Breeders' Cup: Juvenile Turf anchors Friday card again
The Juvenile Turf will once again close out the Friday Breeders’ Cup card on Nov. 4 at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., Breeders’ Cup announced on Wednesday.
The Juvenile Turf is the last of five Breeders’ Cup races, all restricted to 2-year-olds, on Friday’s 10-race card, with a post time of 5:40 p.m. First post on Nov. 4 is 11:55 a.m., with five non-Breeders’ Cup races opening the card.
On Saturday, Nov. 5., the race order will have a traditional look, with the Classic being preceded, in order, by the Turf, Distaff, Mile, Sprint, Filly and Mare Turf, Dirt Mile, Turf Sprint, and Filly and Mare Sprint. The 12-race Saturday card will have a first post of 10:30 a.m., with two non-Breeders’ Cup races preceding the Filly and Mare Sprint (post time 11:50 a.m.).
Breeders’ Cup does not set its official race order until after pre-entries are drawn. While some races have traditional spots – the Classic is always last, and it is usually preceded by the Turf – the earlier race order can be shaken up depending on field sizes, in order to maximize wagering revenue.
The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile had traditionally been the final race on the Friday card, but in recent years the Juvenile Turf has been oversubscribed, leading Breeders’ Cup to put the race in the Friday anchor position. This year, the Juvenile Turf drew 18 pre-entries, while the Juvenile drew 12.
This will be the first year that payouts on Breeders’ Cup races will be rounded to the nearest penny. Kentucky’s legislature passed a bill earlier this year requiring so-called penny breakage. Kentucky tracks are the only tracks in the country breaking to the penny.
All the multi-race bets held on Saturday will have mandatory payouts, Breeders’ Cup said. The Friday card will include a pick 6 and two pick 5s, and any carryover in the pick 6 will be applied to the Saturday pick 6. Any carryover in Friday’s pick 5s will be applied to the late pick 5 on Saturday, Breeders’ Cup said. Three picks 5s will be offered on Saturday, starting with the first race, the third race, and the seventh race.
Every race on Friday and Saturday will offer a Super High 5, and any carryover will be applied to the next race, with a carryover in the last race on Friday being applied to the first race on Saturday. The Super High 5 ending the Saturday card will have a mandatory payout.
Breeders’ Cup will offer a handful of special wagers, including a pick 3 on Friday linking the three turf Breeders’ Cup races on the card, and an all-turf pick 4 on Saturday linking the Turf Sprint, the Filly and Mare Turf, the Mile, and the Turf. The Friday all-turf pick 3 will have a $3 minimum, while the Saturday all-turf pick 4 will have a 50-cent minimum.
Breeders’ Cup will also offer three doubles linking a Friday race with a Saturday race: the Juvenile Fillies and Distaff; the Juvenile and the Classic; and the Juvenile Turf with the Turf. The doubles will have a minimum of $1.
All other multi-race bets other than the pick 6 wagers on Friday and Saturday will have a 50-cent minimum. The pick 6s on Friday and Saturday will have a $1 minimum.
Keeneland has a 16 percent takeout on win, place, and show wagers. Takeout for the exacta is 19.5 percent. Takeout for all other bets is 22 percent, with the exception of the pick 5, which has a takeout of 15 percent.
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