Breeders Cup Classic 2010 – Lookin’ At Lucky’s Horse Racing Odds Drop

The horse racing odds on Lookin’ At Lucky, the 2010 Preakness and Haskell Invitational winner, dropped over the weekend as it came to light that the top-rated three-year-old in the world looked sensational in his first work back from a long layoff.

Lookin’ At Lucky worked an easy half-mile in :49 2/5 at Del Mar on Sept. 8th.  He looked great and is obviously ready to resume his championship campaign.  Lucky had been on the bench since the Haskell victory in early August because of a slight illness.

The work immediately triggered a flurry of betting in the horse racing sportsbook resulting in Lucky becoming a +450 solid second choice behind undefeated mare Zenyatta to win the 2010 Breeder’s Cup Classic.

[Off topic: by the way, do you want to get a 60% bonus on your first deposit here at BetOnline? If so JOIN NOW.]

Those horse racing odds make Lucky a serious underlay in my opinion but only because the three horses I have ahead of him on my power rankings are flat-out sensational. 

Breeders Cup Classic

Where:  Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky

When:   November 6th, 2010

TV:  NBC

B.C. Classic Power Rankings

1. Zenyatta +300 – - The Queen runs next in the Grade I Lady’s Secret.  Her connections asked the Oak Tree Racing Board to change the name of the race back from the Zenyatta Stakes to the Lady’s Secret because Zenyatta hasn’t retired yet.  Jump on the +300 odds before that race on Oct. 2nd because after she wins that, she’s going off at +200 at best to win the BC Classic in November.

2. Blame +500 – - Blame is 7 and 1 out of his last 8 races.  3 of those 7 victories came at Churchill Downs, the site of the 2010 Breeder’s Cup.  +500?  More like +250 on race day if he runs well in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.

3. Quality Road +500 – - He bounced back with a fantastic victory in the Grade I Woodward.  Now, trainer Todd Pletcher says that he will train Road up to the BC Classic.  That’s really my only knock against him because a lot of horses don’t like Saratoga’s dirt course and that, after much reflection, might be the reason Blame caught him in the Whitney Handicap, but being trained up to the BC Classic doesn’t seem like the best way to get him ready.

4. Lookin’ At Lucky +450 – - Wow those horse racing odds are low on a three-year-old that has never beaten older.  There’s a lot of belief that Bob Baffert will have him ready for the BC Classic off of a prep in the Pennsylvania Derby, a 1 million dollar Grade II race, next weekend.  As profitable as the Pennsylvania Derby will be, it will still be a race against three-year-olds meaning that Lucky’s first race against older will be in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.  That’s not usually a winning move.

5. Twice Over +1400 – - He finished 2nd to Rip Van Winkle in the Grade I Juddmonte International and then 3rd to Rip Van Winkle, who finished 2nd, and Cape Blanco, who finished 1st, in the Grade I Irish Championship.  Why is he rated so high in my power rankings?  He’s got dirt breeding in his pedigree.

6. Afleet Express +1200 – - Some of my fellow horse racing writers feel that Afleet Express’s victory in the Travers Stakes was just an okay win.  Maybe, it was.  But, instead of looking at the negatives, I see a horse in Afleet Express that has 3 victories out of 7 races including one Grade I win and that has might get much better in the next 7 weeks or so.

7. Blind Luck +3500 – - If her connections decided to go for the big bucks with her at Churchill Downs and run her in the BC Classic, she’d be in my Top 3.  She’s that good.  I love this daughter of Pollard’s Vision that has developed into the best three-year-old in the United States.  Yes, she’s the best, not Lookin’At Lucky.  I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that trainer Jerry Hollendorfer enters her into the BC Classic.

8. Rachel Alexandra +1200 – - Yep, I’m putting Rachel in my Top 10 after writing so much trash about her.  Why?  Two reasons.  First, her horse racing odds have risen to +1200 from around +700.  Second, trainer Steve Asmussen lost both Kantharos, the #1 rated two-year-old in the nation, and Majesticperfection, the #1 rated sprinter in the nation, in the past two weeks.  That means that he can concentrate on Rachel and find out how to turn her back into a winner.  Expect a jockey change to Asmussen’s main man, the guy who piloted Curlin a couple of year’s back, for the BC Classic in November.  Sorry, Calvin (that would be Calvin Borel).  Somebody’s got to be the fall guy.

9. Rail Trip +1600 – - Although it’s tough to look past the excellent job that trainer Ron Ellis did with this guy, he moving to Richard Dutrow’s barn has to help.  The horse never got a shot to show his best on dirt while under Ellis’s care. Under Dutrow’s care, he could be one of the top dirt horses in the U.S.

10. Rip Van Winkle +1400 – - He’ll move up big time if things go south for Rachel Alexandra, Blind Luck or Rail Trip.  Heck, he could move all the way to 4th by race week, but for now, the Aidan O’Brien trainee stays at #10 because he’s not bred for the dirt.

Check out horse racing future book odds on equines to win the Breeders Cup Classic in the sportsbook.

Sources:  horseracingnation.com, brisnet.com, drf.com