In a year marred by late scratches and tragic breakdowns, this year’s Breeders’ Cup fell prey to similar unfortunate events Tuesday. Arcangelo, a frontrunner for Horse of the Year and a favorite in the Classic, was scratched due to an issue with his left hind foot, while Dirt Mile contender Practical Move died suddenly during a training gallop in what was believed to be a cardiac event.

But the races, to be held at Santa Anita this Friday and Saturday, will go on. And despite the absence of some fine horses, the Breeders’ Cup will once again deliver an embarrassment of riches for horse bettors across 14 $1 million-plus races, including the $6 million Classic.

Every single field is stocked with thoroughbreds who would be overwhelming favorites in almost any other race. For this tournament of champions, US Bets‘ horse racing bureau, populated by Matt Rybaltowski and Mike Seely, provides you with a compass for a trio of key contests.

Matt Rybaltowski: Ordinarily, my pick for the Classic would be Ushba Tesoro (4/1 on the morning line). The Japanese superstar enters the race with six straight wins, including a victory from the clouds in the $12 million Dubai World Cup. But Santa Anita is a speed-favoring track, as rallies such as the one from Zenyatta in the 2009 Classic are typically an outlier.

Arabian Knight, the 3/1 favorite, will likely be forwardly placed, but he drew an outside post from the No. 12 gate. Flavien Prat will need to break alertly and guide the Pacific Classic champion toward the rail with Saudi Crown and Derma Sotogake to his inside. Beset by an outside post in the Kentucky Derby, Derma Sotogake fell back to the middle of the pack. On Saturday, the 3-year-old from Japan has a better shot of darting to the front.

A speed duel may be the perfect recipe for Zandon (12/1), who prefers to stalk the lead. While Zandon has hit the board 12 times in 13 lifetime starts, he only owns three career victories. I expected him to go off at closer to 20/1, but the defections of Forte, Geaux Rocket Ride, and Mage pushed his odds down somewhat. 

A $20 wager on Zandon across the board will likely bring a nice return on investment, even if he doesn’t win. I’ll also play a 50-cent superfecta box with Zandon, Derma Sotogake, Arabian Knight, Ushba Tesoro, and White Abarrio. If White Abarrio replicates his performance in The Whitney, the rest of the field is running for second.

Mike Seely: While I appreciate the Baffert factor at Santa Anita, I think Arabian Knight is an incredibly undeserving favorite in the Classic. And I’d like Mike Repole‘s Bright Future a lot more if his morning line price were 20/1 instead of 10/1.

I understand your reservations about Ushba Tesoro’s running style, but here we have the most seasoned horse in the field at the absolute peak of his game who will probably be underbet. In a field full of uncertainty, he seems like the safest wager.

MR: At Monday’s draw, NBC Sports reporter Nick Luck gushed over the quality of the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf, a field that is arguably the deepest of the 14 races over the weekend. The stacked field includes Mostahdaf, Auguste Rodin, and Onesto, three highly regarded European shippers that have combined for six Grade 1 victories.

Major props to Up to the Mark trainer Todd Pletcher for not ducking the competition. Pletcher co-entered Up to the Mark in the Mile, but he opted for the Turf in taking on Europe’s best. Up to the Mark enters the race with three consecutive G1 victories, including a thrilling win in the Coolmore Turf Mile when he ran down Master of the Seas to prevail by a nose.

Pletcher noted at Monday’s draw that he’s proud of his horse for his transition to turf at the start of the year. Since making the switch from dirt, Up to the Mark has won five of six starts on turf. The Hall of Fame trainer was impressed most by his performance in the 10-furlong Manhattan, when he recorded a career-best 105 Beyer speed figure.

In a wide-open race for Horse of the Year honors, Up to the Mark is in the mix. An analyst from Horse Racing Nation predicts that European shippers will occupy each spot in Saturday’s superfecta. But if Up to the Mark pulls off the upset at 5/1, he may receive serious consideration for the Eclipse Award come January. 

MS: No disrespect to Up to the Mark, but my number one rule for handicapping Breeders’ Cup turf races is to immediately toss each and every horse that has raced primarily in America. Granted, this is not always a fruitful strategy, but the notion that the turf racing is superior on the other side of the pond is an extremely credible one.

I do, however, like a horse that’s shipped in and won a prestigious American turf race as a Breeders’ Cup prep, such as Bolshoi Ballet did in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer at Saratoga in August. The Aidan O’Brien-trained horse finished sixth in the BC Turf as a 3-year-old in 2021 at Del Mar, but his latest Beyer was 10 points quicker than in that race. He seems to be in fine form at age 5, and he offers considerable value at 15/1.

But my pick to win is King of Steel (4/1), a durable and improving 3-year-old who will be shipping in just two weeks after winning the Grade 1 Champion Stakes in soon-to-retire jockey Frankie Dettori’s final ride at Ascot.

Of all the horses in the BC Turf, King of Steel has the best opportunity to make a massive forward move. And, to be honest, sometimes you just have to put your money where your heart is and back the opportunity to witness a triumphant Dettori dismount one last time.

MR: The tragic death of Practical Move on Tuesday spoiled a much-hyped potential showdown with defending champion Cody’s Wish (9/5 morning line favorite) in the Dirt Mile.

Cody’s Wish is bidding to become the first horse to win the Dirt Mile in consecutive years since Goldencents in 2014. A contender for Horse of the Year, Cody’s Wish won six straight races at a mile or less before attempting to stretch out to 1 1/8 miles at the prestigious Whitney Stakes in August.

Unaccustomed to the added distance, Cody’s Wish ran a non-threatening third, defeated by 10 lengths. However, he returned to the winner’s circle at last month’s Grade 2 Vosburgh, cutting back to seven furlongs. The 5-year-old son of Curlin is named after Cody Dorman, a Kentucky teenager diagnosed with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, a rare genetic condition that renders him speechless. Dorman, who is bound to a wheelchair, can communicate through an electronic keyboard.

Dorman initially met the horse at a Gainsborough Farm tour arranged by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. When the unnamed horse came out of the stall with his mother Dance Card, Kelly Dorman, the teen’s father, had the right hunch. Instead of acting aggressively, the horse edged up to Cody’s legs and started sniffing around. He then stuck his head around the teen’s chest and laid his nose in his lap, forming an instant rapport.

“We weren’t expecting that at all. It was real neat,” the elder Dorman told US Bets in August, several hours before The Whitney. “I’ve been around animals all my life. I’ve seen connections like that, but not that quickly.”

The teenager is expected to attend the Breeders’ Cup on Saturday.

“Maybe it’ll give him a little extra motivation. … Sometimes in the past it seems like those two speak some type of language,” Kelly said of horse and son during a pre-Breeders’ Cup teleconference. “You can’t hear it, but you can certainly feel it and see it .”

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