Horse Handicapping

Past Breeders Cup Winners

The best TV station in the world, ESPN, has a show called Instant Classic and those that are left standing after a mile and a quarter in the $5 million BC Classic have now built that resume that will someday allow them to be the star of the production.

After personally watching Pat Day raise his hand to the sky and the Lord after winning the first Classic at Hollywood Park, all knew that this series of races would change the face of the game.

Handicappers are always challenged in this race as only seven chalks have gotten the job done. And even if you take out the largest paying winner in the Breeders' Cup ever, Arcangues at $269.20 in 1993, the average of the 13 double-digit Classic winners paid $30.40 over the years.

Successful horses can't concede too many lengths in this race. Although five winners went all the way on the lead, only two came from as far as eight lengths off the pace with the best early position probably about three or four off the pace and in the clear. Ironically, the largest winning margin was the six lengths posted by Volponi in the Pick Fix scarred 2002 renewal.

Only five horses have broken the 2:00 barrier in the race. Two were flat out stars in Cigar and Skip Away. Cat Thief was trained by the legendary D. Wayne Lukas, Pleasantly Perfect was peaking at the absolute right time, and Ghostzapper posted the fastest time of 1:59.02 as one of the greatest horses of the modern era.

Of the Classics run at Churchill, none of the winners had their final prep in New York and only one was coming off a California effort. Two won from the Chicago area, Concern parlayed a second at Louisiana Downs to victory and Alysheba won one for the Sopranos crew coming off a win at the Meadowlands in Jersey.

Remember, winning promotes winning. Four of the five Classic winners at Churchill were coming off a victory