More and more UK punters are now venturing beyond
British shores to make the most of major opportunities to profit from racing
abroad and Breeders Cup betting is understandably top of their hit list.
Held in the US over two days, the Breeders Cup includes
fourteen races that attract the top racing talent from across the globe.
Every race except the Breeders Cup Marathon carries prize money of over a
million US dollars. With a total of over twenty five million US dollars on
offer in prize money, it is little wonder that horses from England, Ireland,
France, South Africa and elsewhere are making the trip to the US to
challenge the best of their home-grown talent.
The races are televised and broadcast in 120 countries,
such is the appeal of Breeders Cup betting. UK punters can watch every race
on Racing UK or At the Races. As well as the usual horse racing betting
markets, odds are also offered on the number of European wins throughout the
meeting – so UK punters who are genuinely confident in the overall quality
of their national talent can have their own Breeders Cup betting markets.
The first Breeders Cup was held in November, 1984 at
Hollywood Park, California. The venue has traditionally been changed each
year to give the greatest possible number of US racing enthusiasts a chance
to attend. Only in 2008 and 2009 was the Breeders Cup held in the same
place, Santa Anita, California, for two years in a row. Churchill Downs,
best known for hosting the Kentucky Derby, is the 2010 venue for the two day
meeting held on the fifth and sixth of November, giving East Coast racing
fans a chance to witness the world’s best thoroughbred racing.
Since 2009, day one of the Breeders Cup has been
exclusively devoted to mares and fillies. The races include the Breeders Cup
Filly and Mare Sprint for three year olds and over. If you are looking to
start your Breeders Cup betting on day one, take a close look at the results
of the four qualifying races for this six furlong sprint. The races are; the
Gallant Bloom Handicap, the Princess Rooney Handicap, the Thoroughbred Club
of America Stakes and the Rancho Bernardo Handicap.
In 2009, punters that had done their homework for the
Sprint were rewarded as the two top Breeders Cup betting fancies came home.
Informed Decision won at 3-1 with Ventura, the evens favourite, taking
second spot. Free Flying Soul was third at 33-1 giving a boost to canny each
way punters.
The English filly, Ouija Board was one of the UK’s most
successful Breeders Cup raiders. Owned by Lord Derby and trained by Ed
Dunlop, she won her first Breeders Cup Filly and Mare Turf race (for three
year olds and over) as a three year old at Lone Star Park. She started the
10-11 favourite and was partnered by Kieren Fallon. The £409,000 prize money
was just the beginning of her Breeders Cup success story.
In 2005 she came second in the Emirates Airlines
Breeders Cup Filly and Mare Turf race, winning £110,417. In 2006 she again
rewarded the faith of UK and US punters by finishing first in the Breeders
Cup Filly and Mare Turf race at Churchill Downs when starting the 6-4
favourite in the Breeders Cup betting. By that time the takings had risen to
£690,000 for the winner giving her a total Breeders Cup prize fund of over
£1 million.
The sheer scale of the prize money on offer during the
Breeders Cup has had a positive influence on keeping some of the top fillies
in training. French superstar filly, Goldikova, was kept in training with
Freddie Head as a five year old in 2010 with an ultimate target of achieving
a record breaking third Breeders Cup Mile victory.
On 23 November 2009 when the decision on Goldikova was
announced, one UK based bookmaker immediately offered odds of 3-1 for her in
the Breeders Cup Mile betting, such is the level of interest in European
runners.
Goldikova had rewarded favourite backers in the
Breeders Cup betting twice already, starting at 13/8 favourite in the 2009
running of the Breeders Cup Mile and 9/4 favourite in 2008 running of the
same race. Her fans will be hoping that her phenomenal Breeders Cup form at
Santa Anita will be replicated on the turf at Churchill Downs. So will her
owners, the Wertheimer brothers. Her 2009 victory brought with it £750,000
in prize money to add to the £577,000 she earned for her victory in 2008.
It is not just the fillies that have delivered for
European trainers at the Breeders Cup. In 2009, Man of Iron made the journey
to Santa Anita worthwhile for trainer Aidan O’Brien and owners, Smith,
Magnier and Tabor. Man of Iron won the Breeders’ Cup Marathon under Johnny
Murtagh, starting at odds of 13-2, beating 10-1 shot, Cloudy’s Knight by a
nose. The 7/4 favourite, Mastery, trained by Saeed Bin Suroor and ridden by
Frankie Dettori was two and a quarter lengths third in the one mile six
furlong contest. Even the least valuable race of the Breeders Cup gives
£187,000 to the winner.
The last three races of the Breeders Cup are the most
prestigious and provide the climax of the meeting. The Breeders Cup Juvenile
precedes the Breeders Cup Turf with the Breeders Cup Classic providing the
grand finale to this end of season, ‘World Championship’ meeting. The
Breeders Cup Classic is held on a dirt course of one and a quarter miles. It
is open to both colts and fillies and has been the showcase of some of the
greatest racing sensations of all time.
In 2009 the Breeders Cup Classic was won in dramatic
style by the great filly, Zenyatta. Having missed the break she found
herself at the back of the field as usual but still rallied successfully to
win the race by a length from Gio Ponti. The win fund for the Classic is
over two million pounds. The 2-1 favourite in the Breeders Cup Classic
betting, the Aiden O’Brien trained Rip Van Winkle, was disappointing,
finishing tenth.
Another European trained horse was the favourite in the
Breeders Cup betting in the preceding race, the Emirates Airlines Breeders
Cup Turf race over a mile and four furlongs. Sir Michael Stoute’s Conduit
started the 10/11 favourite and, after a patient ride by Ryan Moore, took
home the one and a quarter million pound first prize. Stoute’s other horse
in the race, Spanish Moon, ridden by Kieren Fallon finished fourth,
receiving prize money of £125,000. John Gosden’s Da Re Mi (owned by Sir
Andrew Lloyd-Webber and his wife Madeline) took third place and £206,000.
All in all, it was an extremely profitable outing for UK based trainers.
The form book shows that the top English and Irish
trainers don’t make the trip to the Breeders Cup without heavyweight
equestrian ammunition. Whether you choose to bet on the horses you know best
or to research the US form, the Breeders Cup is a great opportunity not just
for British horses to make money, but for you to profit on Breeders Cup
betting too.
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