We'll see "Win and You're In" events on both coasts this Saturday as the 2025 Breeders’ Cup odds continue to evolve.
Saratoga holds the Grade I, $1 million Whitney Stakes, which grants an automatic berth to the Breeders' Cup Classic, while Del Mar hosts the Grade I, $400,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes, granting an all-expenses-paid bid to the Breeders' Cup Distaff.
Here are my free betting picks for each major event on August 2.
Whitney Stakes odds, prediction and best bet
- Race: Saratoga Race 11
- Post time: 5:41 p.m. ET
- TV: FOX
| Post | Horse | Track odds |  |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mindframe | 5-2 | +250 | +300 |
| 2 | Skippylongstocking | 10-1 | +1000 | +1600 |
| 3 | Highland Falls | 8-1 | +800 | +1000 |
| 4 | Mama's Gold | 50-1 | +5000 | +10000 |
| 5 | Sierra Leone | 2-1 | +200 | +333 |
| 6 | Disarm | 15-1 | +1500 | +2000 |
| 7 | White Abarrio | 4-1 | +400 | +700 |
| 8 | Contrary Thinking | 50-1 | +5000 | +5000 |
| 9 | Fierceness | 9-5 | +180 | +225 |
| 10 | Post Time | 12-1 | +1200 | +1400 |
Odds as of 8-1.
No. 7 White Abarrio (4-1) can be a tricky horse to figure out, but the 2023 Whitney Stakes winner is an obvious threat to take this year's edition of Saratoga's signature handicap division race if he fires his best effort.
White Abarrio evidently did not care for the slop in the Met Mile, a race he's now lost three times, when last seen. But before that, he crushed the competition at his home base at Gulfstream in the Grade III Ghostzapper and the Grade I Pegasus World Cup Invitational.
The 2023 Breeders' Cup Classic champion's best days are not in the rearview, and the price is right to take a swing with him and Irad Ortiz Jr. on Saturday.
No. 9 Fierceness (9-5, morning-line favorite) was also defeated in the Met Mile, but it was good for his fifth consecutive exacta finish. He's 3-for-4 lifetime at Saratoga, including scores in the Grade II Jim Dandy and the Grade I Travers.
Look for John Velazquez to position this Todd Pletcher trainee to get first run at the tiring leaders.
No. 5 Sierra Leone (2-1) turned the tables on Fierceness after losing to him twice at Saratoga last summer, but that Breeders' Cup Classic win came at Del Mar, not here.
That win seems like a distant memory as he's kicked off the year 0-for-2, dropping both the Grade II New Orleans and the Grade I Stephen Foster. Look for him to be rolling late under Flavien Prat for a small share only.
Handicappers should keep in mind that Mindframe will likely scratch so long as Fierceness remains in the race.
Best bet: $10 win 7, $6 exacta box 7/9, $4 exacta 7,9/5 ($30)
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Clement L. Hirsch Stakes odds, prediction and best bet
- Race: Del Mar Race 10
- Post time: 9:32 p.m. ET
- TV: FanDuel TV
| Post | Horse | Track odds | |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seismic Beauty | 2-1 | +200 | +250 |
| 2 | Royal Spa | 6-1 | +600 | +1200 |
| 3 | Mahina | 20-1 | +2000 | +1600 |
| 4 | Nothing Like You | 8-1 | +800 | +800 |
| 5 | Richi | 3-1 | +300 | +250 |
| 6 | Little Hidden Port | 12-1 | +1200 | +1200 |
| 7 | Kopion | 5-2 | +250 | +300 |
Odds as of 8-1.
The Grade I, $400,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes looks like it will be a rider's race. There's a good amount of speed signed on in here, but considering the works, the rail draw, and the fact she's never won a race in which she wasn't first at every call, No. 1 Seismic Beauty figures to make the front under Juan Hernandez.
No. 5 Richi is a Bob Baffert stablemate of Seismic Beauty, and may only apply token pressure under Antonio Fresu. The duty of softening up the leader will likely fall to No. 7 Kopion (ODDS).
I believe the versatile No. 2 Royal Spa (ODDS), who proved she can close from well out of it when she took the Grade III Shawnee Stakes two-back, will pick up the pieces in the stretch under Hector Berrios. She had the misfortune to run into Thorpedo Anna in the Grade II Fleur de Lis Stakes last time out, or else she might be on a three-race win streak heading into the Hirsch.
Of the first three I mentioned, I prefer Kopion's chances of hanging on for a share. She beat Richi earlier this year in the Grade II Santa Monica, which was sandwiched between two impressive efforts in the Grade I La Brea and Grade I Derby City Distaff.
Kopion was forced wide at quirky Los Alamitos in the Grade II Great Lady M. Stakes, so I'm not reading much into that recent defeat. The distance is the question, but the pedigree says she'll relish routing, and she deserves one more chance after something clearly went amiss in the Grade II Santa Anita Oaks last April.
Best bet: $10 win 2, $5 exacta box 2/7 ($20)
Road to the Breeders’ Cup Classic
| Race | Date | Track | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Cup* | February 22 | King Abdulaziz Racetrack | Forever Young |
| February Stakes* | February 23 | Tokyo | Costa Nova |
| Dubai World Cup* | April 5 | Meydan | Hit Show |
| Kentucky Derby | May 3 | Churchill Downs | Sovereignty |
| Preakness Stakes | May 17 | Pimlico | Journalism |
| Belmont Stakes | June 7 | Saratoga | Sovereignty |
| Metropolitan Handicap | June 7 | Saratoga | Raging Torrent |
| Stephen Foster Stakes* | June 28 | Churchill Downs | Mindframe |
| Haskell Stakes* | July 19 | Monmouth Park | Journalism |
| Whitney Stakes* | August 2 | Saratoga | TBD |
| Juddmonte International Stakes (turf)* | August 20 | York | TBD |
| Travers Stakes | August 24 | Saratoga | TBD |
| Pacific Classic* | August 30 | Del Mar | TBD |
| Jockey Club Gold Cup* | August 31 | Saratoga | TBD |
| Pennsylvania Derby | September 20 | Parx | TBD |
| Goodwood Stakes* | September 27 | Santa Anita Park | TBD |
| Lukas Classic | September 27 | Churchill Downs | TBD |
*denotes "Win & You're In" race for Breeders' Cup Classic.
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
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