2024 Breeders' Cup Saturday Picks

The Breeders’ Cup World Championships happen November 1 and 2 at Del Mar Racetrack in sunny southern California. With two full days of huge fields and top-class racing, it is the most eagerly awaited weekend of the year for bettors and fans alike.

The Future Stars Friday card features five races for juveniles, three on the grass and two on the dirt. We have a separate page with our top selections in all of these races. The festival reaches its climax Saturday with nine championship races for older horses on both dirt and turf. The richest race of the weekend is the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, run at 1 ¼ miles on the dirt. The Classic will be run in the middle of the Breeders’ Cup races: a new position for the race, but a bonanza from a betting perspective as that competitive, full-field race will be right in the middle of a host of multi-race wagers on Breeders’ Cup races.

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.

These are our top picks in each Breeders’ Cup race on the Saturday card.

2024 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint

For a one-turn race, this doesn’t have the most in terms of early speed, making it ripe for a horse who does have sharp early pace to send and cause some chaos. What Pleasant lacks in seasoning—she makes her stakes debut in the Breeders’ Cup—she makes up for in early speed for Bob Baffert, a trainer who is well-proven training speed into his runners. She has always been forward early in four starts, including her return victory at the two-other-than level in September at Los Alamitos. This daughter of Munnings should love the step up to seven furlongs, she can press the pace or battle and still run well, and last out she was able to attend a pedestrian pace and then turn on the afterburners. That kind of trip could win this race at a big price.

Among the more proven horses, Vahva has a lot of appeal. She’ll have to bounce back from a flat third behind Society and Scylla in the Ballerina (G1) last out, but she has run several races this year that would win this, and she is a seven-furlong specialist with a nice track-and-take-over style. Ways and Means is only three, but she has two victories over older mares already including in the Gallant Bloom (G2) last out. Chad Brown won this race the last two years with Goodnight Olive; he knows how to train a dirt sprinter despite his turf-route reputation, and jockey Flavien Prat is having a career year. One Magic Philly, for trainer Phil D’Amato, is a lightly-raced sophomore who has only ever run against older, and is another who should be able to run somewhere in range of the likely pedestrian pace at a price.

2024 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint

Five furlongs over a turn is always a strange calculation when comparing American horses who typically go 5 ½ furlongs with overseas runners who are accustomed to five on the straight. Though Big Evs has done much of his running at five on the straight, he was similarly effective going one turn at Santa Anita when he pressed the pace and won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint last year. The Michael Appleby trainee has to bounce back from a head-scratcher in the Nunthorpe (G1) last out, but he ran poorly in that same race last year and bounced back beautifully, so perhaps York just isn’t his favorite.

Cogburn likely goes off favored, and it makes sense: the Steve Asmussen charge has dazzled in three starts this year. Speed has been his best weapon against good horses, though he has done so at 5 ½ furlongs and even six. He has won a couple of turf sprints at the flat five. Those efforts came against lesser company, though he was also able to rally late to win them, meaning he is versatile. Star of Mystery may be a sophomore filly, but the Charlie Appleby trainee has been running against males, even older males, much of the year and she can run late for a piece. Motorious has class to prove, but the Phil D’Amato trainee loves the flat five at Del Mar, and he is versatile enough to carve a trip and invade exotics at a price.

2024 Breeders’ Cup Distaff

Was the close call in the Cotillion (G1) a sign that Thorpedo Anna is cooling down, or was placing her there a stroke of genius by Kenny McPeek? There’s a good chance it’s the latter. She ran the most testing race of her life in the Travers (G1) when taking Breeders’ Cup Classic contender Fierceness to the limit. If McPeek thought it would be too long to keep her on the shelf between then and the Breeders’ Cup? She’s the kind of horse for whom the Cotillion could be a chill little waypoint where she didn’t have to be fully cranked. Parx is a love-or-hate-it footing, the distance was a little short for her … and she didn’t have to run her best race to win. This was the goal all along, she has the speed and the right running style to face these kinds of horses at Del Mar, and the task got a lot less tough with the retirement of Idiomatic.

Awesome Result has not been tested against this kind of company, but the Yasutoshi Ikee trainee is perfect in seven starts, and her 1 ⅛-mile stamina is well-proven. She does have tactical speed, and her regular rider Yutaka Take makes the trip. Raging Sea is a stone-cold 1 ⅛-mile horse. The Chad Brown charge has won her last three starts, all at the distance, including a two-back upset of Idiomatic in the Personal Ensign (G1). She is the best domestically-based hope to topple the Kentucky Oaks heroine. Sugar Fish is a mystery: the up-and-coming sophomore for Jeff Mullins was well beaten over this course in the Clement Hirsch (G1) two back, but that was her first try versus older stakes horses. She redeemed herself in the Zenyatta (G1), her breeding is interesting for the extra half furlong, and she might find exotics on her best.

2024 Breeders’ Cup Turf

Emily Upjohn hasn’t won in six starts this year, but her strength of schedule has been excellent. The John and Thady Gosden trainee was third in the Prix Vermeille (G1) behind Bluestocking and Aventure—who then came back to run 1-2 in the Arc de Triomphe (G1). Though that was over soft ground, two back she was also a credible third in the Yorkshire Oaks (G1) on good ground, and she won the Coronation Cup (G1) at Epsom over good ground last year. She’ll have to turn the tables on Rebel’s Romance, who beat her on the square in the Sheema Classic (G1) in Dubai back in March, but she comes out of the best race of anyone here.

Far Bridge, the best stateside hope for this race, spent most of his career going shorter than this. He was good, even winning the Belmont Derby (G1) last year. But, Christophe Clement has found the best from this English Channel son after stretching him out to 1 ½ miles this summer and fall. Shahryar’s prep races were not world-beaters, but they weren’t last year, either. He found his best stride when running third in the Breeders’ Cup Turf last year, and this should be trainer Hideaki Fujiwara’s goal again. Rebel’s Romance won this race for Charlie Appleby two years ago, and though most of his five-year-old season was a slog, he got back into the winners’ circle in December at Kempton and has shot back up to international Group 1 glory. He is a 1 ½-mile specialist who keeps showing up this year for connections who come correct to spots like this.

2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic

Consistency, thy name is Forever Young. In seven starts this Yoshito Yahagi trainee has never run a clunker, and he is a head shy of perfect—a head after an imperfect trip in the Kentucky Derby, no less. He does face older company for the first time, and he has to handle the rail in a big field, two real challenges. But, he can run well from close to the pace or well off of it, he can ship all over the world, and he has proven time and time again that the classic distance on the dirt is his stone-cold wheelhouse.

Fierceness hasn’t been the most consistent horse, but his Travers (G1) win suggests he is growing up. All of his other races had either been no-doubt wins or poor runs, but the Travers he had to fight a gutsy Thorpedo Anna for, and he came out victorious. The question is the start, but if he comes away from the gate well, he should be a factor all the way. The Classic division is such a maelstrom this year that the morning-line favorite has never even run on the dirt before. Newgate is perhaps the lightest-regarded Grade 1 winner in the division this year, and it’s true he didn’t beat the toughest field in the Santa Anita Handicap. But, this Bob Baffert trainee freshened up through the summer, came back with a neck third in the California Crown (G1) as a prep, and should be able to get a good tactical trip. Sure, City of Troy is proven at the distance and is pace-versatile, two things that can help this Aidan O’Brien-trained son of Justify. He can win if he does reproduce his best form on dirt. But, at a short price against horses who are well-proven on dirt, be careful.

2024 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf

Content may go ignored after poor efforts in her last two, but both of those races happened on soft ground. She won the Yorkshire Oaks (G1) against older three back on good ground and ran a close second in the Irish Oaks (G1) four back, also on turf rated good. She rallied well for fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies last year, suggesting that she can ship well, and should be able to sit tactically in a race where the pace won’t be hot.

Cinderella’s Dream has a few questions to answer here: she has never faced older foes, and she has never stretched past 1 3/16 miles. But, her pedigree is good for the extra ground and she has rallied smartly into sluggish paces in both her American starts, meaning this Charlie Appleby representative will be coming late. Moira got no pace to chase last out in the E. P. Taylor, but was gaining well late on her stablemate. She has never tried the extra furlong, but both her pedigree and her running suggest that she should handle the ground. Full Count Felicia committed grand theft in that E. P. Taylor, opening up a massive lead and holding over Moira late. She has to get an extra furlong this time, and perhaps Didia gets sent to keep her honest, but without anyone else who really loves the lead in this race, this Kevin Attard trainee may try to steal it under Irad Ortiz, Jr.

2024 Breeders’ Cup Sprint

Remake, trained by Japan-based Koichi Shintani, has won races in Saudi Arabia and South Korea this year. In a year when the American dirt sprint division is a revolving door, he could be Japan’s best chance yet for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. He will have to turn the tables on Don Frankie and Nakatomi, both of whom beat him in the Golden Shaheen two back. But, he gets a better setup than forwardly-placed Don Frankie and finds the winning line more than Nakatomi.

Though Nakatomi often finds one or two too good at this level, this Wesley Ward charge is a consistent placegetter, and there’s no reason he can’t contend here. He was third behind Elite Power last year, hasn’t missed the board in four starts this year (including a victory in the Vanderbilt (G1) at Saratoga), and can rally into a contested pace without having to drop to the clouds. Gun Pilot has yet to prove himself at this class, but in a race against so many need-the-lead types, this Steve Asmussen trainee’s off-pace style could get him in the frame at a big price. If any of the front-end gas can continue on in the end, Mullikin seems most likely. He has shown he can win from a more pressing style instead of only being able to win with the early lead, something important both because this Rodolphe Brisset trainee has to deal with other speed and because he turns back from seven furlongs to six.

2024 Breeders’ Cup Mile

Fillies and mares often fare well against males in this race, and Porta Fortuna can continue that tradition. Already proven on the California ship, with a good second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies last year over firm ground at Santa Anita Park, her only defeat this year was in her seasonal bow, when she missed by a neck in the 1000 Guineas (G1) at Newmarket. She has won her next three, including a pair of Group 1 miles against older, and she is tractable enough to work a trip from a decent middle gate.

Charlie Appleby has won the last three editions of the Breeders’ Cup Mile, and he has another solid contender this year with Notable Speech. He was beaten last out over soft ground in France, but two back he beat older foes in the Sussex (G1). He also won the 2000 Guineas (G1) at Newmarket over good ground in May. More Than Looks still has to prove he can win against the best, but he was beaten only two lengths in this race last year. Cherie DeVaux laid him off a long time after that, but he has been second to Carl Spackler in his last two and shapes as a solid exotics chance again from a middle gate. The aforementioned Carl Spackler didn’t draw nearly so well—he is hung in the far outside gate—but the Chad Brown trainee has won two straight Grade 1 miles leading into this and is tactical enough to still pose a threat.

2024 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile

Assuming the track is playing in any way fairly? The pace in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile is going to be a hot one, and a horse who can come rolling in from off the pace is going to have a great chance to scoop up the win late. Post Time, a fixture on the Maryland circuit for trainer Brittany Russell, hit the board in three graded-stakes races in New York this year, showing he can run well against the bigger guns. He got an easy-peasy prep at Laurel before the biggest race of his life, and now he is going to get the right pace setup for his style. He always fires, and his best day puts him in this at a big price.

Seize the Grey has had a fascinating year. He won the one-turn Pat Day Mile (G2), and then the 1 3/16-mile Preakness just two weeks later. He cooled off during the summer, but D. Wayne Lukas had him ready to win the Pennsylvania Derby (G1). He did that up front—but rallied from a couple lengths off in shorter races earlier in his career and may get first run on tiring speed. Domestic Product faces older for the first time, a new challenge. But, the Chad Brown trainee won at the top level against his own age group this summer, coming from well off the pace to do it. If he can translate that style to a two-turn mile he should get a good trip. Among more forwardly-placed horses, Skippylongstocking appeals. The Saffie Joseph, Jr. charge is hung in an outside gate, but he often runs well with a stalking trip, and he is able to run in close range of an honest pace, and keep going late.

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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.