Even the casual sports bettor gets excited over major graded stakes races for Thoroughbreds such as the Kentucky Derby, so it stands to reason that anyone with an interest in betting on horses would be gearing up for the biggest betting event of the year in the Sport of Kings with the running of the two-day Breeders’ Cup held every year in early November.
This year’s event features 13 races over a two-day period starting on Friday, Nov. 3 with four events leading to Saturday’s card of nine events including the $6 million Classic as one of the richest races of the year. The 2017 Breeders’ Cup takes place at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Southern California and with the final field taking shape for all 13 races, the entire race card is shaping up to be another incredible betting event with over $26 million up for grabs in total prize money.
Also Read: Top 3 Reasons to Bet the Breeders’ Cup at an Online Sportsbook
The best way to go about betting on this year’s Breeders’ Cup at your favorite online sports betting outlet is to formulate a betting strategy ahead of time. The first step in the process is to designate a set budget for how much you are willing to bet on the races. Football season is in full gear while both the NBA and NHL are offering up betting action on a daily basis, so it becomes important to earmark some set funds for the Breeders’ Cup to try and add a boost to your overall sports betting bankroll.
You can break things down on a race-by-race basis for all 13 events, or you can pick out the four of five races that pique your interest the most. Some horse bettors may want to let it all ride on the Classic, featuring the best of the best horse racing has to offer over 1 ¼ miles dirt track at Del Mar. The bottom line is to formulate a betting plan dollar-wise and then stick to it.
The next step is to start doing your homework early by getting to know all the contenders in the races you plan to bet. The Breeders’ Cup races are a collection of the best Thoroughbreds from around the globe as well as from North America. Most of the foreign entries are concentrated in geographic areas such as Great Britain and Ireland, so it become important to familiarize yourself with their current form in the recent races they have run.
Also keep in mind that you should not consider the field for each of the 13 races to be set in stone until the post positions are drawn and the morning line odds are released. Some contenders have actually qualified to run in different races, so the final field can remain a fluid situation until things get closer to post time leading up to the start of the Breeders’ Cup on Friday, Nov. 3.
Once you have you budget in place along with the initial handicapping effort for the races you plan to bet, the biggest part of creating the best possible return on investment is deciding how to bet each race. All the horses running at Del Mar over the two-day event are the top contenders in their particular category. All 13 fields are deep in talent, but this also lends itself to going chalk on a win bet if the favorite stands out from the field.
Anything can happen come race day due to track conditions as well as other outside factors, but there is a strong reason why the betting odds are set as they are. Going chalk starts to make even more sense if you decide to bet on exactas (top two horses) or trifectas (top three horses) in a particular race. Just remember to box your bets so your top two or three picks for that particular race can finish in any order and still produce a winning ticket.
