Photo Credit: Steve Heuertz– Omaha Beach
Our end of year thoroughbred championships are upon us once again as the 2019 Breeders’ Cup takes place at Santa Anita Park across November 1 & 2.
With races for those aged 2 and over, distances ranging from 5 furlongs to a mile-and-a-half on both turf and dirt and horses coming from Europe and beyond to challenge the home contingent, these championships once again promise to be refreshingly disparate in their nature and hugely entertaining to boot.
Here’s what you can expect from the 36th Breeders’ Cup:
Huge Prize Money On Bets
An incredible total of $30million is offered in prize money across the 14 races, five of which are for juveniles with the other nine being for those aged three or over.
A purse of at least $1million is guaranteed for each and every race, with events such as the TVG Juvenile, the Sprint and the TVG Mile valued at $2million.
The ante is upped for the penultimate race, the Breeders’ Cup Turf, with $4million on offer while the closing race and the event that goes along way toward deciding the Horse of the Year, the Breeders’ Cup Classic, worth an astonishing $6million. TVG is the official betting partner now here’s where to get more information on Breeders’ Cup betting with TVG.
A Championship Venue
Santa Anita Park, in Arcadia, California, with its spectacular mountainous backdrop provides us with one of the best sporting venues in the world, not just in horse racing but across any sport, anywhere. This year marks the 10th time Santa Anita has hosted the championships which is a new record.
The layout at Santa Anita means we’ll have a two-turn Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, something not all the young contenders will be used to, the home of the Santa Anita Derby providing a stern test for all involved, albeit in the warmth of the California sunshine.
The Dates and Times
Future Stars Friday takes place on Friday November 1, when as part of a thrilling race day at the track our five Breeders’ Cup Juvenile races all take place.
The first Breeders’ Cup race goes off at 4.12PM EDT with post time for the last, the $2million TVG Juvenile, being 7.03PM.
Championship Saturday on November 2 again features an ‘undercard’, but the first of nine Breeders’ Cup races has a listed post time of 2.55PM EDT with the fillies and mares getting us underway in their sprint.
The boys take over for their own sprint race at 5.36PM which is our midway point, with the Breeders’ Cup Classic closing off the action at 8.44PM when the gates open for one of the world’s biggest races as 14 starters go for gold.
Breeders’ Cup Pre-Entries
After weeks and months of speculation regarding who will line-up at Santa Anita, the Breeders’ Cup World Championships’ pre-entries were announced live on TVG on Wednesday October 23, giving us a much clearer idea of what battles we are about to witness on the track.
At this point contenders can be cross-entered, i.e. they can be entered for more than one race but connections must state which race their first preference is.
When a race is oversubscribed, trainers and owners are left hoping some horses drop out with those waiting in line given an order of preference by the committee.
Up to now it seems we’re likely to see Eight Rings, Dennis’ Moment and Maxfield do battle in a fascinating TVG Juvenile on day one, while the hugely talented Omaha Beach is being aimed at the Dirt Mile on Saturday despite having recently beaten some of the country’s fastest horses over a sprint distance.
The Europeans are lining up to take on the brilliant Sistercharlie in the Filly & Mare Turf and we see a very oversubscribed race at the pre-entry stage in the shape of the TVG Mile. 22 runners are so far declared with only 14 allowed in the gate, though four of them have a first preference elsewhere and are likely to drop out.
There should be a fascinating clash in the Turf race over 1½ miles with Bricks And Mortar, coming off a 6-race winning streak, taking on English Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck while all the right horses have been entered in the Classic.
Favored McKinzie is set to line-up, though Jockey Club Gold Cup first two Code Of Honor and Vino Rosso are also on the list alongside Oklahoma Derby winner Owendale, Preakness winner War Of Will and McKinzie’s shock conqueror in the Awesome Again Stakes, Mongolian Groom.
Final Entries and Post Positions
As long as they all stay safe, we should see no major defections between now and November 1, with the final fields and post positions announced by the Breeders’ Cup on Monday October 28.
