There is much on the line in the Breeders’ Cup, not the least of which are year-end championships. Here’s a look at one man’s opinion of the Eclipse Award scenarios going into this Breeders’ Cup. TWO-YEAR-OLD FEMALES – The Juvenile Fillies is very often a huge determinant when it comes to this divisional title, and it is likely to be once again. Moonshine Memories, already with Grade 1 victories in the Chandelier and Del Mar Debutante, is the divisional leader going into the Breeders’ Cup and would be a slam-dunk champion with another win in the Juvenile Fillies. But Separationofpowers, the winner of the Grade 1 Frizette, or Heavenly Love, the winner of the Grade 1 Alcibiades, could grab the title with a Breeders’ Cup win. If there is an upset in the Juvenile Fillies, a lot could depend on how this big three performs in defeat. TWO-YEAR-OLD MALES – Bolt d’Oro was so sensational in winning the Grade 1 FrontRunner (on the heels of a win in the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity) that he is the divisional leader by a wide margin. If he wins the Juvenile, he might be a unanimous champion, or close to it. If Bolt d’Oro loses but runs very well in defeat, I suspect his championship candidacy would remain alive, depending on who the upset winner is. That’s how much of a divisional edge I sense he currently holds. If someone of some prominence other than Bolt d’Oro wins (such as Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity winner Free Drop Billy, for example), and Bolt d’Oro does not run well, the Juvenile alone could determine the title. Or, it could kick the can down the road to the late-season 2-year-old stakes. THREE-YEAR-OLD FILLIES – This is one of the most interesting Eclipse Award divisions going into the Breeders’ Cup. Despite her loss in the Cotillion, Abel Tasman is still the ranking 3-year-old filly on the strength of Grade 1 wins in the Kentucky Oaks, Acorn, and CCA Oaks – races that have an undeniable championship ring to them. However, second-half pushes by Elate, the winner of the Grade 1 Alabama and Grade 1 Beldame, and Paradise Woods, the winner of the Grade 1 Zenyatta and the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks early in the year, have put each in the position of, with a win in the Distaff, possibly snatching the divisional championship away from Abel Tasman. A Distaff win would give Elate or Paradise Woods the same number of Grade 1 wins on the year as Abel Tasman and, perhaps more importantly, two wins over older opponents to no wins for Abel Tasman over her elders. THREE-YEAR-OLD MALES – This division is already wrapped up. West Coast, the emphatic winner of the Grade 1 Travers and Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby, will be the Eclipse Award winner here regardless of what happens in the Breeders’ Cup. :: Breeders' Cup PP packages: Get PPs, betting strategies, DRF+ Pro access, and more  OLDER FEMALES – With Songbird retired, Stellar Wind is the clear active leader in this division. Stellar Wind is 3 for 3 this year, all in Grade 1 races – the Apple Blossom, Beholder Mile, and Clement L. Hirsch. She could lose the Distaff but still take the divisional title with a good effort, or take it with an effort not so good, depending on how Forever Unbridled performs. But if Forever Unbridled, who is 2 for 2 this year, including a victory over Songbird in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign, runs big in victory and Stellar Wind does not run well, it’s easy to envision Forever Unbridled swaying the Eclipse Award electorate. OLDER DIRT MALES – I will admit that I don’t understand how some otherwise-reasonable people see this division. Arrogate and Gun Runner ran against each other in the Dubai World Cup – yes, I know it was last March and on the other side of the world, but still … – and anyone who watched that race must know that with the way Arrogate, who had an absolutely awful trip, ran by Gun Runner, who had an absolutely perfect trip, as though Gun Runner was chained to the sixteenth pole, Arrogate was on a substantially higher level than Gun Runner, and everyone else. Yet for a while now, the weekly NTRA poll has had Gun Runner ranked over Arrogate. Okay, I know Arrogate has shockingly lost two straight since Dubai, while Gun Runner has reeled off three straight Grade 1 romps. But even if Arrogate isn’t the same horse and Gun Runner is markedly improved, that does not in any way invalidate what happened in Dubai. Dubai happened! But Gun Runner still consistently garners more NTRA poll votes than Arrogate, and that is why I say I don’t get how some folks read this division. The good thing is that the Classic will settle this. If Arrogate (who, don’t forget, also romped in the inaugural Pegasus World Cup early this year) wins, he’ll be the champion older dirt male and Horse of the Year. If Gun Runner wins, he’ll be champion older dirt male and Horse of the Year. If Collected wins, his championship aspirations might depend on how he wins. But if Collected, who also upset the Grade 1 Pacific Classic over Arrogate, wins the Classic reasonably decisively, it would make him 5 for 5 on the year and give him two straight wins over Arrogate. Gun Runner, as terrific as he is, is 0 for 2 in his career against Arrogate. TURF FEMALES – One might think the turf divisions are dependent on how the European shippers perform in the Breeders’ Cup turf races. But as we saw last year when Highland Reel wired Flintshire in the Turf, handing him his second straight defeat, and Flintshire still got the divisional title, the Eclipse Award electorate seems reluctant to reward one-start Euro shippers. Moreover, as has been documented in this space several times in recent weeks, European shippers this year have surprisingly struggled in North America’s big turf races. That said, I don’t think there is a racing person on this continent, save for the connections who will run against her, who doesn’t want the remarkable Lady Eli to come away with an Eclipse Award. The good news is that Lady Eli comes into the Filly and Mare Turf the clear leader in her division. While some of her contemporaries have managed to knock out one big win each, Lady Eli has put together three straight graded stakes victories, two of them Grade 1s, and was beaten a head in a Grade 1 race in her only other start this year. Lady Eli, who was nosed in last year’s Filly and Mare Turf, likely only has to run well in defeat to get her elusive Eclipse Award. If she wins, she’s a cinch. TURF MALES – The same caveat noted at the top of the Female Turf section applies here, too. With that in mind, and considering the male turf division has been largely uninspiring this year, I’m not sure we’ll have a thoroughly satisfying champion in this division. Unless, that is, Beach Patrol dominates the Turf the way he ran away with the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, which, combined with his victory in the Grade 1 Arlington Million, makes him the divisional leader going into the Breeders’ Cup. Short of that, it might take a really special performance from a European shipper to allow an Eclipse Award voter to make a choice in this division that he can feel truly good about. FEMALE SPRINTERS – As much as any Breeders’ Cup race, the Filly and Mare Sprint will have a profound role in determining the champion of its corresponding division. Unique Bella will be a strong favorite off the enormous potential she showed in ripping off three straight stakes victories early in her 3-year-old campaign, her easy win over older opponents in her recent comeback in the L.A. Woman Stakes, and her seemingly unlimited upside. Yet as much of a clear favorite as Unique Bella will be in the Breeders’ Cup, she must win to secure the championship. The cold facts are that the only sprint-stakes wins Unique Bella shows this year are one Grade 2 and one Grade 3. Parity has been the word for this year’s older female sprinters. With her most important victories coming in the Madison and Humana Distaff, Paulassilverlining stands as the only one in this division with two Grade 1 sprint wins this year. It should be noted, however, that those victories came in the first half of the campaign, and Paulassilverlining was not good in Saratoga’s Ballerina in her most recent appearance, leaving the divisional-title door wide open. MALE SPRINTERS – As is the case with their female counterparts, the Breeders’ Cup Sprint is an all-in showdown for the male sprint Eclipse Award. Drefong, the winner of the Grade 1 Forego (and last year’s Sprint winner and male sprint champ); Roy H, the winner of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Sprint Championship; and Mind Your Biscuits, the winner of the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen (as well as the Grade 2 Belmont Sprint Championship), are first in line and, with a win of reasonable clarity in the Sprint, would be perfectly fine champions. But Ransom the Moon, who won the eventful Grade 1 Bing Crosby, in which the riderless Drefong hampered Roy H; Takaful, the upset winner of a so-so Grade 1 Vosburgh; or Imperial Hint, who has no Grade 1 wins but has romped in five straight, would, with a big Breeders’ Cup win, make serious cases for a championship.