saturday
November 2, 2018
Over the next two days, the horse racing world converges on Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, for the second time this year.
The site of the Kentucky Derby is playing host to the 2018 Breeders' Cup, where a collection of the world's best horses will attempt to win some of the sport's most prestigious races.
The event kicks off with five races Friday, followed by nine races, including the Breeders' Cup Classic, taking place Saturday afternoon.
Accelerate is the favorite to win the $6 million Classic race, while Monomoy Girl is trying to cap off a fantastic season by coming out victorious in the Distaff, the top race for fillies.
Odds (via OddsShark)
Breeders Cup Classic
Accelerate (+300; Bet $100 to win $300)
McKinzie (+600)
Catholic Boy (+650)
West Coast (+700)
Yoshida (+900)
Mind Your Biscuits (+1,000)
Mendelssohn (+1,100)
Roaring Lion (+1,200)
Thunder Snow (+1,200)
Pavel (+3,300)
Gunnevera (+4,000)
Lone Sailor (N/A)
Axelrod (N/A)
Discreet Lover (N/A)
Breeders Cup Distaff
Monomoy Girl (+150)
Abel Tasman (+350)
Midnight Bisou (+450)
Wow Cat (+800)
Blue Prize (+1,600)
Wonder Gadot (+1,600)
Champagne Problems (N/A)
La Force (N/A)
Mopotism (N/A)
Verve's Tale (N/A)
Vale Dori (N/A)
Predictions
Accelerate Fends Off Competitive Field In Classic
Accelerate enters as the favorite to win the showcase race of the Breeders' Cup because he is in terrific form.
The horse trained by John Sadler has five wins in six races in 2018, including a late September win at Santa Anita over fellow Classic entrant West Coast.
Accelerate is looking to break Sadler's curse at the Breeders' Cup, as the trainer hasn't found a winner from 41 different horses at the marquee fall event on the horse racing schedule.
In order to come out on top, Accelerate needs to navigate a long list of contenders, including the Bob Baffert-trained McKinzie.
Before Gun Runner stole the show a year ago, Baffert's horses had a three-year winning streak going in the Classic thanks to Bayern, American Pharoah and Arrogate.
McKinzie has much less experience on the track than Accelerate, but he's won four of the five races he's been entered in, with his latest triumph coming at the Pennsylvania Derby September 22.
If you're looking for a long shot to win the Classic, the Baffert-trained Collected out of the United Arab Emirates has a chance to take the race by storm from the outside gates, while Pavel is coming off a second-place finish to Accelerate in August at the Pacific Classic.
Monomoy Girl Runs Away With Distaff
Monomoy Girl has proved throughout 2018 that she is the filly to beat in every race she enters.
The odds-on favorite to capture the Breeders' Cup Distaff has a remarkable record that includes first place at the Kentucky Oaks in May at Churchill Downs.
Monomoy Girl has the advantage of racing from the outside post position in the 11-horse field, which means she can either cruise on the outside or get off to a fast start and work her way inside to assert her dominance.
The horse trained by Brad Cox will be on a familiar surface that she won on in May, and she's going up against a collection of horses, including Abel Tasman and Midnight Bisou, that she's beaten head-to-head in the past.
Abel Tasman and Midnight Bisou will try to make life difficult for Monomoy Girl, as well as a pair of South American horses, Blue Prize from Argentina and Wow Cat from Chile, but the Kentucky Oaks champion will have too much power over a mile-and-one-eighth for the rest of the field to handle.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90
Statistics obtained from HorseRacingNation.com