3 Best Bets for the 2025 Breeders’ Cup: Juvenile Fillies, Filly & Mare Sprint, and Distaff

Key takeaways:

• The Breeders’ Cup offers two days of world-class racing at Del Mar with big fields, global stars, and major betting opportunities.
• Iron Orchard is an overlooked value play in the Juvenile Fillies, bringing tactical speed and improving form off her Frizette (G1) win.
• Hope Road is peaking for Baffert in the Filly & Mare Sprint, while Nitrogen’s class, versatility, and Spinster (G1) form make her the one to beat in the Distaff.

The Breeders’ Cup World Championships happen at Del Mar on October 31 and November 1. The two days of racing feature showdowns of the best horses in every division from all over the world. From juveniles to older horses, turf races to dirt races, routes to sprints, there’s something in the Breeders’ Cup for everyone.

The weekend means big money for the connections of the best horses in the world, with over $30 million in purses available over the two days of racing. However, it also means big money for you, the bettor. With large fields of proper Grade 1 horses, there are always going to be some who don’t get quite as much attention from the wagering public as they should. That’s great news, because it means you have an opportunity to take advantage at the betting windows or online through FanDuel!

There are many ways to bet the Breeders’ Cup, and the one you choose is completely up to you. A lot of bettors like to go for exotic waters like exactas, trifectas, and superfectas, and we have a look at the best Breeders’ Cup exotic wagers if that’s how you like to play.

However, win, place, and show are classic for a reason. Many horseplayers, both new and experienced, appreciate the simplicity of a bet that depends on the performance of one horse. Especially in races as deep and classy as the Breeders’ Cup, there seem to be many horses who could hit the board, but it’s exciting when one horse jumps off the page as a likely winner, even against such challenging company.

Naturally, you can bet which horses will win their Breeders’ Cup races at FanDuel Racing. Also, discover 2025 Breeders’ Cup odds and bet the Breeders’ Cup with exclusive bonuses and promos.

These are three horses worth playing in the straight pools, and worth leaning on in multi-race exotic wagers if you like to go that route.

Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies: Iron Orchard (6-1)

The Frizette (G1) is one of the perennial key final prep races recent editions of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, and yet horses like Alcibiades (G1) winner Tommy Jo, Alcibiades runner-up Percy’s Bar, and Oak Leaf (G2) winner Explora are getting most of the attention. That’s good news, because it means Frizette winner Iron Orchard will be an overlay at the windows.

Iron Orchard hasn’t done anything wrong in three starts. Perhaps the reason she’s flying under the radar is that she started her career in restricted company. She debuted in a Saratoga maiden special restricted to $60,000 auction buys or New York-breds—as a $500,000 two-year-old, she qualified under the New York condition. She won that sprint by open lengths, and then won a New York-bred sprint stakes at the Spa just as decisively.

She got those two wins on the front end, but where she went from a nice New York-bred to a Breeders’ Cup contender was in the Frizette. Facing open company for the first time, she was able to adapt to the faster pace in front of her, stalk the pace instead of getting burned up in it, and battle down the lane to close the deal. Her natural speed is an asset at Del Mar, but with others in the field likely to hit the gas, so is the tactical gear. Two turns is the one question she has yet to answer, especially since the dam’s side of her pedigree is more sprinter-miler—but she’ll be the right price to find out, especially since her sire, Authentic, won the Kentucky Derby and the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint: Hope Road (4-1)

The first race of Breeders’ Cup Saturday is the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. Unlike the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, the Filly & Mare Sprint is run at seven furlongs, making it a test not only of raw speed like the six-furlong open version, but also of the ability to carry it more than the average sprinter. Seven-furlong races, even at this level, draw a mix of real seven-furlong horses, six-furlong horses stretching out, and even milers and routers cutting back in trip. The key is to find a horse for the distance, because seven-furlong horses win seven-furlong races.

Morning-line favorite Sweet Azteca hasn’t even tried a seven-furlong race yet. Morning-line second choice Tamara has, once, but she hasn’t faced a class test since she was a juvenile. Perhaps the truest seven-furlong horse in the race is Vahva, but there are serious questions about whether she can return to her best, a level of form she hasn’t shown in over a year.

On the other hand, the Bob Baffert-trained Hope Road has grown into a very good seven-furlong horse this year. Though she has only won at the distance once, she did so last out in the Ballerina (G1), a top-level race that her dam Marley’s Freedom also won for Baffert. She has shown real California speed at both one turn and two, but also managed to show a stalking gear in the Ballerina despite being roiled up before the race. And, her two second-place finishes at seven furlongs earlier this year were quality defeats—the only horse who beat her in those starts was Kopion, who would be a deserving favorite in this spot if she weren’t being routed to face the boys instead.

Breeders’ Cup Distaff: Nitrogen (4-1)

One of the key trends in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff is that horses coming out of the Spinster (G1) at Keeneland do well, even when the Breeders’ Cup is run in Southern California. This is worth paying attention to especially because trainer Bob Baffert—who conditions Distaff morning-line favorite Seismic Beauty—is winless in this race, meaning a good horse coming from Keeneland is likely to be an appealing price. The top three horses from the Spinster all press on to the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. The most interesting of the group, and, in fact, of the whole field, is the runner-up, Nitrogen.

Though she fell just short to Gin Gin in the Spinster, it was Nitrogen’s first start against older fillies and mares, as well as her first start off of a brief freshening. Gin Gin is a good horse, but she is by far the best version of herself on the Keeneland dirt. Moving to Del Mar, the upside for her is questionable. But, for Nitrogen? Turf or dirt, anywhere she goes, the Mark Casse trainee just runs. If the pace is slow, she can stalk it. If the pace is fast, she can close. If she draws inside (as she did in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff) or outside, she and jockey Jose Ortiz work a trip and figure out how to be a factor at the end of the race. Her consistency and versatility make her the best sophomore filly in training, and she is ready to show it in the Distaff.

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