Breeders’ Cup 2017 live stream: How to watch Saturday’s races online

With day one in the books, the 2017 Breeders’ Cup championship on Saturday features nine Grade 1 stakes races with the Classic the one most eyes will be on. NBCSN will cover the bulk of the schedule, beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET (live stream). The broadcast switches to NBC itself for prime time at 8 p.m. (live stream) with the main event set to go to the gates at approximately 8:35 p.m.

The Breeders’ Cup Classic should have a great field. The three Triple Crown races that most people think of first when they think of horse racing — the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes — are open only to 3-year-old horses. The Classic is open to horses older than age 3 as well, allowing for a showdown between younger upstarts and some of the older guard.

This year 4-year-old Arrogate (2-1 odds to win) will be trying to defend his victory in the race last year, with 4-year-old Gun Runner thought to be a slight favorite (9-5) in the race. A pair of Bob Baffert-trained horses, 3-year-old West Coast and 4-year-old Collected, entered at 6-1 morning line odds.

16 - Total number of wins in Grade or Group 1 stakes (the highest level of racing) by 2017 contenders Arrogate (four), Churchill (four), Collected (one), Gun Runner (four), Mubtaahij (one), and West Coast (two).

Why Santa Anita?

Since this will the first edition of the Breeders’ Cup contested at Del Mar, there’s no telling how horses will react when they frolic at the place where “The Turf Meets the Surf.” But the Santa Anita results can be telling since California horses will once again have home-court advantage, and so long as the horses are of equal ability, experience over the track usually garners more attention at the betting windows.

Based on recent form, Gun Runner is the morning-line favorite of both Del Mar’s Russell Hudak and Mike Watchmaker, Daily Racing Form’s national handicapper. Since finishing second in Dubai, he has scored three runaway victories while earning Beyer Speed Figures of 110, 112, and, most recently, a career-best 115. He is a far superior animal to the one who finished second in last year’s Dirt Mile at Santa Anita.