Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf Betting

The Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf is a Grade One race held annually as part of the prestigious annual Breeders Cup meeting, the end of year championship for American horse racing.

Raced over the distance of one mile, the contest is open to two year-old horses and provides an excellent alternative to the regular Breeders Cup Juvenile for animals who are accustomed to competing on turf as opposed to dirt or synthetic surfaces.

The race was inaugurated in 2007 as part of the newly expanded Breeders Cup festival where French bred Nownownow triumphed for trainer Francois Parisel under the piloting of jockey Julien Leparoux.

That contest, along with the following year’s renewal, was ungraded due to the rules set out by the American Graded Stakes Committee which state that any newly formed race must be run for two consecutive years under the same conditions before being eligible for graded status.

In 2009, the race acquired Grand Two status and has subsequently been hiked further to a Grade One affair for the 2011 meeting.

The race’s prize purse of $1 million has, however, remained unchanged.

Entry for the Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf can be obtained automatically via the Breeders Cup Challenge, a process which incorporates a series of other significant races throughout the calendar.

Winners of the Pilgrim Stakes at Belmont, Summer Stakes at Woodbine, Royal Lodge Stakes at Ascot and Bourbon Stakes at Keeneland, all receive berths into the Juvenile Turf field should connections wish to accept them.

The race is extremely popular as it marks the culmination of the racing season for talented juvenile milers and sorts out the best from the rest leading into the usually more rigorous three year-old campaign.

Some trainers may consequently choose to adapt a cautious approach and keep their horses under wraps at such a late stage in the season, in particular handlers from outside the US.

Nevertheless, opportunities for top class juveniles can in some cases be limited during the season and many may indeed choose to focus their efforts on the Breeders Cup for a considerable amount of time beforehand.

The race also adds a great deal of appeal for British and Irish horses due to one of the qualification races being held at Ascot, the home of the Royal meeting.

Despite the race having only been staged several times to date, Britain has enjoyed remarkable success thanks exclusively to leading trainer John Gosden.

The Sussex-based handler has saddled two winners in the race, Donativum in 2008 followed by Pounced in 2009, also giving world famous jockey Frankie Dettori a memorable double.

Gosden is likely to seek further success in the years to come and few would back against him recording a third victory considering that he knows exactly what is required of a horse to win the race.

Doing much to raise Britain’s profile at the Breeders Cup, Gosden may well have sparked an on-going trend for UK horses in the Juvenile Turf division and there is certainly scope for prolonged success considering that the country often produces world class eight furlong horses.

Big American trainers must also be respected in the race - and their horses, discount at your peril as they would not be competing in the race without a genuine chance, despite the USA’s understated turf season.

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