Breeders’ Cup 2023: Ones To Watch at One of the Biggest Events of the Year

Kaleb James, , Comments Off on Breeders’ Cup 2023: Ones To Watch at One of the Biggest Events of the Year
The Breeders’ Cup is the biggest horse racing event that has not yet taken place this year. This year the event will be held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California.

The History of the Breeders’ Cup

The Breeders’ Cup’s maiden event took place in 1984, making it the least historic of the USA’s four major horse racing events (the other three being the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, and Preakness Stakes).

Despite this, it has emerged as one of the most popular horse racing events in the world and is only topped by the Kentucky Derby when it comes to events held in the USA.

The Breeders’ Cup was created to provide a landmark horse racing event at the end of the year in the USA. Many of the racing world’s biggest events take place in Spring and Summer,  but the Breeders’ Cup is one of a few that are held in Autumn each year.

The founder of the Breeders’ Cup was John R. Gaines, a horse owner and breeder who aimed to improve the popularity of horse racing in the US. There was also an overall aim to improve the nation’s image in regard to international horse racing.

Since its inauguration, the Breeders’ Cup has attracted horses from all over North America, as well as Europe to compete. Qualifying events are held all over the world each year.

The Breeders’ Challenge Cup Series involves the leading horses in the best races from all corners of the planet. Winning any of the events within the series grants free entry to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships.

The headline race at the main event is the Breeders’ Cup Classic, and this is one of the most famous races across the globe. It is a weight-for-age event in which only one horse has tasted success twice. Tisnow won the Breeders’ Cup Classic in successive years in the 2000 and 2001 events.

The first-ever event boasted a maximum jackpot of $3 million, the 2023 event will offer winning as high as $6 million dollars. There are huge financial incentives to winning, besides the huge reputation boost that comes from claiming wins at the prestigious event.

The Breeders’ Cup Classic

The Breeders’ Cup Classic is the biggest and most prestigious race of the entire event, and as a result, it is often the most competitive of all of the races that take place. In the horse racing odds for this year, the favorite is Cody’s Wish offered as short as +700 at Bet365. OddsChecker offers a comparison of the odds available on a variety of sportsbooks ahead of the Breeders’ Cup this year.

Cody’s Wish has begun 2023 strongly with victories at Churchill Downs and Belmont Park. The horse won the Churchill Downs Stakes comfortably in its first of the year, which extended its streak of consecutive victories to five.

For the Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park in June, Cody’s Wish began as a strong favorite and delivered on expectations with another comfortable victory at yet another major event.

A victory at the Breeders’ Cup Classic could represent the peak of the horse’s career to date. The competition is set to be much more vast than in the horse’s previous races. But Cody’s Wish will surely be fighting at the front of the pack throughout the headline race in November.

In regards to other horses to keep an eye on in the main race at the Breeders’ Cup, Arcangelo and Forte will likely shape up to be the strongest contenders alongside Cody’s Wish.

Arcangelo is in his debut year of major horse racing, but he has begun strongly, producing a string of wins in 2023. A win at Gulfstream Park in March was followed by back-to-back victories at Belmont Park in May and June.

Arcangelo’s latter victory at Belmont came in the prestigious Belmont Stakes, where the horse narrowly held off Forte. And at the Breeders’ Cup, the pair will likely be split by the smallest of margins once again.

Forte’s winning streak was ended only by Arcangelo in June. Prior to the narrow defeat, Forte had finished in first place in four straight races. In November, Forte will receive his chance at revenge, and perhaps a win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile race last year could be built on to win the grand event this time around.

Arcangelo and Forte are certainly horses to keep an eye on in the biggest race of the Breeders’ Cup this year. They will be waiting in the wings if Cody’s Wish does not emerge strongly from the gate. Arcangelo especially is known to finish races strongly and could even steal the honors at the death of the contest.

The Breeders’ Cup Turf

The Breeders’ Cup Turf is the second biggest race that is run at the two-day event on the first weekend of November.

The horse to keep an eye on for this event is Equinox, as he has dominated in his early career races in Japan. He made his first trip abroad to the United Arab Emirates in March, where Equinox finished first in the Sheema Classic.

The horse set a new mile-and-a-half track record in the race and stunned his competitors with how dominant his run was. Equinox is now seen as the leading turf horse in the world, and he’ll get his opportunity to defend that title in California this year.

Equinox could potentially not only win at the Breeders’ Cup Turf race, but also win in a convincing fashion. The horse is rated the best in the world currently according to the LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse standings.

The turf race may capture the interest of horse racing fans all over the world. After all, Equinox will be on show and has all the makings of becoming one of the greatest racehorses of all time. The Breeders’ Cup could represent one of many peaks of a huge career ahead for the horse.

Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint

There are many horses to watch out for in the Filly and Mare Sprint. The race could potentially be one of the most competitive out of all the offerings from the Breeders’ Cup this year.

While the stallions may take center stage, the fillies and mares could offer the most exciting contest in November.

Blue Rose Cen and Soul Sister are the pick of the frontrunners, but in truth around 10 horses are set to genuinely compete for glory in the Filly and Mare Sprint.

Blue Rose Cen is currently on a five-race winning streak, and will likely start the race as a narrow favorite to achieve success. The horse has already won two classics this year in Longchamp and in Chantilly, in France.

Soul Sister secured an underdog triumph in May at York in the Musidora Stakes. This led to the horse receiving worldwide acknowledgement as it had recorded its first win.

A win at Epsom followed in June, which has led to the horse being seen as one of the leading contenders to finish in first place at the Breeders’ Cup.

The Filly and Mare Sprint will certainly be the most wide-open contest of the event in California this year. A wide range of horses are in with a genuine shot at glory, with there being no dominant racehorse predicted to lead the pack.

Here we have outlined all the most exciting horses to keep an eye out for at the showcase event this year. From potentially dominant frontrunners to extremely competitive races, the Breeders’ Cup is set to offer a spectacular two days of horse racing later this year.