The Breeders’ Cup World Championships happen on November 1 and 2 at Del Mar. These two days are the climax of the horse racing season: 14 championship races in divisions all across the sport. The weekend features races for juvenile and older horses, dirt and turf horses, sprinters, milers, and long-distance horses.

With over $30 million in purses, the Breeders’ Cup is lucrative for the connections of the horses. However, it is also a huge weekend for horseplayers, both professional and casual players alike. The fields are large through both Future Stars Friday and Breeders’ Cup Saturday, meaning that there are always top-class horses who go off at higher prices than they should.

There are many ways to bet on the Breeders’ Cup, and horse racing all year long. Many bettors like to play exotics like exactas, trifectas, and superfectas, and here at FanDuel, we also have a look at the best bets in those pools. However, straight bets like win, place, and show are classics for a reason. Even the most experienced bettors know that, when you have a strong opinion on a horse, the best move can be to keep it simple and bet the horse you like.

Here are three Breeders’ Cup picks for straight pools, and to consider for your exotics as well if you choose to go that route.

Naturally, you can bet which horses will win their Breeders’ Cup races at FanDuel Racing. Also, discover 2024 Breeders’ Cup betting odds and exciting betting bonuses and promos on FanDuel.

FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile: Chancer McPatrick (3-1)

When a good, consistent horse gets a pace advantage, they become even harder to beat. So is the case with Chancer McPatrick in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Morning-line favorite East Avenue, drawn inside, has gotten to dance on the front end in his first two starts. Now he faces a new challenge, having to contend with Citizen Bull, Getaway Car, and Gaming, a three-pack of west-coast dirt speed from Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. The front end is probably going to get lively, which is good news for Chancer McPatrick, who has closed to win all three of his starts and should be moving best in the final furlong once again.

But, what if things don’t quite unfold that way? There’s no way the pace is going to be sluggish, but what if not everyone who could go goes, and it’s merely honest? That’s fine. In the Hopeful (G1), Chancer McPatrick started poorly and had a merely pedestrian pace for the seven-furlong distance in front of him. That still didn’t stop him, and he got up and won the race by half a length over heavily favored Ferocious.

Two turns is another new challenge for Chancer McPatrick, but the Chad Brown trainee has every right to take to it. He is by McKinzie, a Grade 1 winner at 1 1/16 miles at age two, out of a Bernardini daughter of Dream Empress, also a Grade 1 winner at 1 1/16 miles as a juvenile. It would be hard for him to be better bred to take this next step up in distance this early in his career, and mark himself as the early Kentucky Derby favorite.

Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf: Content (6-1)

Horses based outside of North America have been strong in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf through recent years: since 2016, the only horse based stateside to win was Sistercharlie for Chad Brown in 2018. This year, Chad Brown does not enter anyone in this race, instead focusing his string on other races. The race drew a classy and interesting field from a betting perspective, with much of the interest likely to fall on Charlie Appleby A-stringer Beautiful Love and the durable fan-favorite War Like Goddess for Bill Mott.

However, betting on horse racing is about finding value on the odds board, and in this race, the best bet is Aidan O’Brien trainee Content. Some players may look at her last two and figure that her form is going downhill. And, there is a bit of a risk since those are her first two starts off of a layoff, a risk that should be reflected in a higher win price than she’d otherwise have if she had run better.

There are several reasons Content is expected to improve, though. First off, both of those starts in October happened on soft ground, and now she moves to firm footing in California. She has excellent form on better ground over the summer, with a second in the Irish Oaks (G1) and a win in the Yorkshire Oaks (G1). She also can move forward in the third start of her form cycle. She ran off the board in her first two starts in the spring before really catching fire over the summer. Even though she didn’t win the third start of her form cycle, she still ran a good third, despite it being her first start against older. And, note the two horses she ran behind in the third start of her summer form cycle: Bluestocking went on to win the Arc, and Emily Upjohn is a top Breeders’ Cup Turf contender. Now, Content has had a few more months to mature, and she can put it all together.

FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile: Porta Fortuna (4-1)

The Breeders’ Cup Mile is one race in which fillies and mares perennially go toe-to-toe with the males, and they tend to do very well. That can happen once again in 2024 with Porta Fortuna, trained by Donnacha O’Brien for an American partnership.

A consistent horse, Porta Fortuna has never been off the board in 11 career starts. All four of her starts this year have come at a mile, and she has emerged as one of Europe’s best milers. Her only loss this year came in the 1000 Guineas (G1), one of the British fillies’ classics, in her seasonal debut. Though she is a three-year-old facing older, but that shouldn’t be an issue. She beat her own age group in the Coronation (G1) at Royal Ascot back in June, but in two starts since she has won against older company. She was always in touch and galloped clear to win by 3 ¾ lengths in the Falmouth (G1) in July, her first start against older mares, and then returned to win the Matron (G1) at Leopardstown in September. That prep sets her up well for this.

Porta Fortuna has also already proven that she can hold her form when shipping stateside for the Breeders’ Cup. She came last year for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita, and rallied nicely to finish second behind Hard to Justify. It proved she could handle the ship, the one turn, and the California-firm ground, and now she has the extra year of maturity.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.