by Tom Law

The $5-million Breeders’ Cup Classic Powered by Dodge (G1) will deliver on its promise to determine North America’s Horse of the Year when a stellar field of nine contests the headline event of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships on Saturday at Monmouth Park.

Led by classic winners Street Sense and Curlin, the leaders of one of the most talented crops of three-year-old males in recent years, and the continent’s leading older runner Lawyer Ron, the 1 1/4-mile Classic will be run at 5:35 p.m. EDT. The Classic is part of a two-day, 11-race program worth $23-million.

Rarely does a race with such hype months before it is even run deliver on its promise as a stellar showdown, but this year’s Classic fits the bill as a true championship event with all of the year’s major players in the field.

“The great thing about the Breeders’ Cup Classic is that anyone that is involved in it is in the hunt for championship honors,” said trainer Todd Pletcher, who will saddle 5-to-2 morning-line favorite Lawyer Ron and Haskell Invitational Handicap (G1) winner and 4-to-1 fourth choice Any Given Saturday.

Street Sense, winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) and Travers Stakes (G1) at the 1 1/4-mile distance, and Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Curlin were both pegged at 3-to-1 and figure to vie for favoritism based on their classic campaigns. Street Sense and Curlin will also meet for the first time since Curlin won the Preakness by a head on May 19.

“Going into the race the respect that these horses have is warranted,” said Curlin’s trainer Steve Asmussen, who is winless in six Breeders’ Cup starts. “They have been very good all year and they held up their end of the bargain. It is the first year, I guess, that the top three finishers of the Derby will run back in the Classic, and then you have Lawyer Ron the older horse as the starting favorite.”

“What surprises me is that it has been a good two-year-old crop and a good three-year-old crop,” said Street Sense’s trainer Carl Nafzger, who won the Classic in 1990 with Kentucky Derby winner Unbridled. “They just stayed. You look back and they beat each other and they beat each other, but none of them really threw in a bad race. That is what makes them so good.”

Hard Spun, second in the Kentucky Derby and winner over Street Sense in the Kentucky Cup Classic Handicap (G2) last time out, and Goodwood Stakes (G1) winner Tiago complete the quintet of three-year-olds. The five sophomores entered in the Classic collectively won eight Grade 1 stakes events this season.

Three-year-olds have performed extremely well against their older counterparts in the 23 editions of the Classic, with victories by Proud Truth in 1985, Sunday Silence in ‘89, Unbridled in '90, A.P. Indy in ’92, Concern in ’94, Cat Thief in ’99, and Tiznow in 2000. Three-year-olds swept the first four spots in both 1994 in 2000.

Tom Law is managing editor of Thoroughbred Times

The field, in post-position order, with (sire), jockey, weight, trainer, and morning-line odds:

1. Lawyer Ron (Langfuhr), John R. Velazquez, 126, Todd A. Pletcher, 5-to-2;

2. Street Sense (Street Cry [IRE]), Calvin H. Borel, 121, Carl A. Nafzger, 3-to-1;

3. Any Given Saturday (Distorted Humor), Garrett K. Gomez, 121, Todd A. Pletcher, 4-to-1;

4. Curlin (Smart Strike), Robby Albarado, 121, Steven M. Asmussen, 3-to-1;

5. George Washington [IRE] (Danehill), Michael J. Kinane, 126, Aidan P. O'Brien, 20-to-1;

6. Awesome Gem (Awesome Again), David Romero Flores, 126, Craig Dollase, 30-to-1;

7. Diamond Stripes (Notebook), Cornelio H. Velasquez, 126, Richard E. Dutrow, Jr., 15-to-1;

8. Hard Spun (Danzig), Mario G. Pino, 121, J. Larry Jones, 8-to-1; and

9. Tiago (Pleasant Tap), Mike E. Smith, 121, John A. Shirreffs, 12-to-1.