Breeders Cup betting is always the most popular on the Breeders Cup Classic each fall. This year’s race has lost two Breeders Cup betting contenders as Gitano Hernando and Rail Trip will not be part of the Breeders Cup wagering field for the Classic. Breeder Cup wagering at the online sportsbook takes place on Friday, November 6th and Saturday, November 7th. The Classic is on Saturday and a full Breeders Cup betting field was expected. With the defections of Gitano Hernando and Rail Trip it will be interesting to see if a full Breeders Cup betting field still happens in Breeders Cup wagering. Gitano Hernando is owned by Team Valor International.
The horse won as an 18-to-1 underdog at the sportsbook in the Goodwood Stakes which is a major Breeders Cup betting prep race at Santa Anita. Gitano Hernando was not nominated in Breeders Cup betting so his owners would have had to put up a $250,000 nomination and entry fee to make him eligible for the $5 million dollar BC Classic in Breeders Cup wagering. Instead of doing that the owners have chosen to prepare Gitano Hernando for the Dubai World Cup which has a $10-million purse and be run next March at the new Meydan Racecourse. “The colt just ran too hard last time, and we don’t feel comfortable bringing him back in a month,” said Barry Irwin from Team Valor. “We feel that he is a prime candidate for the World Cup in Dubai next spring and that the risk to the colt by running him back at such a high level next time is too great, and we don’t want to do anything to compromise his future.”
Rail Trip will also not be part of the Breeders Cup wagering field for the Classic. The horse won the Hollywood Gold Cup Handicap but finished third in the Pacific Classic Stakes as Breeders Cup stats showed. Trainer Ron Ellis said that he and the owners decided to pull the horse from the Breeders Cup field after the horse missed a workout due to a foot bruise. Rail Trip won the Hollywood Gold Cup on July 11th for his first graded stakes win. He also won the Santana Mile Handicap at Santa Anita and finished second in the Californian Stakes and the Mervyn Leroy Handicap. “A foot bruise won’t have any lingering effect on the future,” Ellis said, “We’ve had a good year with this guy.”
There are five Breeders Cup wagering races at the sportsbook on Friday, November 6th while there are nine races in Breeders Cup betting at the online sportsbook for Saturday, November 7th.