Breeders’ Cup Classic 2024 Preview: City of Troy, Fierceness, and More Elite Contenders
While City of Troy will be running in the U.S. for the first time and racing on a dirt track rather than turf for the first time, the colt is a son of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify and comes into the 1 ¼-mile Classic with four Grade 1 victories.
Fierceness, trained by Todd A. Pletcher, exercises in preparation for the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classicat Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, California on October 28, 2024. Carlos Calo/Eclipse Sportswire/Breeders Cup
The $5 million Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1), the second richest race in the Breeders’ Cup, is led by a large contingent of international runners. Charlie Appleby-trained Rebel’s Romance, the 2022 Distaff winner, returns as the 5-2 favorite in a field of 13. O’Brien sends out two – Wingspan (15-1) and Luxembourg (12-1).
The main attraction will surely be the 1 ¼-mile Classic, which will be run as race 8 with a post time of 5:41 p.m. ET. There are four BC races prior to the Classic and four races after.
While there were 212 pre-entries, the final draw saw 179 entered, including 67 international runners out of 80 pre-entered.
The top three betting choices are 3-year-olds. The field includes seven 4-year-olds, four 3-year-olds, two 6-year-olds (Senor Buscador, Next), and one 7-year-old (Ushba Tesoro).
The last Classic winner who raced outside the U.S. was Raven’s Pass in 2005.
Next comes into the Classic on a seven-race winning streak, all at distances of 1 ½ miles or longer.
Other favorites
Other favorites for Saturday’s race are Ways and Means (5-2) in the Filly & Mare Sprint, Cogburn (7-5) in the Turf Sprint, Notable Speech (7-2) in the Turf, Domestic Product (7-2) in the Mile, Federal Judge (3-1) in the Sprint, and War Like Goddess (5-2) in the Filly & Mare Turf.
No Triple Crown race winners in Classic
For the second year in a row none of the Triple Crown race winners are running the Classic.
Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mystik Dan recently returned to training; Preakness (G1) winner Seize the Grey is 10-1 in the BC Dirt Mile; and Belmont (G1) winner Dornoch was recently retired.
2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic Odds and Post Positions