Breeders’ Cup Classic: Biggest Upsets

Although the Breeders’ Cup Classic represents the best of the best, not even the favorites are always guaranteed a win. Below are the ten biggest Classic upsets since the inaugural running in 1984.

1.) Arcangues, 1993: The biggest Breeders’ Cup Classic upset of all-time was when 133-1 shot Arcangues beat the favorite Bertrando. Trained out of France by Andre Fabre, the Classic was the first U.S. race for Arcangues. Winning jockey Jerry Bailey was aboard for the first time, and the win paid $269.20.

2.) Volponi, 2002: Had 43-1 shot Volponi not upset the Classic, a betting scandal might have gone unnoticed. There was only one winning ticket of the Ultra Pick 6, and the suspicious high payout led back to Chris Harn, a computer programmer for Autotote, Derrick Davis, and Glen DaSilva. They had planned to split $3 million between the three of them.

3.) Wild Again, 1984: The very first Breeders’ Cup Classic was nail biter. Three horses finished close together and had been battling down the stretch. The crowd waited out a steward’s inquiry for 10 minutes before 31-1 shot Wild Again was declared the winner.

4.) Alphabet Soup, 1996: Off at 19-1, Alphabet Soup put in a game fight to beat Preakness winner Louis Quatorze and Cigar, the 1995 Classic victor and reigning Horse of the Year. Alphabet Soup now resides at Old Friends Farm in Georgetown, KY. Alphabet Soup was trained by David Hofmans, who hopes to upset the Classic with Melatonin this year.

5.) Cat Thief, 1999: Cat Thief was sent off at 19-1 and gave Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas his first and only Breeders’ Cup Classic win.

6.) Drosselmeyer, 2011: The 2010 Belmont Stakes winner left the gates at 14-1 in the Classic. He had only won one small stakes race between the Belmont and the Classic, but was able to end his career on a high note.

7.) Pleasantly Perfect, 2003: Pleasantly Perfect gave trainer Richard Mandella his fourth Breeders’ Cup win in a single day at odds of 14-1. The win broke Lukas’s record of 3 Breeders’ Cup wins.

8.) Raven’s Pass, 2008: Although Raven’s Pass was a Group 1 winner in Europe, he was disregarded in the U.S. on the synthetic surface. At 13-1, he ended up winning the Classic while reigning Horse of the Year and the 2007 Classic winner Curlin finished fourth.

9.) Skywalker, 1986: 10-1 Skywalker grabbed the lead heading into the far turn and never looked back, easily holding off the rallying favorite, Turkoman

10.) Fort Larned, 2012: Fort Larned prevailed at 9-1 over the following year’s winner Mucho Macho Man. Jockey Brian Hernandez, Jr. was aboard the winner. He celebrated his 27th birthday the day of the victory.

By Christine Oser