Breeders' Cup 2019: Odds and Predictions for All Races

Santa Anita Park will play host to two days of high-class racing on Friday and Saturday, with the 2019 Breeders' Cup to take place at the historic venue.

The event will see some of the most high-profile jockeys in the sport go head-to-head, with 14 races scheduled for the two days. All but one of the races will be Grade 1 contests, meaning punters in attendance will get their money's worth in terms of quality.

The meeting will culminate with the Breeders' Cup Classic, for which the purse will be a whopping $6 million. McKinzie is the early favourite for that race, with Code of Honor and Vino Rosso also set to be in contention over the 10-furlong distance.

Here is the race schedule for the two days, as well as selected odds and a prediction for each event.

2019 Breeders' Cup Schedule (ET) and Predictions

Friday, November 1

4:12 p.m. - Juvenile Turf Sprint (Aali, 5/1)

4:52 p.m. - Juvenile Fillies Turf (Alms, 12/1)

5:32 p.m. - Juvenile Fillies (British Idiom, 4/1)

6:12 p.m. - Juvenile Turf (Decorated Invader, 15/2)

7:03 p.m. - Juvenile (Eight Rings, 9/4)

Saturday, November 2

2:55 p.m. - Filly & Mare Sprint (Come Dancing 5/2)

3:33 p.m. - Turf Sprint (Stubbins, 10/1)

4:10 p.m. - Dirt Mile (Omaha Beach, 26/19)

4:54 p.m. - Filly & Mare Turf (Sistercharlie 2/1)

5:36 p.m. - Sprint (Shancelot, 5/1)

6:20 p.m. - Mile (Circus Maximus, 7/2)

7 p.m. - Distaff (Midnight Bisou, 6/4)

7:40 p.m. - Turf (Bricks and Mortar, 2/1)

8:44 p.m. - Classic (Code of Honor, 9/2)

Odds in full are available via Oddschecker

Preview

Although there will be 13 excellent races ahead of if at Santa Anita over two jam-packed days, the Breeders' Cup Classic remains the biggest draw for the race-goers and those tuning in to the action around the world.

A year ago, it was Joel Rosario who steered the aptly named Accelerate to victory for trainer John W. Sadler:

In 2019, Rosario has an excellent chance to make it back-to-back successes in the race, as he is set to be aboard Bob Baffert's McKinzie, which is likely to go off as the favourite.

This year, McKinzie has been able to produce some dominant performances, most notably in the Alysheba Stakes and the Whitney Stakes. However, those eye-catching displays have been interspersed with underwhelming runs.

Baffert provided his thoughts on how he feels McKinzie will fare in the showpiece event at the Breeders' Cup:

Code of Honor has been a lot more consistent in his career so far and has won over the Classic distance at the Runhappy Travers Stakes in August. Vino Rosso has also enjoyed a breakthrough year and is likely to be moved to the head of the race to set the tempo early by jockey Irad Ortiz Jr.

In the Turf, Bricks and Mortar is the early favourite, and it's easy to see why after an excellent 2019 to this point. Already this year he's undefeated in five races, four of which were Grade 1 clashes. 

Per XBTV, Chad C. Brown's five-year-old has looked in strong form in the buildup to the race:

Per Paulick Report, Brown detailed why he's decided to field Bricks and Mortar in the Turf as opposed to the Mile.

"Potentially, post position wouldn't be quite as important at a mile and a half as a mile, and trip," he said. "Additionally, after running in back-to-back mile-and-a-quarter races cutting him all the way back to a mile, I'm not sure that he'd have the explosiveness now that he would have had before I stretched him out."

Seeking to end the favourite's winning streak will be Anthony Van Dyck and Magical, who are second and third in the betting respectively.