Favorite White Abarrio wins 2023 Breeders’ Cup Classic

Favorite White Abarrio (5-2) won the $6 million 2023 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. on Saturday. Here’s what you need to know:

• White Abarrio was ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. and trained by Richard E. Dutrow.
• Derma Sotogake (25-1) finished second and Proxy (17-1) finished third.
• 2023 Belmont Stakes winner Arcangelo was scratched from the Classic earlier this week with a foot issue and immediately retired.

How White Abarrio won

It was a great ride from jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. When Arabian Knight and Saudi Crown went out the front with early speed, Ortiz Jr. sat just outside of both horses and coming around the final turn, White Abarrio made his move and made it look easy going away.

It is Ortiz Jr’s second Breeders’ Cup Classic victory. He also won in 2019.

Derma Sotogake — looking to become the first non-American bred horse to win the Classic since 2006 — finished second. Proxy, rode by Joel Rosario, finished third.

That is White Abarrio’s seventh win in 15 career starts.

A $2 bet on White Abarrio paid $7.20. A $1 exacta bet paid $89.70 and a $.50 trifecta paid $450.90.

Dutrow recently returned to horse racing after serving a 10-year suspension. Prior to Dutrow taking over the training of White Abarrio, he hadn’t won since April 2022. He’s now won two of three starts being trained under Dutrow.

Horse safety and deaths continued to overshadow the sport this week with two horses dying including Practical Move who had a cardiac event on Tuesday when returning to the paddock after a morning gallop.

Auguste Rodin won the $4 million Breeders Cup Turf to continue Europe’s dominance of that race. European horses have now won eight of the last 11 editions of the Turf. A $2 bet on Auguste Rodin paid out $7. — Andrew DeWitt, sports betting deputy editor

Full Breeders’ Cup Classic payouts

$1 EXACTA 3/5 $89.70

$0.50 TRIFECTA 3/5/13 $450.90

$0.10 SUPERFECTA 3/5/13/12 $1,060.14

$1 SUPER HIGH FIVE 3/5/13/12/8 $53,593.30

$2 DOUBLE 5/3 $23.80

$0.50 PICK-3 4/5/3 $27.70

$0.50 PICK-4 14/2-4/4-6/1,3 $131.80

What is the Breeders’ Cup?

A two-day festival of Thoroughbred racing featuring some of the best horses, trainers, and jockeys in the world, the 2023 Breeders’ Cup is a highlight of the racing calendar, the horse racing version of an end-of-year championship, except that it doesn’t confer any championships — those have to wait until voting for Eclipse Awards begins later this month.

The Breeders’ Cup is one of the best betting and most anticipated horse racing weekends held annually. Each race is highly competitive, with plenty of horses that can contend, making great betting and handicapping.