Breeders’ Cup Betting: Guide, Odds And Tips

Held over two days in the fall, it includes 14 races with $31 million in purses on the line, the Breeders’ Cup marks the end of the North American thoroughbred racing season. It’s also considered horse racing’s world championship and the biggest event of the year outside of the Triple Crown.

Breeders’ Cup races are held at different tracks most years, although it has returned to Santa Anita Park in California and Churchill Downs in Kentucky more than any others.

The 2020 Breeders’ Cup was held at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, KY. For 2021, the Breeders’ Cup returns to San Diego’s Del Mar Racetrack on Nov. 5-6. The seaside track hosted the Breeders’ Cup for the first time in 2017.

In Iowa, you can bet on the Breeders’ Cup at the state’s lone horse racing facility, Prairie Meadows in Altoona and off-track betting (OTB) locations inside Iowa casinos, the Q Casino greyhound racetrack and most retail sportsbooks.

Plus, you should be able to bet on the Breeders’ Cup at Iowa online and mobile sportsbooks and the country’s most popular online horse race betting and simulcast operator, TVG.

Read below for a complete guide to betting on the Breeders’ Cup, including race info, all the different bet types and how exactly you can go about betting on the Breeders’ Cup with TVG, online and mobile sportsbooks, and at OTB locations across Iowa.

How to Bet on the Breeders’ Cup in Iowa

There are OTB locations in casinos, racetracks and sportsbooks in Iowa where you can go to place a bet on the Breeders’ Cup in person. However, betting online with TVG remains the easiest and most convenient way to bet on any horse race.

TVG is a Breeders’ Cup sponsor, and title sponsor for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile race, which means betting with TVG is betting with a Breeders’ Cup partner.

TVG will take Breeders’ Cup bets via computer, mobile phone or tablet, from wherever you are in Iowa. All you need to do is call TVG, access the TVG website or download the TVG app to any Apple or Android mobile device. Then, sign up for an account, deposit funds and browse through the Breeders’ Cup betting markets.

You will find that betting on the Breeders’ Cup with most Iowa online and mobile sportsbooks is a similar process. However, Iowa sportsbooks might not offer the same pari-mutuel betting you find on TVG. The pari-mutuel betting offered on TVG involves betting in the same Breeders’ Cup pools available at tracks, OTBs and other online horse betting operators across the US. That means you get paid at the same odds you can find at the track.

Sportsbooks take bets outside these pools can have capped payouts. So, it’s a good idea to check with the sportsbook you’re thinking of betting with first to see what type of Breeders’ Cup wagers are available. Or stick with TVG.

Breeders’ Cup Betting Odds

Odds are set by track handicappers for each horse in every Breeders’ Cup race, They will take into consideration previous records and current conditions. Then, the market will take over and the odds will change according to how much action each horse gets relative to the other horses in each race.

You can see the odds change before post time in each race and the changes can be dramatic, with long-shots quickly turning into favorites when enough money is wagered. You don’t lock in the current odds when you bet on a horse. Instead, you get paid at post time odds once all the betting is complete.

Breeders’ Cup Betting Offers and bonus bets

Another reason to bet with TVG are the Breeders’ Cup promos.

You can sign up for a new account with our exclusive LSRTVG promo code. Then, you can bet up to $300 on any Breeders’ Cup horse to win. If your horse wins, so do you. But even if your horse doesn’t come in, TVG will give you a site credit.

You can also use the same promo code to get a 50% deposit bonus, worth up to $250. That means if you sign up with the promo code and deposit $50, you’ll get a $25 bonus and so forth.

As a sponsor, TVG will run various Breeders’ Cup promos surrounding certain Breeders’ Cup races, including:

• Free-to-enter contests
• Money back specials
• Exacta and pick four insurance
• Win bonuses

You may also find that Iowa online and mobile sportsbooks offer various bonus bet offers, bonus bet and deposit match bonuses that can be used to bet on Breeders’ Cup races.

Who Won the Breeders’ Cup Classic Last Year?

The Breeders’ Cup is 14 races over two days, but none is bigger than the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic. It is the richest horse race in North America and usually includes the Preakness Stakes, Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winners.

The 2020 Breeders’ Cup Classic was held on Nov. 7, 2020, at Keeneland Race Course. Here are the results:

• 9 Authentic $10.40/$5.40/$4.20 (2020 Kentucky Derby Winner)
• 8 Improbable $4.80/$3.20
• 7 Global Campaign $8.80
• 1 Tacitus
• 10 Maximum Security
• 2 Tiz the Law (2020 Belmont Stakes Winner)
• 5 Title Ready
• 3 By My Standards
• 4 Tom’s d’Etat
• 6 Higher Power

How Much is the Purse for the Breeders Cup?

The Breeders’ Cup includes the following 14 stakes races with the purse figures attached:

• $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf
• $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf
• $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint
• $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile
• $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint
• $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint
• $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint
• $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile
• $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff
• $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies
• $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf
• $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile
• $4 million Breeders’ Cup Turf
• $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic

Breeders’ Cup purses distributed according to the following percentages:

•  1st: 52%
• 2nd: 17%
• 3rd: 9%
• 4th: 5%
• 5th: 3%
• 6th: 2%
• 7th: 1%
• 8th: 1%
• 9th: 1%
• 10th: 1%

As such, the Breeders’ Cup Classic’s $6 million purse offers up the following prizes:

• 1st: $3,120,000
• 2nd: $1,020,000
• 3rd: $540,000
• 4th: $300,000
• 5th: $180,000
• 6th: $120,000
• 7th-10th: $60,000

Breeders’ Cup Post Time and Wagering Menu

2021 Breeders’ Cup post times have been released, and here’s how they look:

Friday, Nov. 5, 2021

• $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint 5:50 p.m. ET
• $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies 6:30 p.m. ET
• $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf 7:10 p.m. ET
• $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile 7:50 p.m. ET
• $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf 8:30 p.m. ET

Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021

• $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint 3:05 p.m. ET
• $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint 3:40 p.m. ET
• $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile 4:19 p.m. ET
• $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf 4:59 p.m. ET
• $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint 5:38 p.m. ET
• $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile 6:20 p.m. ET
• $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff 7:00 p.m. ET
• $4 million Breeders’ Cup Turf 7:40 p.m. ET
• $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic 8:40 p.m. ET

Greatest Moments in Breeders’ Cup History

Here’s a look at the five greatest moments in the history of the Breeders’ Cup:

• 1984: Wild Again wins the first-ever Breeders’ Cup Classic, coming in as a massive paying 31-1 long-shot.
• 2010: Goldikova wins the Breeders’ Cup Mile for the third year in a row, becoming the first three-time Breeders’ Cup winner in history.
• 2016: Beholder wins the Distaff to become the second three-time winner in Breeders’ Cup history. He won the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Distaff and the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies previously.
• 2001: Tiznow wins the Breeders’ Cup Classic for the second year in a row.
• 2015: American Pharoah wins the Triple Crown, becoming the first to do so in 37 years. He then wins the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Classic to become the first horse to complete the Grand Slam of Thoroughbred Racing.

Breeders’ Cup Classic Records and Times

Here’s a look at four Breeders’ Cup records:

• 2004: Ghostzapper sets the record for the fastest Breeders’ Cup Classic time running 1:59:02 at Lone Star Park.
• 2015: American Pharoah sets the track record at Keeneland, running 2:00.07 to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic and complete the Grand Slam of Thoroughbred Racing.
• 2015: American Pharoah sets the record for Breeders’ Cup Classic winning margin, winning by 6.5 lengths.
• 2016: A Bob Baffert trained horse (Bayern, American Pharoah, Arrogate) wins the Breeders’ Cup Classic for the third year in a row, helping Baffert set the record for the most Breeders’ Cup Classic wins.

How Do Horses Qualify for the Breeders Cup?

The Breeders’ Cup is Thoroughbred Racing’s World Championship, which means only the top horses compete. Breeders’ Cup Challenge races are held throughout the year at tracks worldwide that let horses qualify for Breeders’ Cup races.

Winners are invited to the Breeders’ Cup alongside the top-ranked horses from a point earning system that includes Breeders’ Cup Challenge and other major races.  Breeders’ Cup 14-horse race fields are then filled by horses selected by a panel of experts.

In total, seven horses come from the Breeders’ Cup Challenge series and the points system and seven more are chosen by the panel for each Breeders’ Cup race.

Breeders’ Cup Betting Options

Breeders’ Cup betting is open to anyone 21 years and older. It is no different than betting on any other horse race. That means you can pick a horse to win, place or show. Or, you can pick combinations of horses and their finishing order in more exotic betting.

Here’s a list of the basic horse racing bets:

• Win: Bet on any horse in the field to win the race.
• Place: Bet on any horse in the field to win or place second.
• Show: Bet on any horse in the field to win, place second or finish at least third.
• Exacta: Bet on any two horses to finish first and second in exact order. Box your exacta by placing another bet altering the finishing order.
• Trifecta: Bet on any three horses to finish first, second and third in exact order. Box the trifecta by betting all the finishing order combinations.
• Superfecta: Bet on any four horses to finish first, second, third and fourth in exact order. Box the superfecta by betting all the finishing order combinations.
• Wheeling: Wheel the exacta, trifecta and superfecta bets by fixing the finishing position of some horses and betting different picks and finishing order combinations.

Where to Bet On the Breeders’ Cup Live in Iowa

You don’t need to travel to California to bet on the Cup. You can bet on the 2021 Breeders’ Cup in person at OTB facilities inside the following Iowa locations: