Breeders Cup Classic Betting Preview Part 1

The provisional draw for the 2012 Breeders' Cup Classic, a 1m2f race that carries a hefty $5,000,000 purse, has been conducted at Santa Anita racetrack and we've got 14 of the finest colts and geldings you'll find anywhere looking to contest this world-beating race. We'll be taking a look through each of the entries and also having a gander at which sites are offering up the best prices on certain horses. There's a lot to like about this race and Santa Anita will be hosting the next iteration of the Breeders' Cup as well.

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The surface has been favouring speed since it's opening weekend at the end of September. The main dirt course (which was synthetic the last time the Breeders' Cup was held here) along with the two turf courses have been giving advantages to front-running sorts who can pace themselves out well. It remains to be seen what the weather will be like in Arcadia during the two-day event but most are predicting fast and firm as usual.

Godolphin's Alpha has drawn the #1 post and that's going to make up their mind for them in terms of tactics. He will definitely go to the front as opposed to being sat off the pace and it's more than likely that he will get top NY-based jock Ramon Dominguez for the trip. Alpha has not shipped yet and did not look up to par during his last effort – Grade 2 effort at Parx in the Pennsylvania Derby. He'll need to step it up in a big way and get a few breaks in the race as well.

Bookmakers have Alpha floating around 25/1 at the moment and he will likely be a bit shorter than that on the board, but not by much.

Brilliant Speed won' be vying for the early lead so that helps Alpha out a little bit. Drawn just to his outside in the #2 stall, the Albertrani-trained son of Dynaformer is a bit of a wiseguy choice for some observers of American racing. He hasn't really won in a while, though he has been competing at the highest level and getting unlucky along the way.

He'll be switching back to the dirt from a heavily turf-focused campaign over the past year and some will expect him to improve off a nearly two-month freshening.

There is some serious variance in his price – he is listed at 16/1 with Ladbrokes while he's at 33/1 with William Hill. Most other books have him in the 20/1-25/1 range.