California Chrome, Arrogate take spotlight at Breeders’ Cup

For horse racing fans, the two-day Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita Park is our World Series.

Thirteen races will be run Friday and Saturday with combined purses of $28.5 million. Championships in almost every division will be settled on the track.

Since the draw on Monday, a few horses have been scratched. The most important one is Lord Nelson, who was the morning-line favorite in the Sprint. Another Sprint scratch was Joking, so the race is now reduced to seven horses.

California Chrome (1-1) in the Classic might be the shortest-priced favorite. He is unbeaten in six starts this year and has increased his career earnings to more than $13.4 million.

In the opinion of many insiders and handicappers, Arrogate (5-2) has the best chance to upset California Chrome. In his last start on Aug. 27, Arrogate won the Travers at Saratoga in track-record time. If this 3-year-old can duplicate that effort for trainer Bob Baffert, he would test the mettle of California Chrome.

The Distaff on Friday’s card has drawn a lot of interest because of the depth of the field. Three-year-old filly Songbird (6-5) is favored over her elders — Beholder (5-2) and Stellar Wind (5-2). All three already are Eclipse Award champions.

Songbird raises an age-old question in horse racing handicapping about projecting how fast she will run Friday. Her best speed figures are below that of Beholder and Stellar Wind. But in almost all of Songbird’s 11 wins, she has won easily and eased up.

We know for sure how fast Beholder and Stellar Wind are. They dueled in the Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch and Zenyatta, with Stellar Wind winning both races. They are fast and mature females who clearly will provide Songbird with the toughest test of her career.

If you are interested in my Breeders’ Cup analysis, there are two ways to get it. My daily handicap sheet is available for $6 at racedaylasvegas.com. I also wrote in-depth reports for brisnet.com, with the cost $20 per day per report.

TVG

An issue came up this week that was disturbing to horse racing fans. The Paulick Report broke a story about a marketing deal between the Breeders’ Cup and TwinSpires, an advance deposit wagering company owned by Churchill Downs Inc.

It was first reported that a clause in the contract would have prevented TVG from televising any of the Santa Anita undercard races, the non-Breeders’ Cup races. The 13 Breeders’ Cup races are exclusive to be shown on NBC Sports.

This caused a huge uproar in the industry, with most fingers pointed at TwinSpires and CDI. Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed, and TVG will be allowed to show the non-Breeders’ Cup races.

I think the wrong party is being blamed. TwinSpires and CDI are major sponsors of the Breeders’ Cup and were negotiating for the best deal.

It’s up to the Breeders’ Cup to protect its brand, the industry and the fans. It should have been looking out for us, because without the fans, there is no sport.

Richard Eng’s horse racing column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. You can buy his Santa Anita picks at www.racedaylasvegas.com. Contact him at rich_eng@hotmail.com and follow @richeng4propick on Twitter.