Breeders' Cup Betting Guide
Horse betting fans can hardly wait for the 2009 Breeders' Cup. The racing action is split between two days.
Friday
- $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf
- $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (gr. I)
- $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (gr. I)
- $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (gr. IT)
- $2 million Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic (gr. I)
Saturday
- $500,000 Breeders' Cup Marathon
- $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (gr. IIT)
- $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (gr. I)
- $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint
- $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I)
- $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I)
- $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT)
- $3 million Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. IT)
- $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I)
The Filly & Mare Sprint, Juvenile Turf, and Dirt Mile were not eligible to be graded stakes in 2007 or 2008. Similarly, the Juvenile Fillies Turf, Marathon, and Turf Sprint were ineligible for grading in 2008, and will remain ineligible in 2009. The American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, the body that controls grading of North American stakes races, requires that a race be run under the same conditions for at least two years before it can be graded.
Starting in 2009, the Filly & Mare Sprint and Dirt Mile will be Grade I races, while the Juvenile Turf will be Grade II. Although the latter event is the first Breeders' Cup race not to receive Grade I status, it is in a racing category that has no US Grade I events (2-year-olds on turf).
The 2007 Dirt Mile was run over 1 mile and 70 yards, while the 2007 Filly & Mare Sprint was run over six furlongs. These distances were required because of the configuration of the dirt track at the 2007 Breeders' Cup site of Monmouth Park.
The 2008 Turf Sprint was, and the 2009 Turf Sprint will be, contested on Santa Anita Park's signature El Camino Real "downhill" turf course, with a maximum of 14 starters. In future years, the distance will depend on track configurations.
Beginning in 2007, a new qualifying process took effect, in which the winners of certain races earned automatic entry to the event in their respective divisions.
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Straight or Basic
Straight or basic bets pay-out when you pick the horse to win,
place or show. Win means that the horse finishes first.
Place means that the horse will finish second. Third means
that the horse will finish third.
One important note is that if you bet the horse to win it has to finish first. If you bet the horse to place, it can finish first or second. If you bet the horse to finish third, it can finish first, second or third. Of course, usually, the pay-out is higher if you bet the horse to finish first.
Across The Board
This means you are wagering on a horse to Win, Place and Show. This
is essentially a $6 bet as each single bet is a wager of $2.
Another way to think about this is that you are placing $2 on the
horse to finish first, second, and third.
Daily Double
To win this bet you must select the winners of two consecutive
races. Not all tracks offer the daily-double bet on all
wagers. There is usually an Early Double which is comprised
of the first two races on the card and then there is a Late Double
which is comprised of the last two races on a card.
Exacta
You pick the first two finishers of any given race in exact
order. Therefore, you pick the horse to finish first and then
the horse to finish second. The order must be exact - -
hence, the term exacta.
Approximate Payoff for a $2 Win Bet
Odds
Pays
Odds Pays
1-9
$2.20
2-1 $6.00
1-5
$2.40
5-2 $7.00
2-5
$2.80
3-1 $8.00
1-2
$3.00
7-2 $9.00
3-5
$3.20
4-1 $10.00
4-5
$3.60
9-2 $11.00
1-1
$4.00
5-1 $12.00
6-5
$4.40
6-1 $14.00
7-5
$4.80
7-1 $16.00
3-2
$5.00
8-1 $18.00
8-5
$5.20
9-1 $20.00
9-5
$5.60 10-1
$22.00
Here are some strategies that will be helpful to the newcomer when wagering on the races odds:
- Think twice about putting your money on the favorite. Favorites only win 33% of the time. You will cash more tickets but in the long-run you lose your bankroll. Do your homework at bet on overlays.
- Listen to experts but pay more attention to write-ups posted on BetUS regarding horse racing. Get familiar with the jockeys, trainers, horses, and their tendencies. Make yourself an expert.
- Tip sheets are okay, but, more importantly, get to know how each track plays and who the hot trainers at each track are. Also, educate yourself on why some horses prefer different racing surfaces. Horse racing is a fickle game and you want to make sure that you have all of the information you need before placing a wager.
- Always check the programs for correct race numbers and extra information regarding horses, jockeys, etc. Never assume anything in thoroughbred racing!
- Watch the horses run. Listen to the quotes from trainers
and jockeys before and after races. There is a lot you can
learn by just keeping your ears open.
Glossary of Wagering Strategy Terms
Overlay - A horse going off at higher odds than what you expected the horse to go off at. This is what you want. You want to wager on a horse that will pay-out more than you expected it to.
Underlay - A horse going off at lower odds than it should. Check out BetUS articles regarding horse racing for more information regarding how to spot underlay and overlays.
Personal Money-Line - Your personal money-line will determine whether or not you think a horse is an overlay or underlay. This is a very important concept to understand. You must determine the fair odds of the horse.
Fair Odds - Fair odds are pretty much the odds at which you will or won't be on the horse. After you handicap the race, you set your personal money-line for each horse you think has a chance in the race. If the horse is going off at your personal money-line odds, then that horse is going off at fair odds.
