According to Jerry Bossert of the Daily News, imagine the Yankees taking the field tonight with Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez on the bench.

      That’s this year’s Breeders’ Cup.

       Super filly Rachel Alexandra and Europe’s best, Sea the Stars, along with Indian Blessing, Fabulous Strike, Macho Again, Hot Dixie Chick, Jackson Bend and Dublin will all be in their stalls Friday and Saturday when the Breeders’ Cup is contested for the 25th time.

      “Artificial surfaces,” said Hall of Fame trainer Wayne Lukas, on why many horses will pass on the riches being offered in the Cup.

      The Breeders’ Cup will once again be run on the synthetic Pro-Ride surface of Santa Anita, the same surface that arguably caused the defeat of Horse of the Year Curlin last year.

      “Artificial surfaces are just too unpredictable,” said Lukas, who will pass on the event for only the second time in its history. “You’ll see some real reversals of form.

        ”It’s not a good race track,” said Lukas, who tops the Breeders’ Cup in winners and purses won. “It makes good horses average and average horses good.”

        Lukas isn’t the only trainer or jockey who has publicly come out against synthetics; even John Shirreffs, who trains Zenyatta, doesn’t like it. Zenyatta has won all 13 of her career starts, with 12 coming over synthetics.

       Earlier this year, Shirreffs told the Daily News he “hates” the synthetic tracks and said during a teleconference on Wednesday that he didn’t even want to discuss the topic.

      Lukas trains the promising 2-year-old Dublin, who won the Grade I Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga in September, and he won’t take a chance racing his colt on the artificial surface.

      “To take a young 2-year-old like mine and subject him to that, it just doesn’t make sense,” said the four-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer.

       It’s a costly decision: Lukas will pass on the $2 million purse of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and instead keep Dublin on the dirt today in the $100,000 Iroquois Stakes at Churchhill Downs before a start in the $150,000 Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill on Nov. 28.

      “If I don’t run in the Breeders’ Cup he doesn’t have to run on artificial surfaces the rest of his life,” Lukas said of Dublin. “He never has to and as long as I make the decisions he never will.”

       Despite the defections, the Breeders’ Cup did get a boost when Shirreffs revealed that Zenyatta will more than likely take on the boys in Saturday’s $5 million Classic rather than go in Friday’s $2 million Ladies Classic.

      A decision will be made on Tuesday, when entries are taken for all 14 Breeders’ Cup races.

       “I think she’s a great draw in either place,” Lukas said. “She’s got home-field advantage. She’s one of the bright spots for the Breeders’ Cup, but they missed out on not getting her to race against Rachel (Alexandra). The artificial surfaces undid that.”

       Zenyatta breezed six furlongs in 1:12.40 yesterday at Hollywood Park, her final work before the Cup.

       “She’s a nice mare and they want to show her credentials,” said Tim Ice, trainer of  Belmont and Travers winner Summer Bird. “This is the race she can do it in. Whether she is good enough remains to be seen. When you’re talking $5 million and you’re good enough to compete that’s what you do. You want to try and win the money.”

  BREEDERS’ CUP VIRTUAL EXPERIENCE

        PRWEB reports, attending the Breeders’ Cup World Championships has always been special for both the real horse racing enthusiast and the more casual racing fan. Each year, the Breeders’ Cup tries to enhance the horse racing fan’s experience by providing more opportunities for fans to become deeply involved in racing’s most prestigious event. This year, Breeders’ Cup and the Oak Tree Racing Association are offering a fun and engaging virtual jockey experience for real prizes. All fans attending the 2009 Breeders’ Cup World Championships, Friday, November 6, and Saturday, November 7, at Santa Anita Park are invited to participate in this virtual jockey contest.

       Horse Racing Simulation’s state-of-the-art horse racing software program allows fans the opportunity to ride their favorite 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic contender in full-3D on 41-inch plasma screens. Over 100 of each contender’s traits and attributes are replicated to provide the most realistic simulation of this premier event possible. Trophies will be awarded on both Friday and Saturday for the fans winning with the fastest race times.

     The Breeders’ Cup Virtual Jockey Challenge will take place in the breezeway south of the Kingsbury Fountain on the grandstand side between the paddock and racetrack.

      ”Giving the fans the opportunity to interact with top champions in a way never done before at any horse racing venue, let alone the prestigious Breeders’ Cup Championships, is definitely exciting, ” said Mike Calderone, CEO of Horse Racing Simulation. “The more engaged the fans are in every aspect, the better it is for the sport of horse racing in general, and we’re excited that Breeders’ Cup Ltd feels the same way.”

       “Providing the best two days in racing is what the Championships are all about, and anything we can do to further enhance a fan’s experience at the track is important to us. We expect the fans to really enjoy this fun, entertaining addition to our event. We look at it as entertaining and educational, as well,” said Peter Rotondo, Breeders’ Cup Vice President of Media and Entertainment.

 About Horse Racing Simulation LLC

      Horse Racing Simulation LLC has been providing virtual horse racing programs for over ten years and owns and operates the world’s most widely distributed horse racing game and largest virtual online racing community, http://www.horseracegame.com. Horse Racing Simulation LLC also develops custom, branded horse racing games, including since 2007, the Breeders’ Cup horse racing game, which can be found at http://www.breederscupgame.com. Visit our corporate site at www.horseracingisfun.com.

IS ZENYATTA THE ONE TO BEAT?

      Steve Bortstein of the Daily Times had this offering about the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

    It only took 13 races. Nearly two years of unsurpassed perfection and the prospect of snatching the Horse of the Year title away from Rachel Alexandra was all Zenyatta’s connections needed to make the choice for this weekend’s Breeders’ Cup spectacular.

      Trainer John Shirreffs ended the suspense by announcing his intent to run the undefeated race mare against the boys in Saturday’s Grade 1, $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.

       Zenyatta’s entire career has consisted of beating up on her own sex, but after seeing the mare in her final workout before the two-day event at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Shirreffs apparently knew he had the right horse for the 1 1/4 mile Classic, the richest race in North America.

     “She’s peaking for this race,” Shirreffs told the Daily Racing Form over the weekend after watching Zenyatta work six furlongs in 1 minute, 12.4 seconds under regular jockey Mike Smith. “She’s done very well. I was so deliberate about it because you want to make sure everything is right when you’re doing something like this. You want her to be peaking. Horses give you telltale signs — their coat turns, things like that. There was no reason to be premature about it. You might as well wait and see how the horse is.”

     Really?

     It took a workout to make this choice? The fast time and the shine of her coat made this choice easier?

     This was a no-brainer from the time Zenyatta crossed the wire a deceptively easy 1 1-4 length winner in the Lady’s Secret Handicap at Santa Anita last month in her final prep race for the Breeders’ Cup, which will be held over two days Friday and Saturday and for the second year in a row will be run at the prestigious southern California racetrack.

     Zenyatta has made short work of her own sex for roughly the last 18 months. She is undefeated in 13 starts, has earned well over $2.7 million for her owners Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Moss, and perhaps is best at Santa Anita, where her average margin of victory has been 2 lengths in her four starts over the synthetic surface.

     But she has faced her own kind exclusively, and for that, she’s been well-rewarded but also been the subject of scrutiny by racing observers who wonder how she would fare against males, on arguably the biggest stage in this sport’s calendar year.

      “Win or lose, she’s a major attraction,” said noted racing handicapper Bruce Finkelstein. “The casual racing fan can appreciate the story and her presence in the race makes the entire weekend something special.”

     Alright, I’ll admit it. I’m a little excited about Zenyatta’s presence in the Classic. It will be the first time she’ll face males, she’s going to be asked to go further than she’s ever raced in her career, and a win in the Classic would cement her legacy as perhaps the greatest filly to have ever raced.

      “I think it’s unprecedented what she’s trying to do,” Finkelstein said. “The strength of this Classic field isn’t that strong, she loves the track and the only real question is how she’ll handle the extra distance.”

      Indeed, there are no monsters in this year’s edition of the Classic. Summer Bird may be the hottest horse coming into the race, but he’s never run over a synthetic surface. Mine That Bird, trained by Bloomfield’s Chip Woolley, hasn’t won a race since his historic upset in the Kentucky Derby last May and has run poorly in his only two races over the Santa Anita course. Gio Ponti has raced almost exclusively on turf this year, his only non-turf race in 2009 was a fifth place finish in the Strub Stakes earlier this year at Santa Anita.

      Throw in the inconsistent Einstein and another California favorite Colonel John, and you have a field that looks imposing on paper, but not necessarily competition you’d avoid.

      My handicapping agenda this week is simple. In addition to finding winners in the other 14 races that will make up horse racing’s biggest weekend, I will be trying to beat Zenyatta.

      Don’t get me wrong. I like a good story.

      But I like beating a vulnerable favorite, and I think that’s exactly what Zenyatta could be, if she gets all the wagering attention that I think she’ll receive.

      In addition to the Classic, there are some very compelling matchups in many of the other championship races this weekend at Santa Anita. Racing fans will be treated to a great opportunity to see some of the world’s best horses compete for the biggest purse money in the world.

     Good luck at the races.

   OK, there’s another opinion on the BC Classic. I hope you’re putting your selections together so you can send them in this Friday. Remember, this is for the Breeders’ Cup Classic only.

    I’ll post a blog Thursday, with links to all the horses last race, so you can watched them run if you haven’t already.

     It’s just for fun, so take a few minutes and send me picks by the comment portion of this blog. Thanks.