Breeders’ Cup 2017 Betting Guide
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2017 archive: This guide concerns the November 3–4 meeting at Del Mar. Its dates and proposed selections are historical; account offers and wagering menus must be checked afresh for a future event.
One of the most important racing events of the year will take place on November 3 and 4th at Del Mar Race Track in California. The 2017 Breeders’ Cup Thoroughbred World Championships will help to determine the best horses, trainers, and jockeys in horse racing. Competitors from all over the world will contest multiple races over two days. The event is capped by the running of the Breeders’ Cup Classic, one of racing’s richest events.
What You Need to Bet the Breeders’ Cup
For those skilled at EZ Horse Betting, the Breeders’ Cup is an exciting time. A varied race menu gives bettors several ways to express an opinion, but it also creates many ways to exceed a budget. Compare the strength of the opinion, the available price and the complete ticket cost before deciding to bet. An account is needed only if you choose an authorized online service rather than another permitted channel.
There are a few things your racebook should offer if you want to bet the Breeders’ Cup successfully. First, you need to have access to the Del Mar racetrack. A track’s prominence does not establish that every service carries its pools or stream. Verify the actual meeting, bet type, currency and cut-off in the account menu, and distinguish streaming access from permission to wager.
An online racebook may offer past performances through a subscription, purchase or qualifying promotion. Check the supplier, figure scale and access conditions; neither a $10 deposit nor a particular data provider is universal. Running lines, pace and speed figures help compare the field, but they need context from distance, surface and trip.
It can also be helpful to have race replays at your disposal. By watching replays of races you may be able to identify which horses have had the most recent success. Race replays can also give you insight into a horse’s weaknesses.
Finally, all you need to bet the Breeders’ Cup is a computer, smartphone, or tablet. Check whether the chosen service supports your device and location. If you happen to be visiting a track where the Breeders’ Cup races are streamed live, just take along your device and you can avoid the long lines at the betting windows by betting the horse races online.
How to Bet the Breeders’ Cup
Your racebook will have a full menu of betting options which include straight wagers as well as exotic bets. While straight Win, Place, and Show betting is fine for most events, exotic wagers are an alternative when the selection and budget justify their complexity. The Pick Six, Pick Three, and Pick Four are popular choices but their cost rises quickly when more runners are included, and a small base unit does not make a broad ticket inexpensive.
By far, the Pick Six is one of the most popular bets during the Breeders’ Cup. A Pick Six requires winners in six specified races. The example below is hypothetical: it does not establish the actual 2017 sequence, base stake, pool type or the final leg of a future meeting. Read the published wagering menu for those details. Make no mistake, this is a hard bet to win because the races are so very competitive. If you are going to try it, there are a few strategies you can use to maximize your chances.
A single in every leg keeps the cost down but leaves no alternatives. Adding runners buys coverage at a higher cost; it is not automatically a better value. One possible structure is to single the strongest opinions and include alternatives in other legs, provided the whole ticket remains within the budget. In the other races you can spread out or pick more than one horse. Here’s an example of how this works.
Let’s say that the Pick Six races include races 1-6. You have identified horses in races 3 and 5 which look very promising. These horses will be your single choices. That leaves races 1, 2, 4, and 6 for you to spread out and choose more than one selection. How many horses you can use in each of the other races depends on the size of your bankroll. To calculate the amount of your ticket, you need to multiply the number of horses used in each race and then multiply this result by your single ticket cost. For this arithmetic example, assume a $1 base unit; check the actual pool minimum separately:
Race 1—2 horses chosen to win
Race 2—2 horses chosen to win
Race 3—1 horse chosen to win
Race 4—3 horses chosen to win
Race 5—1 horse chosen to win
Race 6—2 horses chosen to win
2 X 2 X 1 X 3 X 1 X 2 = 24
24 X $1.00 = $24
Total Ticket Cost = $24
The reason this ticket will cost you $24 is that it actually is 24 $1 tickets instead of one. When you bet at an online racebook your betting confirmation will only show one bet but you are really making 24 separate bets. This is called using a part wheel.
To win the bet, a horse you have selected to win the race must finish first in each of the events. So, in race one you have chosen two horses as potential winners. One of these two must win the race. In races three and five you have chosen a single horse to win. There is no room for error in these races. The horse you chose must finish first or your ticket is dead.
Pick Six consolation, carryover and mandatory-payout rules depend on the pool. Never assume that someone must select all six or that a syndicate guarantees a full winning ticket. Groups can pool funds to cover more combinations, but the additional cost and sharing of any return remain part of the calculation. Check the official settlement rules instead of predicting them from the size of the meeting.
Pick Three and Pick Four wagers use the same multiplication method across fewer legs. Their returns are not necessarily smaller than a particular Pick Six return: pool size, winning prices and the number of successful combinations matter. A six-race label does not guarantee a four-, five- or six-figure payout. Compare the actual structure and cost rather than choosing a wager because its possible headline return is large.
Betting the Breeders’ Cup Classic and other Single Races
EZ Horse Betting treats straight and exotic bets as different tools. A low-priced favorite may be a poor win bet, but adding uncertain finishers to an exotic does not automatically create value. Decide which finishing positions your opinion supports and calculate every combination before choosing the ticket.
For example, the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2017 promises a match up between Gun Runner and Arrogate, two of the most successful horses competing today. The original preview anticipated short prices and considered using them in the first two positions of an exotic. That was a forecast, not a result. Gun Runner won, while Arrogate finished fifth; a structure requiring both to occupy the first two places would have failed. Naming the winner therefore does not establish that the suggested ticket worked.
Your 2017 Breeders’ Cup Bankroll
There is no required $50 daily bankroll. Set a two-day spending cap based on money you can afford to lose, then allocate a smaller maximum to each ticket. More money permits more combinations but also exposes more money to loss. Of course, you should use only discretionary funds for betting and never use money that has been allocated for bills and other responsibilities.
Did you know that some racebooks offer special Breeders’ Cup promotions like a free bet or free money? You should check with your racebook to determine which bonuses are available and take advantage of them. There may be special requirements for the bonus as well, so be sure to check the terms and conditions. Check our Bovada racebook review, Twinspires review or even our Betamerica review.
Related: Twin Spires Is The Official Betting Partner Of The Breeders’ Cup
Breeders’ Cup 2017: Lessons for Future Cup Bettors
The 2017 Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar provided several instructive examples of handicapping principles that recur at every Cup meeting. The meeting’s turf races demonstrated once again the value of European form — horses trained in Britain and Ireland competed at a level that the American betting public underestimated, making cross-jurisdiction comparisons relevant to the review; profitability still requires actual odds and complete ticket costs. The pace-dependent nature of the dirt races rewarded bettors who had projected race shapes accurately and positioned their tickets to benefit from the scenarios that developed.
Del Mar’s course configuration, surface and temporary conditions deserve attention, but “tight turns” alone do not prove a structural betting advantage. Compare actual trips and positions across the meeting, including exceptions, before describing a bias. Separate a horse’s demonstrated experience on a course from an assumption based on its running style. For comprehensive Cup preparation, our articles on Breeders’ Cup 2018 preview and the Win and You’re In system provide essential frameworks.
Use the final 2017 charts with this preview
The 2017 Breeders’ Cup was held at Del Mar, and Gun Runner won the Classic. The official 2017 review records all Championship results and the Classic’s finish. The article’s predictions, account offers and venue-access guidance were made before the event; none should be treated as a current race menu or guarantee that a racebook carries the next Cup.
When comparing the preview with the final charts, keep the original selections and ticket costs visible. A correct horse named among several contenders is different from a profitable wager at the accepted odds. Course, surface and field size can change when the event moves, so any lesson from Del Mar must be tested against the conditions of a later host track. This keeps the archived guide useful without rewriting its pre-race perspective.
Ticket cost changes faster than the base stake
| Selections by leg | Combinations | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 2 × 2 × 1 × 3 × 1 × 2 | 24 | $24 |
| 2 × 2 × 2 × 3 × 1 × 2 | 48 | $48 |
| 2 × 2 × 2 × 3 × 2 × 2 | 96 | $96 |
Replacing one single with two choices doubles the cost. Replacing both singles doubles it again. Added coverage should have a specific reason, such as two plausible pace outcomes, rather than serving as insurance against every uncertainty. A ticket can be too expensive even when each individual selection is plausible.
Write down the accepted sequence and base unit with the ticket. If the example uses $1 but the actual pool uses a different unit, recalculate before submission. An operator’s confirmation establishes what was accepted; a handwritten plan alone does not establish a live bet.
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