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The $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic is one of the horse racing betting events of the year, and it is coming up at Del Mar on Saturday, November 1. The richest and most important race of the Breeders’ Cup, it features the best two-turn dirt horses in the world going 1 ¼ miles on the dirt. With the best dirt field of the year, no wonder every horseplayer looks forward to betting on the Breeders’ Cup!
The top three from the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic tussle again in 2025: Sierra Leone, Fierceness, and Forever Young. Mindframe, a Grade 1 winner at both one turn and two in 2025, also contests the Classic. Though Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty was scratched on Wednesday with a fever, other top sophomores line up for the race including both Preakness winner Journalism and Pennsylvania Derby winner Baeza.
The Breeders’ Cup Classic winners’ list is a roll call of the greatest horses of the last four decades: Sunday Silence, A. P. Indy, Cigar, Curlin, Zenyatta, American Pharoah. Who will add their name to this list in 2025? Keep reading to find out, and to see the best places to bet the race online!
Where to Bet the Breeders’ Cup Classic
Before you begin handicapping the Breeders’ Cup Classic it is important to choose the right place to bet horse racing online. There are many sites, and the decision can seem difficult at first, but our online betting experts are here to help. They have done their homework and they make it easy for you to choose the best online sportsbooks no matter what your betting style is.
We only recommend sportsbooks with the basics of a great experience: trusted payouts, market-leading odds, and a great experience. Each site also offers different sportsbook bonuses such as horse racing rebates, referral benefits, deposit bonuses, and sign-up incentives.
You can build your Breeders’ Cup bankroll by hundreds or even thousands of dollars just by picking the right sportsbook, so taking a few minutes to think about your choice is a profitable move!
Breeders’ Cup Classic Horses and Odds
This is the official field for the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Classic including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning lines:
- Fierceness (Todd Pletcher / John Velazquez) – 5/2
- Baeza (John Shirreffs / Hector Berrios) – 10/1
- Nevada Beach (Bob Baffert / Mike Smith) – 20/1
- Contrary Thinking (Chad Brown / Florent Geroux) – 50/1
- Forever Young (Yoshito Yahagi / Ryusei Sakai) – 7/2
- Sovereignty (Bill Mott / Junior Alvarado) – SCRATCHED
- Sierra Leone (Chad Brown / Flavien Prat) – 7/2
- Mindframe (Todd Pletcher / Irad Ortiz, Jr.) – 6/1
- Journalism (Michael McCarthy / Jose Ortiz) – 5/1
- Antiquarian (Todd Pletcher / Luis Saez) – 10/1
The morning line can be a good guide for which horses are expected to take money, but remember that it is not a guaranteed price at the track. On site, you won’t know the real prices until post time, meaning an overlay you spot on the tote board before the race may end up meaningless.
Your best bet is to play the Breeders’ Cup Classic online. Online sportsbooks offer fixed-odds wagering on major races like the Breeders’ Cup Classic, so you can lock in the best odds at the moment you bet. When you see an overlay, you can claim it just by placing a bet, and then you can just watch the race with full confidence in the price you’ll get when your hore wins.
These are the Breeders’ Cup Classic odds for horses at the top of the market.
 |  |  |
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| Fierceness | +275 | +300 | +310 |
| Sierra Leone | +300 | +320 | +320 |
| Forever Young | +400 | +425 | +400 |
| Journalism | +700 | +650 | +600 |
| Mindframe | +700 | +650 | +625 |
Free Breeders’ Cup Classic Picks
You have your online betting account set up, so the next step is to meet the leading contenders for the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Classic:
Breeders’ Cup Classic Top Contender
Fierceness finished second in the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Classic but can go one better this year. The fact that east-coast trainer Todd Pletcher ran him in the Pacific Classic (G1) for his final prep is not Pletcher’s usual plan when running a horse in a west-coast Breeders’ Cup – but he gave Vino Rosso a course-and-distance race before the 2019 edition and Vino Rosso is still his only Classic winner.
The rail draw is a question, since Fierceness veered in hard after drawing the fence in the Pacific Classic. But, he recovered well – and if some time to settle in at Del Mar and having that experience under his belt are enough to straighten him out (literally and figuratively), then we’re just left with an overlay on a top-class horse with good tactical speed and good course-and-distance form.
Breeders’ Cup Classic Price Play
Baeza isn’t just a well-bred horse – though he’s that, too, a half-brother to both Kentucky Derby winner Mage and Belmont winner Dornoch. But, has been holding his own with the best three-year-olds of the class, and then got his own breakout win last out in the Pennsylvania Derby (G1). These are tougher foes, of course, but he won at Parx with enough strength and confidence to suggest that he has grown into himself.
With tactical speed, good stamina, and the ability to take his race around with him, the fact that Baeza is one of the horses getting ignored in this year’s deep renewal of the Breeders’ Cup Classic makes him an overlay and a long shot to watch.
Breeders’ Cup Classic Exotics Horses
Forever Young will be one of the shorter-priced horses, and thus a likely underlay on top. However, all he does is run good races – in 12 starts around the world he has never missed the trifecta. He finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Classic last year, and should be able to get a piece again this year.
Fierceness’s stablemates from the Pletcher barn, Antiquarian and Mindframe, both also figure for a piece here. Antiquarian was the lucky horse who wasn’t caught in an early chain reaction in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), but he still won in fast fashion and he drew a clean outside stall this time, too. Mindframe is a Grade 1-winning sprinter and router this year, and ran well enough in the Belmont last year to make him exciting trying 1 ¼ miles again as an older horse.
Breeders’ Cup Classic Free Picks
You know where to bet, you know the leading contenders, so now all that’s left is the best part of all: placing your bets! These are the best bets for Saturday’s 2025 Breeders’ Cup Classic:
- $20 to win – #1 Fierceness
- $10 each way – #2 Baeza
- $1 exacta box – #1 Fierceness, #2 Baeza, #5 Forever Young
- $0.50 trifecta key – #1 Fierceness with #2 Baeza, #5 Forever Young, #10 Antiquarian
- $0.20 superfecta key – #1 Fierceness with #2 Baeza, #5 Forever Young, #8 Mindframe #10 Antiquarian
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