Breeders' Cup 2019 Post Positions: Horse Odds, Prize-Money Predictions and More

After some captivating races on Friday, the second day of the Breeders' Cup festival will play out on Saturday, culminating in the event's showpiece race, the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Having steered Accelerate to glory in the race last year, jockey Joel Rosario has another shot at victory in the Classic on board favourite McKinzie. Vino Rosso and Code of Honor are the other horses expected to challenge.

Prior to the Classic, for which there will be a $6 million purse up for grabs, those in attendance at Santa Anita Park will have eight other races to savour.

Here is the schedule for the day, as well as the prize money for each race and a focus on the post positions for Saturday's Classic.

Saturday Schedule (ET)

2:55 p.m.: Filly and Mare Sprint ($1 million)

3:33 p.m: Turf Sprint ($1 million)

4:10 p.m.: Big Ass Fans Dirt Mile ($1 million)

4:54 p.m.: Maker's Mark Filly & Mare Turf ($2 million)

5:36 p.m.: Sprint ($2 million)

6:20 p.m.: TVG Mile ($2 million)

7:00 p.m.: Longines Distaff ($2 million)

7:40 p.m.: Longines Turf ($4 million)

8:44 p.m.: Longines Classic ($6 million)

Breeders' Cup Classic Post Positions (Odds)

1. Math Wizard (33-1)

2. Seeking the Soul (28-1)

3. Owendale (18-1)

4. War of Will (25-1)

5. Yoshida (6-1)

6. Elate (15-2)

7. Higher Power (14-1)

8. McKinzie (7-2)

9. Mongolian Groom (20-1)

10. Vino Rosso (5-1)

11. Code of Honor (4-1)      

Prize-money details in full are available courtesy of the Breeders' Cup website.

Odds according to Oddschecker.

Preview

The post draw for high-profile races like the Classic always get trainers and jockeys nervous. The draw for Saturday's encounter saw the main contenders avoid the rail, which should set up a fascinating contest.

In what is unsurprisingly a high-class field given the prize money at stake, McKinzie is the standout horse.

Trained by the legendary Bob Baffert, McKinzie has clear pedigree going into the 10-furlong race. The four-year-old's win in the Whitney Stakes in August was his fourth Grade 1 success of the year, beating Classic rivals Yoshida and Vino Rosso:

Baffert ran the rule over the Classic favourite ahead of Saturday's big race, as well as some of his other horses that will be in action at Santa Anita Park, as Sporting Life shared:

It's not a shock to see Code of Honor and Vino Rosso so close in the betting, as there was little to separate the two at the Jockey Club Gold Cup in September. The latter crossed the finish line first but was later disqualified because it was deemed he had interfered with Code of Honor.

After that controversial tussle, horse racing writer Amy Nesse paid tribute to the pair's quality:

Vino Rosso's performance against McKinzie at the Whitney Stakes may put off some punters—he was six lengths back on the winner—but Todd Pletcher's horse did win the Gold Cup at Santa Anita in May.

America's Best Racing's Penelope P. Miller noted he's been looking in good shape ahead of the race:

As McKinzie's closest competitor at the Whitney Stakes, Yoshida is also likely to be in the hunt, although that race indicated that legendary jockey Mike Smith needs to get him out to the front of the pack a little earlier on.

Even so, McKinzie has been dominant throughout 2019 and has already shown he's capable of winning against quality fields in different circumstances. It feels like an extraordinary performance will be required to edge him out.

Prediction: 1. McKinzie, 2. Vino Rosso, 3. Code of Honor