Trainers Poised for Big Day at the Breeders’ Cup

With today being day one of the 2016 Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita Racecourse in Arcadia, California, the fields are drawn and ready. The Breeders’ Cup organization saw 185 horses hit the list of pre-entries, just short of last year’s entries, which hit 200.

While much of the horse betting racebook focus falls on some of the best equine stars on the planet, there is a number of trainers that figure to have a big day should all the cards fall just right. This year’s BC figures to be one of the best in recent memory because of the unusually large number of horses entered that have had truly amazing years, leading up to the Breeders’ Cup championship races.

Let’s take a look at a few trainers who could walk off with more hardware than they can carry.

Chad Brown – Currently leading the nation in purses won with just over $19.0 million, Chad Brown stands an excellent chance of adding to his lead based on the number of live horses he has entered. On sheer volume, Brown leads the way with 13 entrants, but it’s the quality of his entrants that signal he could be in for a big day. Here are his best shots over both days.

New Money Honey (Juvenile Fillies Turf)– After just falling short in her debut, New Money Honey came back next out to with the Grade III Miss Grillo at Belmont. It’s signals great talent when a horse can break its maiden in a graded stakes.

Lady Eli (Filly and Mare Turf) – One of the day’s best stories has Lady Eli returning to the highest level of competition after almost losing her life in a battle with Laminitis. Following a 2014 juvenile season that saw her take the title a Juvenile Filly Turf Champion, she went 3 for the 3 in 2015 before a minor injury sent her to the sidelines. She contracted Laminitis and spent a year on the sidelines. Following a successful return and 2^nd place finish in the Grade II Ballston Spa, she won the Grade I Flower Bowl Invitational to signal she was ready to reclaim the crown as the nation’s best turf mare. Note: Brown also has the Grade I Beverly D winner Sea Casili tuned up for this race.

Practical Joke (Juvenile) – Practical joke figures to go off favored in the Juvenile with a record of 3 for 3, including Grade I wins in The Hopeful and Champagne. He looks to just be getting better with every trip to the track.

Flintshire (Turf) – Flintshire enters this race as one of the top 5 turf horses in the world. After winning Group 1 events in Hong Kong and Europe, plus a 2^nd in the 2015 Group 1 Prix De l’Arc de Triomphe, he has dominated male turf horses in the U.S. with a record of 3-1-0 from 4 starts. The loss was on a very soft turf course he obviously hated.

Bob Baffert – While he sits almost $9 million behind Brown on the purses won list for trainers, he is absolutely loaded for bear, going into the Breeders Cup.  Here’s his best for the day.

Dortmond – (Dirt Mile) – For most of the year, Dortmond has been facing California Chrome, currently the top-ranked thoroughbred in the world. This race looks like class relief and a mile might be his best distance. He figures to be a short price and a probable winner.

Arrogate (Classic) – It’s hard to imagine anyone challenging California Chrome in the Classic. However, the freakish nature of Arrogate’s monster win in the Grade I Travers at Saratoga has the entire industry bussing. It was only the 3-year old colt’s 6^th start of his career, and he set a course and race record. The race earned a 122 Beyer, 2^nd highest in the country over the last five years.

Mark Casse – After establishing himself as a leading trainer in Canada over several years, Mark Casse has move most of his operations south of the border and experienced great success over the last two years. He currently ranks 3^rd in the nation for purses with $14.3 million.

Catch a Glimpse (Turf Sprint) – With Tepin going in the mile and Lady Eli running in the Filly and Mare Turf, Casse may opt to run reining Canadian Horse of the Year Catch a Glimpse in the Turf Sprint. As dual Grade I winner, she would figure to go off as 2^nd favorite behind Pure Sensation. This one has talent, class and speed, which could serve her well in this race.

Tepin (Mile) – Since March of 2015, Tepin has won or finished 2^nd 14 times in a row, including Grade I or Group 1 wins in Canada, England and the U.S. Currently ranked as the top miler in the world, Tepin will be trying to defend her BC title against a quality field.

It seems strange to leave names like Steve Asmussem, Todd Pletcher, Aidan O’Brien or Bill Mott off this list as they will surely be heard from over the two days of the Breeders Cup. However, Brown, Baffert and Casse all have a great chance to win multiple races and deserve the special consideration.

With only two weeks remaining, horseplayers should be looking for the right online betting option. That might be a horse betting online bookmaker or online betting option being offered from a variety of dedicated horse racing websites.