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  • Track the average odds for the most talked-about horses competing at the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Classic
  • Authentic won the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Classic
  • Looking for current Breeders’ Cup Classic odds?

The Breeders’ Cup has been running since 1984 and has evolved into a two-day race at the end of the thoroughbred-racing season. The Breeders’ Cup Classic often decides the Horse of the Year. This year’s 37th Breeders’ Cup Classic is set to run on Saturday, November 7, 2020 at Santa Anita, California.

We’re tracking the odds for each thoroughbred from the time of open up to the big race in November. The main graph on this page has been generated by calculating the average from our most trusted sportsbooks.

Breeders’ Cup Classic Top Contenders

  • [11/9/20] At +550 odds, Authentic won the Breeders’ Cup Classic wire-to-wire
  • [11/2/20] Co-favorites Tiz The Law (+467 to +283) and Improbable (+350 to +283) have both seen their odds shorten since the end of September.
  • [9/28/20] Improbable is now listed as the favorite, with odds adjusting from +1300 on Aug. 4 to +350 now
  • [8/4/20] Uncle Chuck has become a contender at 12-1 odds
  • [7/8/20] Tiz The Law has seen his odds continue to shorten from an average of +1500 in April to +1400 in May and now +567 in early July
  • [5/5/20] After this weekend’s Arkansas Derby, odds for each of the winners have been cut drastically in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Charlatan has shortened from +1400 to +850, while Nadal has shortened from +2000 to +1000
  • [4/1/20] Maximum Security is the early favorite at 5-1 odds

2020 Breeders’ Cup Classic Odds

Horse Odds
Tiz The Law +250
Improbable +250
Maximum Security +400
Authentic +550
Tom’s D’etat +700
Global Campaign +1600
By My Standards +2500
Tacitus +3300
Title Ready +4000
Higher Power +6600

Odds taken Nov 2

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Breeders’ Cup Classic Stats

  • Vino Rosso was the third favorite entering the race last year at +450 odds and took home the $6 million purse
  • Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith has won the Breeders’ Cup Classic three times in the past 11 years. He’s the only jockey to have won on multiple occasions during that time frame
  • Mike Smith has the most overall Breeders’ Cup jockey wins with 26
  • D. Wayne Lucas has the most Breeders’ Cup victories as a trainer with 20
  • The total handle for last year’s two-day Breeders’ Cup event was $174,000,574, up from 2018’s $163,011,577.

Past 10 Breeders’ Cup Classic Winners

Year Horse Jockey Trainer
2019 Vino Rosso Irad Ortiz Jr. Todd Pletcher
2018 Accelerate Joel Rosario John W. Sadler
2017 Gun Runner Florent Geroux Steven M. Asmussen
2016 Arrogate Mike Smith Bob Baffert
2015 American Pharoah Victor Espinoza Bob Baffert
2014 Bayern Martin Garcia Bob Baffert
2013 Mucho Macho Man Gary Stevens Katherine Ritvo
2012 Fort Larned Brian Hernandez Jr. Ian Wilkes
2011 Drosselmeyer Mike. Smith W. Mott
2010 Blame G. Gomez A. Stall

Vino Rosso finished the 1 1/4 mile race with a time of 2:02.80.

Trainers with the Most Wins

Bob Baffert didn’t produce his first Breeders’ Cup Classic champion until 2014, but he immediately made up for lost time by training each of the next two winning thoroughbreds. Baffert’s horses have now won over 2,800 races including seven Preakness Stakes, five Kentucky Derbies, and three Belmont Stakes.

In 2019, Todd Pletcher won his first Breeders’ Cup Classic as a trainer with Vino Rosso.

Jockeys with the MostWins

Last year’s winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. won his first Breeders’ Cup Classic race last year.


Archived Breeders’ Cup Classic Odds: 2019

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Ryan is SBD's resident soccer pro, though his repertoire is by no means limited to a single sport. His articles have been published by the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and the Kitchener Rangers, and outlets like SportsXpress and Shredthespread.com