The 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic will take place on Saturday at Del Mar Racetrack in San Diego. The 14-horse 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic field doesn’t feature any Triple Crown race winners but has several Grade 1 Stakes victors, including the favorite, City of Troy. He is at 5-2 to utilize in 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic bets and is the son of 2018 Triple Crown champion Justify. The Breeders’ Cup Classic 2024 will be held on a dirt surface with the horses competing over 1 1/4 miles.

After City of Troy, the second-favorite is reigning American 2-year-old champion Fierceness at 3-1 in the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic odds. He won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last year and claimed the Travers Stakes in August. Other 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic contenders include Forever Young (6-1), who has won six of seven starts, as well as Next (8-1), who has won seven straight races. The 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic post time is 5:41 p.m. ET. You’ll want to see what SportsLine’s Jody Demling has to say before entering any 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic picks or horse racing predictions of your own, considering his spectacular track record.

A fixture in the horse racing world who has been writing about, talking about and betting on races for years, Demling enters the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic having nailed the Derby-Oaks double 11 of the last 16 years. He also predicted the winner of the Belmont Stakes four of the last seven years and called 10 of the last 20 Preakness winners, including 2023 when he hit the winner, exacta, trifecta and superfecta as well as the trifecta in 2024. He also nailed Flightline’s win in the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Classic. Anyone who has followed him is way up.

Now, with the Breeders’ Cup Classic 2024 approaching, Demling is sharing his picks and predictions over at SportsLine. Go here to see them.

Top 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic predictions

One of Demling’s surprising 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic picks: He is fading three-time Grade 1 winner Fierceness (3-1), one of the top 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic favorites who recently won the Travers Stakes. The horse has experienced connections in trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey John Velazquez, who each have Breeders’ Cup Classic victories. However, it took them lots of starts to get there as Pletcher’s one victory has come with 18 different Classic starters, while Velazquez has notched a single victory over 23 previous rides at the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Demling also points out that Fierceness has been feast or famine when it comes to his position when entering the stretch, saying, “he is 5-for-5 when he leads into the stretch. He’s 0-for-3 when he doesn’t, and I don’t think he will be here.” That type of inconsistency may work for a long shot but not with a horse with as short as odds that Fierceness has. Thus, Demling advises to deploy your Breeders’ Cup Classic 2024 bets elsewhere. See which horses to pick here.

Another surprise: Demling is high on Ushba Tesoro, even though he’s a hefty underdog at 12-1. The 7-year-old has 35 starts under his belt, and dirt races around this distance seem to be his favorites. He’s won seven of his last nine dirt starts at or near 1 1/4 miles, including the 2023 Dubai World Cup, which is the richest horse race in the world. “He’ll be running in the end,” Demling told SportsLine of Ushba Tesoro.

In addition to experience, the horse also has pedigree on his side. He’s the son of Orfevre, who won the 2011 Japanese Triple Crown and was the 2012 Japanese Horse of the Year. Ushba Tesoro has finished either first or second in 10 of his last 11 overall starts, with the one outlier being his Breeders’ Cup Classic debut last year. He finished fifth but gained valuable experience and made a late charge to finish just 3 1/2 lengths behind the winner. At 12-1, Ushba Tesoro is a low-cost but potentially high-reward horse to back in 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic predictions. See which horses to pick here.

How to make 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic picks, bets

Demling just locked in his picks for City of Troy, Sierra Leone and every horse in the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic lineup. He is also high on a massive double-digit underdog who “has a big chance to spring the upset.” Demling is sharing which horse it is, along with his entire projected 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic leaderboard, over at SportsLine.

Who wins the Breeders’ Cup Classic 2024, and which longshot is a must-back? Check out the latest 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Demling’s picks for the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic, all from the expert who nailed the 2022 winner, and find out. 

2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic horses, odds