DEL MAR, Calif. – I was talking last weekend to a friend of long standing, an outstanding handicapper and avid racing historian, about the Breeders’ Cup. Almost immediately, the conversation turned to Arrogate, of whom we were of similar minds.

Del Mar
Weather: Cloudy
Temp.: 62
Main track:
Fast Turf: Firm

DEL MAR, Calif. – The gang’s all here at Del Mar for the Breeders’ Cup, including the two major players in the main event, the $6 million Classic, defending champion Arrogate and Gun Runner, both of whom were out on the track early Wednesday morning.

KEY CONTENDERS
Arrogate, by Unbridled’s Song
Last 3 Beyers: 114-85-N/A
◗ Although he lost the Pacific Classic, his Beyer Figure was still strong. The question is if, seven months since his last brilliant race, he can regain top form for his career finale, but Baffert is not one to try something like this on a lark.

:: BREEDERS’ CUP 2017: Fields, odds, comments, and more

DEL MAR, Calif. – Some Breeders’ Cup fans are expecting a freak show when the sixth race rolls around Saturday at Del Mar. Others will shade to the skeptical side when attempting to somehow beat Unique Bella, whose freakish exploits will make her a heavy favorite in the Grade 1, $1 million BC Filly and Mare Sprint.

DEL MAR, Calif. – A lot can happen in seven months. From the time Arrogate and Gun Runner last met in March in the Dubai World Cup until they face another anew on Saturday in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar, an entire baseball season was played, champions were crowned in hockey and basketball, and Roger Federer won a record eighth title at Wimbledon.

Arrogate overcame a horrible start to beat Gun Runner in the World Cup, but since then, he has lost both his starts, while Gun Runner has never been better, winning three straight Grade 1 races.

DEL MAR, Calif. – The much-anticipated rubber match between archrivals Lady Aurelia and Marsha will take place Saturday, not down the straights of York or Ascot but around the tight turns of the Del Mar turf course in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.

Lady Aurelia and Marsha are the only females among the dozen horses entered for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, which will be decided at five furlongs after being run at 6 1/2 over the unique downhill course at Santa Anita in 2016.

There are horses in the Breeders’ Cup that are perfectly suited to the race conditions, with Lady Eli in the Filly and Mare Turf being perhaps the clearest example, having compiled a 3-for-3 record at that race’s distance of 1 1/8 miles on grass. And then there are the Breeders’ Cup “tweeners” – those that appear to be running between their preferred distances, or are simply competing under circumstances under which their form is not established.

Here is a look at a number of these tweeners in an effort to determine if they are contenders or pretenders.

The early pick five (races 1-5) at Del Mar Friday has its own intrigue before the Breeders’ Cup feeding frenzy begins. It also provides an opportunity to bolster your bankroll for the championship races.

Race 1

DEL MAR, Calif. – Only a protest at a suburban racecourse in Paris last weekend has been able to interrupt Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien’s record year of wins in Grade 1 or Group 1 races.

O’Brien won his 26th race at the highest level at Doncaster Racecourse on Oct. 29 in England with Saxon Warrior in the Racing Post Trophy for 2-year-olds, surpassing the late Bobby Frankel’s 2003 record of 25 Grade 1 or Group 1 wins.

Racing has always been a game of association for Don Robinson of Winter Quarter Farm. He bred Cambodia, a fourth-generation member of a Thoroughbred family he has worked with, in partnership with late friend Eric Kronfeld, best known as the breeder of Zenyatta. Robinson now races Cambodia in partnership with Alan Schubert, who bought in after Kronfeld’s death.