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Breeders’ Cup betting guide for 2024

The Breeders’ Cup is one of the big end-of-year annual flat horse racing events held in North America. Punters can enjoy this year’s edition at Del Mar Racetrack from November 5-6, 2021.

Read on as our guide will show you the best sites and bets for Breeders’ Cup betting, as well as go through a detailed history of the races and venues.

Top Breeders’ Cup betting sites in Canada

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Canada’s top sportsbook
1
4.5 /5
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Best betting odds
2
3.9 /5
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Good
None Bonus
  • Check icon Win Rate: 100%
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  • Check icon Lack of bonuses & promos
  • Check icon No horse racing betting

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3
4.3 /5
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4
4.1 /5
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Great
N/A Bonus
  • Check icon Games: 1,500+
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Cons

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5
4.2 /5
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Great
C$300 Bonus
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Best racebook
6
4.1 /5
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Great
C$125 Bonus
  • Check icon Win Rate: 97.22%
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7
4.0 /5
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Great
C$300 Bonus
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8
3.8 /5
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9
3.9 /5
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Good
C$1,000 Bonus
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10
3.9 /5
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Good
C$200 Bonus
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An introduction to the Breeders’ Cup

This guide to Breeders’ Cup horse racing and betting in Canada has a few basics to cover first. Check out these important facts:

  • Breeders’ Cup Horse Racing - Fact 1

    The Breeders’ Cup was created to be the end-of-year championships for North American thoroughbred racehorses

  • Breeders’ Cup Horse Racing - Fact 2

    Since first being held in 1984, it has gained increased global appeal and entries now regularly come from outside North America

  • Breeders’ Cup Horse Racing - Fact 3

    A different host venue is used each year, although some racetracks have had the Breeders’ Cup in consecutive years

  • Breeders’ Cup Horse Racing - Fact 4

    The lack of a fixed home allows racetracks all over North America a chance of hosting

  • Breeders’ Cup Horse Racing - Fact 5

    Races all over the world are part of the Challenge Series which are like qualifiers. If a horse wins one of these, then they can take part at the Breeders’ Cup

  • Breeders’ Cup Horse Racing - Fact 6

    There are a series of races run over different distances that are open to specific horses or age groups

  • Breeders’ Cup Horse Racing - Fact 7

    Both dirt and turf racetracks are used at the Breeders’ Cup

  • Breeders’ Cup Horse Racing - Fact 8

    Although now exclusively Flat horse racing, the American Grand National over hurdles used to be run during this event

  • Breeders’ Cup Horse Racing - Fact 9

    From 2007 onwards, the Breeders’ Cup has been a two-day event held in early November

  • Breeders’ Cup Horse Racing - Fact 10

    Canada has hosted the Breeders’ Cup once at Woodbine in Toronto, Ontario back in 1996

How Breeders’ Cup odds work

Although a special event in the North American sporting calendar, Breeders’ Cup horse racing odds are no different to any other meetings. You may be new to betting on horse racing, though, and so we’re going to work through an example:

Conduit
Conduit
2.75
Enable
Enable
3.25
Found
Found
3.75
High Chaparral
High Chaparral
4.50
Highland Ree
Highland Ree
6.00
Magician
Magician
8.50
Shirocco
Shirocco
10.00
St Nicholas Abbey
St Nicholas Abbey
17.00

Eight great winners of the Breeders’ Cup Turf meet in a fantasy race over the mile-and-a-half distance. Conduit has the shortest price and is thus the favourite.

For every C$4 staked on him, you stand to make C$7 profit and receive total returns of C$11. Enable is second in the betting, ahead of fellow mare Found.

Each of the runners has bigger odds until St Nicholas Abbey who is the outsider. A C$4 bet on him returns C$68 – of which C$64 is profit if he wins.

Decimal odds are most common for Breeders’ Cup betting in Canada, although you may see fractional prices on some British-based sportsbooks. The American money line system is rare in horse racing because of there being multiple possible outcomes.

For more on the different ways in which betting prices can be expressed, see the odds calculator below:

Breeders’ Cup betting options

Having discussed the types of Breeders’ Cup horse racing odds that exist, now we move on to betting markets. Here are some of the most popular wagered on:

  • To win

    To win

    A straightforward bet is on outright victory in one of the many Breeders’ Cup races.

    Eg:
    Enable
    3.25
    Enable
  • To place

    To place

    You can also bet on a horse to finish first or second in its Breeders’ Cup race. The odds will be shorter than an outright win.

    Eg:
    Magician
    2.88
    Magician
  • To show

    To show

    Another possible wager is backing a horse to finish first, second or third at the Breeders’ Cup. Again, the price will be smaller than just a plain win.

    Eg:
    St Nicholas Abbey
    4.00
    St Nicholas Abbey
  • Exacta

    Exacta

    You can also pick two horses in the same race and put them together in one bet, specifying a winner and the other to come second. This is called an exacta and can be reversed if you don’t want to bet on a specific order.

    Reverse exactas, also called a quinella, are two bets to cover both possible outcomes. One will certainly lose, but the other may not.

    Eg:
    Conduit
    Conduit
    First
    Found
    Found
    Second
  • Triactor or Trifecta

    Triactor or Trifecta

    Known in Canada as a triactor, but called a trifecta throughout North America and beyond, you can also back three horses in the same race. These are to finish first, second and third respectively.

    Like exactas, the option of not specifying the order is also there but you are then placing six bets in one. There’s an obvious degree of difficulty in getting a winning triactor or trifecta.

    Eg:
    Conduit
    Conduit First
    Enable
    Enable Second
    Found
    Found Third
  • Superfecta

    Superfecta

    It even goes a level beyond triactors and trifectas with multiple selections in the same race. You can nominate four horses in one event to finish first, second, third and fourth in a given order.

    These are even more difficult to predict. If you do, then the returns are massive. Extra selections and thus more permutations can be added to the bet and these are called box superfectas.

    Eg:
    Conduit
    Conduit First
    Enable
    Enable Second
    Found
    Found Third
    High Chaparral
    High Chaparral Fourth
  • Daily Double

    Daily Double

    If you can pick the winners of consecutive races which are designated by the betting site you bet on, then you can win bigger. The daily double is often put forward on the most competitive races at events like the Breeders’ Cup or Kentucky Derby.

    Odds are multiplied from one leg of the bet to the next, so your return is much higher than if backing them individually to win.

    Eg:
    Conduit
    Conduit
    9.00
    Accelerate
    Accelerate
  • Futures Betting

    Futures Betting

    There’s no need to wait until the Breeders’ Cup event starts for you to bet on it. Odds will often be available weeks and in some cases months in advance.

    Futures betting comes with pros and cons. One advantage is you are likely to get a bigger price on your fancy, but the downside is if it doesn’t turn up and run then you lose. Money back guarantees aren’t usually in effect until nearer the time.

    You as a bettor have to decide whether taking a long-term wager and a bigger price is worth running the risks attached.

    Eg:
    Accelerate
    7.50
    Accelerate

Top 5 Breeders’ Cup betting tips

  • Unless you know an owner/trainer is going to run a horse at the Breeders’ Cup, futures betting may not be worth the risk
  • Favourites do not always win races, even at the Breeders’ Cup. Sometimes, better value lies on finding horses to place or show
  • Pari-mutuel bets like exactas and triactors are only advised in small field races where you have a clear view that two or three horses are superior
  • Some betting sites will allow you place multiple bets like doubles and trebles on the place and show markets, as well as just to win
  • Taking advantage of this means you can still make profit if you find horses that finish in the first two or three of two or more races
Horse Racing

Breeders’ Cup horse races

These are the specific races that Breeders’ Cup horse racing odds are available on. The first day of the meeting has a focus on two-year-old thoroughbred racehorses, often called juveniles, and races are restricted to that age bracket:

  • Juvenile Turf Sprint over about five-and-a-half furlongs (Grade 2)
  • Juvenile Fillies Turf over a mile (Grade 1)
  • Juvenile Fillies dirt race over a mile and half-a-furlong (Grade 1)
  • Juvenile Turf over a mile (Grade 1)
  • Juvenile dirt race over a mile and half-a-furlong (Grade 1)

Day two of the Breeders’ Cup has more top-class Flat horse races which are open to three-year-olds and above:

  • Filly & Mare Sprint dirt race over seven furlongs (Grade 1)
  • Turf Sprint over about five-and-a-half furlongs (Grade 1)
  • Dirt Mile over a mile (Grade 1)
  • Filly & Mare Turf over about a mile and two-and-a-half furlongs (Grade 1)
  • Sprint dirt race over six furlongs (Grade 1)
  • Turf Mile over a mile (Grade 1)
  • Distaff dirt race for fillies and mares over a mile and a furlong (Grade 1)
  • Breeders’ Cup Turf over a mile and four furlongs (Grade 1)
  • Breeders’ Cup Classic dirt race over a mile and two furlongs (Grade 1)

Past & Present Breeders’ Cup host venues

The following North American racetracks have hosted the Breeders’ Cup:

  • Hollywood Park, Inglewood, California (1984, 1987, 1997)
  • Aqueduct, Queens, New York (1985)
  • Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, California (1986, 1993, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2019)
  • Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky (1988, 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2018)
  • Gulfstream Park, Hallandale Beach, Florida (1989, 1992, 1999)
  • Belmont Park, Elmont, New York (1990, 1995, 2001, 2005)
  • Woodbine, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (1996)
  • Arlington Park, Chicago, Illinois (2002)
  • Lone Star Park, Grand Prairie, Texas (2004)
  • Monmouth Park, Oceanport, New Jersey (2007)
  • Keeneland, Lexington, Kentucky (2015, 2020, 2022)
  • Del Mar, Del Mar, California (2017, 2021)

FAQs

What is the Breeders’ Cup?

The Breeders’ Cup is the end-of-year championships for thoroughbred Flat racehorses in North America. Winners of prestigious races all around the world can qualify to run at the meeting too.

It’s held over two days in early November at a different host venue each year.

When is the 2021 Breeders’ Cup?

The 2021 Breeders’ Cup takes place on November 5-6 at Del Mar Racetrack. While, the 2022 edition is due to occur on November 4-5 at Keeneland racecourse.

Is betting on the Breeders’ Cup legal in Canada?

Breeders’ Cup horse racing betting in Canada is totally legal. Gambling on racehorses in general was made legal in 1969.

What are the best Breeders’ Cup betting sites?

Our expert team has picked out the following as being the best sites for betting on the Breeders’ Cup:

  • Betway
  • Pinnacle
  • Casumo
  • Stake
  • 888sport
  • Sports Interaction
  • 22Bet
  • 10bet
  • Mr.play
How does Breeders’ Cup betting work?

Pick the Breeders’ Cup race you want to have a bet on and select your chosen horse. Add that animal to your betslip using the bet type you want and then enter your stake. All you have to do then is place the bet.

What are the most popular Breeders’ Cup bets?

These are the most popular Breeders’ Cup horse racing betting markets:

  • To win
  • To place
  • To show
  • Exacta
  • Trifecta or Triactor
  • Superfecta
  • Daily Double
  • Futures betting
Can I bet on the Breeders’ Cup on mobile?

Mobile Breeders’ Cup horse racing betting is just one of the many things you can get involved with via sportsbook apps. If you an Android or Apple powered device, then you can download for free.

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