Breeders’ Cup Distaff Odds & Picks – Should You Bet Favorites Nest or Malathaat?
- The Breeders’ Cup Distaff will help decide who this year’s champion female horse is
- Top three-year-old Nest and four-year-old Malathaat are the favorites
- In a race with lots of options, who provides the most betting value in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff odds?
The Breeders’ Cup Distaff, once known as the Ladies Classic, may be billed this year as a duel between top three-year-old Nest and four-year-old Malathaat. While both are incredibly impressive, battle-tested, and in terrific form, the eight-horse field is deep and capable.
The entire 14-race Breeders’ Cup is full of high-end racing, but the Classic and Distaff are special. They crown the champions for each gender on the main course, the pinnacle of American racing.
Let’s look at the Distaff field and consider some strong wagering options for our Breeders’ Cup Distaff picks.
2022 Breeders’ Cup Distaff Odds
| Horse | Odds |
|---|---|
| Nest | +180 |
| Malathaat | +300 |
| Clairiere | +400 |
| Search Results | +450 |
| Society | +600 |
| Secret Oath | +1500 |
| Blue Stripe | +2000 |
| Awake At Midnyte | +3000 |
The Breeders’ Cup Distaff is a mile-and-an-eighth challenge on the dirt course at Keeneland with a purse of $2 million. Post time is scheduled for 3:55 ET Saturday and NBC has the television coverage. Every horse in the race aside from longshot Awake At Midnyte has won a grade 1 race.
What Makes Nest & Malathaat Stand Out in Breeders’ Cup Distaff Odds?
After finishing second as the favorite in the Kentucky Oaks, Nest tried the boys, didn’t get a great trip and still managed to be the runner-up in the mile-and-a-half Belmont Stakes. Since then she has run three times, winning three high-end races by a combined 26.25 lengths.
Nest faced older horses for the first time in October and beat an ok but not great field by nearly 10 lengths. Three-year-olds have won the Distaff 11 times.
Malathaat has a lot of similarities to Nest. Also trained by Todd Pletcher, she won the Kentucky Oaks last year, followed it up with a good but not great summer, and then was third in the Distaff. In five starts this year she has three wins and two seconds. Her last two races are terrific.
Malathaat is three-for-three at Keeneland. Her best career race is as good or better than what anyone in the field has produced.
Clairiere and Search Results Very Real Distaff Contenders
Clairiere beat Malathaat in back-to-back races over the summer and for a moment looked like the best older female in the country.
After finishing fourth, beaten by less than a length in the Distaff last year, Clairiere found a soft spot and won easily to begin 2022. She finished second to former champion Letruska in April, and won two big-time races, before acting up before her last race. She ran poorly, finishing more than nine lengths behind Malathaat. She made have simply used up all her energy before the race began.
Search Results was second behind Malathaat in the Kentucky Oaks last year. She has never beaten that rival but has hit the board in all 11 of her starts and made more than $1.4 million. Malathaat got her last time out, but it was close.
Search Results could sit a perfect trip on Saturday. She should be positioned just behind likely pace-setter Society, and in front of the late-running favorites in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff odds.
Society and Secret Oath Could be Overlooked
The top contenders in the Distaff have largely been facing each other in high-profile races, or in the case of Nest wowing race fans. Society has five wins in six starts, but to some degree has been under the radar.
Society won her first three races, against ok but not great competition. She finished fourth, more than 17 lengths behind Nest in the CCA Oaks. None of her first four races are remotely good enough to compete with this field, but her last two races, splashy wins at secondary tracks against decent fields are eye-opening. She should be on the lead early and is certainly going to be overshadowed for Breeders’ Cup Distaff picks.
Secret Oath beat Nest in the Kentucky Oaks.
That one race is proof positive she can fit with this field. That said, she hasn’t won since, and has gotten blown off the track by Early Voting, Nest twice, and Society last time out.
Breeders’ Cup Distaff Prediction
Nest might be a freak, but this is by far the best field she has ever faced and her odds make it worth trying to find an alternative in your Breeders’ Cup picks.
Malathaat is a pro and capable of brilliance. That said, Clairiere was better than her twice over the summer. Sure Malathaat beat her last time out, but Clairiere smashed her face against the starting gate creating a cut in her mouth and her tongue before the start. That seems like a reasonable excuse for why she ran poorly. The price is right.
Pick: Clairiere (+400)
Dave Friedman has covered professional and college sports for two decades. From ESPN to the Associated Press, Regional Sports Networks, Metro Networks, and many local outlets, he has written about and broadcast major and minor events throughout the country.
