Few things are certain in horse racing. One of the virtual certainties is that the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, which leads off the Friday slate as the newest race in the club, will have a full starting gate. The Juvenile Turf Sprint has gone with the maximum number of starters each year since its addition to the program in 2018, and each year also has had multiple horses excluded. At Del Mar on Oct. 31, the race will be limited to 12 starters. There were 22 pre-entrants for the race that were revealed Wednesday. The Breeders’ Cup sorts out overflow fields of pre-entries with a three-tiered field selection system based first on Win and You’re In victories in Breeders’ Cup Challenge races; then a point system; and finally, a judgment panel. The “also-eligible” pre-entrants excluded from the main body of the field at this time are then ranked in order of preference by the panel. :: BREEDERS’ CUP JUVENILE TURF SPRINT: See DRF’s special section with top contenders, odds, comments, news, and more At this stage, horses are permitted to pre-enter two races, with final entries taken next Monday. Those on the bubble will thus be anxiously watching the decisions of the cross-entered horses for this year’s Juvenile Turf Sprint. True Love, winner of the Group 1 Cheveley Park in her last outing, has second preference in the Juvenile Fillies Turf, but trainer Aidan O’Brien has already indicated that the filly will remain at a sprint distance for the Breeders’ Cup. She is, in fact, the early 7-2 favorite on the line of Daily Racing Form’s David Aragona. Outfielder, trained by Wesley Ward, has first preference in the Juvenile Turf, and Brussels, trained by O’Brien, has second preference in that race. Both have made the main body of the field for both the Juvenile Turf Sprint and Juvenile Turf, and thus control their own destiny. Much will hinge on the decisions made by Ward with Outfielder. After the colt won a dirt sprint allowance Oct. 4 at Keeneland, Ward said he would keep him on dirt and likely stretch him out. The colt is currently entered in the Bowman Mill Stakes sprinting on dirt Saturday at Keeneland. The other cross-entered runner is Japanese-based Switch in Love, who is seventh on the preference list of the excluded but is in the main body of the field for her second-preference race, the Juvenile Fillies Turf, and appears more likely to wind up there. :: Get Breeders' Cup Betting Strategies from Brad Free and David Aragona for exclusive wager recommendations and play the races with confidence! Regardless of his decision with Outfielder, Ward will have a prominent candidate for the Juvenile Turf Sprint with Schwarzenegger, winner of the Indian Summer at Keeneland. He also has Should’ve, Rogue Legend, and Bacio currently on the outside looking in. Ward won three of the first four runnings of the Juvenile Turf Sprint, with Four Wheel Drive (2019), Golden Pal (2020), and Twilight Gleaming (2021). Golden Pal and Twilight Dreaming had both raced in Europe, and Twilight Gleaming was coming directly off a French run in August. The past three years following that filly’s win, this race has been won by European-based juveniles. Joining True Love and Brussels as European shippers currently in the main body of this field are Aspect Island, Havana Anna, and Mission Central. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.