Jockey Club Gold Cup Betting Guide

History will be made in the Jockey Club Gold Cup this year, as it will take place at Saratoga for the first time in its history. You can find out the history of the race, as well as the betting trends for one of the biggest races in the fall.

Jockey Club Gold Cup Event Details

The Jockey Club Gold Cup will be run at Saratoga Race Course for the first time ever this year and will take place on September 4th. The race is open to horses that are aged three and older, and the field will contest the race over 1 ¼ miles on the dirt. There is a lucrative purse available for the race, with connections all hoping to get their slice of the $1 million available.

Jockey Club Gold Cup Preview

The Jockey Club Gold Cup doesn’t take place until the beginning of September, which means that final declarations for the race will not be made until at least the end of August. However, we can assess some of the trends of previous winners to help find a winning selection in 2021. Below are the previous five winners of the Jockey Club Gold Cup.

• Happy Saver (2020)

• Code of Honor (2019)

• Discreet Lover (2018)

• Diversify (2017)

• Hoppertunity (2016)

The Jockey Club Gold Cup has been dominated by three-year-olds in recent seasons, with both Happy Saver and Code of Honor being that age. However, both of those two winners are among just three horses of the same age that have won the race since 2010. The only other three-year-old to win the Jockey Club Gold Cup in the past ten years was Tonalist, who was three when he claimed the first of his two victories in the race in 2014.

There isn’t a clear trend when it comes to age, as horses aged both five and four have also achieved wins in the past five years. Discreet Lover was five when he won the race in 2018, while Diversify was the most recent winner that was aged four. Six-year-olds haven’t fared as well in recent seasons, as 2013 winner Ron the Greek was the most recent winner of that age.

No trainer has been able to claim more than one victory in the past five years, with Todd Pletcher, Shug McGaughey, Uriah St. Lewis, and Richard Violette Jr claiming winners in the past four renewals. Instead, it could be worth looking at the jockey, as John Velazquez and Irad Ortiz Jr have both claimed two wins apiece since 2016.

It is also difficult to predict the route that the winner of this race will take, as it has altered season-on-season. Happy Saver came into the Jockey Club Gold Cup after wins in allowance races. Meanwhile, Code of Honor finished second in the Kentucky Derby before winning the Dwyer Stakes and Runhappy Travers Stakes. Discreet Lover was the most traveled recent winner of the Jockey Club Gold Cup, as he had run in the Woodward Stakes, Whitney Stakes, and Pimlico Special Stakes before his win.

Jockey Club Gold Cup Event Information

The Jockey Club Gold Cup was first run in 1919, but it has been one of the races that has suffered due to the emergence of the Breeders’ Cup. The purse for the race has been diminished over recent seasons, with many of the leading horses in training opting against the Jockey Club Gold Cup in favor of a run at the Breeders’ Cup.

However, changes were made, and the race will now be run at Saratoga, eight weeks before the Breeders’ Cup gets underway. Organizers are hopeful that the change will mean that connections will target the race as a prep. There is also the reward of a place in the Breeders’ Cup Classic for the winning runner in 2021.

Legendary horses have won the race in the past, including Cigar, Curlin, and Man o’ War. Skip Away won the race in 1997 and still holds the speed record after completing the race in 1:58.89. However, the horse with the most victories in this race is Kelso, who won the prestigious race five times between 1960 and 1964. Eddie Arcaro is the most successful jockey, as he recorded ten victories in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.

Jockey Club Gold Cup Betting Information

The Jockey Club Gold Cup in 2021 is set to be a huge betting race for gamblers. Some of the biggest stars in training could be heading to Saratoga for the race, and the following betting markets can be found to make a wager.

• Win: Gamblers can place a bet on a horse to win the Jockey Club Gold Cup with the leading sportsbooks.

• Place: Bets can also be made on a selection to finish in a place position in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.

• Exacta: The most difficult market to find a winner will be the exacta, where gamblers will have to wager their money on the correct finishing order.