In a review of this year’s key Breeders’ Cup prep races, I was struck how some were noticeably stronger in terms of Beyer Speed Figures than those last year for the same Breeders’ Cup events, and how others were markedly weaker. While I’m certain one could find similar variances every year over the preceding year, this information still provides an interesting snapshot of the relative strength of some of this year’s Breeders’ Cup divisions in comparison to last year, and is worth imparting. Here's a look at Breeders’ Cup races that, in my view, had stronger or weaker preps this year compared to last year. Four Breeders’ Cup races fell into each category. STRONGER PREPS Dirt Mile: The three preps with the most impact going into this Dirt Mile are the Pacific Classic, the Kelso Handicap, and the Met Mile. Now, the first two finishers in the Pacific Classic, which received a 115 Beyer, are not Dirt Mile-bound, but third-place finisher Accelerate (110 Beyer) is . So is Sharp Azteca, who won the Kelso with a 112 Beyer, and Mor Spirit, who won the Met Mile with a 117 Beyer. These races are substantially stronger than the three key preps going into last year’s Dirt Mile, which were the Awesome Again, won by Classic runner-up California Chrome with a 112 Beyer; the Pennsylvania Derby, 103 Beyer; and the Ack Ack Handicap, 91 Beyer. Juvenile Fillies: The Chandelier, won by Moonshine Memories with an 86 Beyer; the Frizette, won by Separationofpowers with an 86 Beyer; and the Alcibiades, won by Heavenly Love with an 80 Beyer, are the three most important preps for this race this year. All were stronger races than last year’s Chandelier (80 Beyer), Frizette (77 Beyer), and Alcibiades (73 Beyer), as well as last year’s Del Mar Debutante (81 Beyer). Sprint: Masochistic earned a 110 Beyer for winning last year’s Pat O’Brien, a key prep for the 2016 Sprint, and no Sprint prep this year has earned a figure quite as high. However, as a group, this year’s most important preps for the Sprint have been faster and stronger. Drefong’s 107 Beyer in the Forego; Roy H’s 106 Beyer in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship (knocked down from an initial 110 due to a disputed final time); Imperial Hint’s 109 in the Don LeVine Memorial; and Takaful’s 107 in the Vosburgh are clearly better than the winning Beyers last year of 103 in the Vosburgh, 103 in the King’s Bishop, 104 in the Phoenix, and 99 in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship. Classic: The jaw-dropping 122 Beyer that Arrogate brought into last year’s Classic from the Travers is, not surprisingly, unequalled this year. But like the Sprint, this year’s Classic preps, when taken as a whole and discounting a freakish figure such as Arrogate’s Travers, are still stronger. Collected’s winning 115 Beyer in the Pacific Classic over the Del Mar track, Gun Runner’s 115 Beyer in the Woodward, West Coast’s 107 Beyer in the Pennsylvania Derby, and (if he goes) Diversify’s 107 Beyer in the Jockey Club Gold Cup are across the board a significant notch better than the key preps going into last year’s Classic. And those preps were the Awesome Again (112 Beyer); Woodward (106 Beyer); and the Jockey Club Gold Cup (104 Beyer). :: Breeders' Cup PP packages: Get PPs, betting strategies, DRF+ Pro access, and more  WEAKER PREPS Juvenile Turf: This year, the key preps for this Breeders’ Cup event are the Zuma Beach, won by My Boy Jack with an 80 Beyer; the Del Mar Juvenile Turf, won by Encumbered with a Beyer that was very recently bumped up to a 79 from a 73; the Pilgrim, in which Seabhac recorded a winning Beyer of 75; and the Summer, won by Untamed Domain with a 75 Beyer. These races are substantially slower than the three most key preps going into last year’s Juvenile Turf. Those preps were the Summer, won by Good Samaritan with a 94 Beyer; the Zuma Beach, in which Big Score earned a winning Beyer of 83; and the Pilgrim, won by Oscar Performance with an 83 Beyer. But in fairness to this year’s group of Juvenile Turf aspirants, and with knowledge of what they went on to accomplish this year, it’s clear last year’s group was well above average. Juvenile Fillies Turf: By far, the strongest and most impressive prep for this race this year was Wednesday’s Jessamine, which was won in dominating fashion by Rushing Fall with an 84 Beyer. The only two other races that could be construed as key preps are the Miss Grillo, won by Significant Form with a 78 Beyer; and the Natalma, won by Capla Temptress with a Beyer of only 71. These races are simply not as strong as last year’s most important Juvenile Fillies Turf preps, which were the Jessamine (86 Beyer); Natalma (83 Beyer); Surfer Girl (74 Beyer); and the Miss Grillo (83 Beyer). Turf: We all know that in this Breeders’ Cup division, as is the case historically with all Breeders’ Cup races run on turf, many of the preps with the most impact are run in Europe. But the three races run on these shores this year that could be classified as key Turf preps were the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, which Beach Patrol won in a romp with a 109 Beyer; the John Henry Turf Championship, won by Itsinthepost with a 102 Beyer; and the Sword Dancer, which had a winning Beyer of 105, and which is a key prep in the sense that losses in it by two European shippers flagged the surprising struggles European shippers have had here this year. These races were not quite up to the standards of last year’s key U.S. preps for the turf: the Sword Dancer (112 Beyer), the Joe Hirsch (106 Beyer), and the John Henry (102 Beyer). Filly & Mare Sprint: As exciting as Unique Bella is, and she is sensational, she and the others pointing to this Breeders’ Cup race just haven’t run all that fast in their key preps. While it was certainly a number she can improve on since she was coming off a long layoff and clearly wasn’t cranked up for her best, Unique Bella got a 96 Beyer winning the LA Woman; Skye Diamonds earned a 97 Beyer winning the Rancho Bernardo over the Del Mar track; Finley’sluckycharm received a 94 Beyer in her win in the TCA Stakes; and By the Moon got a 94 in winning the Ballerina. These figures fall shy of the winning 99 Beyers in what turned out to be the two most important preps going into last year’s F&M Sprint – the Ballerina and the Cotillion.