Led by undefeated superstar Flightline, exciting 2-year-old prospect Cave Rock, sensational stablemates Nest and Malathaat, seven previous Breeders’ Cup winners, and 45 international-based runners, a total of 205 horses were pre-entered for the 14 races that make up the two-day Breeders’ Cup World Championships, to be held Nov. 4-5 at Keeneland. The 205 figure represents the largest number of individual pre-entrants since 2018 – the first year of the current 14-race format – when 221 were pre-entered for the two-day event, held at Churchill Downs. That year, there were 51 European-based runners pre-entered. :: Get access to Breeders' Cup Clocker Reports with our special VIP Package and save off the retail price. The list of pre-entrants includes six Breeders’ Cup winners from last year – Aloha West (Sprint), Ce Ce (Filly and Mare Sprint), Life Is Good (Dirt Mile), Golden Pal (Turf Sprint), Modern Games (Juvenile Turf) and Echo Zulu (Juvenile Fillies) – as well as 2020 upset Mile winner Order of Australia. Golden Pal in 2020 won the Juvenile Turf Sprint, But the undisputed star of the this Breeders’ Cup is Flightline, who has won all five of his starts by a combined 62 3/4 lengths. His dominance prompted Daily Racing Form’s Brad Free to install Flightline as the early 3-5 favorite in the $6 million Classic, the richest of the 14 Breeders’ Cup races, which offer $28 million in purses. The Classic, as expected, drew nine pre-entrants, though Cyberknife was also pre-entered in the $1 million Dirt Mile and is expected to run there provided there are no significant defections from the Classic. “Significant” translates to Flightline, who enters the Breeders’ Cup off a 19 1/4-length romp in the Grade 1, $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Sept. 3, answering any questions about his ability to get 1 1/4 miles, the distance of the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Flightline, trained by John Sadler, arrived in Kentucky Sunday following a stellar workout Saturday at Santa Anita. After a jog day Monday, Flightline galloped Tuesday and Wednesday and is expected to have his final workout for the Classic at 7:30 a.m. Saturday. “I won’t be looking to do too much,” Sadler said Tuesday from Kentucky. “Just a steady-type work.” Sadler said Flightline has settled in nicely to his new surroundings at Keeneland. :: BREEDERS’ CUP 2022: See DRF’s special section with top contenders, odds, comments, news, and more for each division “What’s good, and what is relaxing me, is we’re in early,” Sadler said. “Everything looks good; everything looks the same. No change is what I want.” Though there is talent in this Classic field, led by the 4-year-olds Life Is Good and Olympiad and 3-year-olds Epicenter and Taiba, Flightline could challenge Easy Goer (1-2 in 1989) as the shortest-priced favorite in the history of the Classic, which will be run for the 39th time. Easy Goer lost to Sunday Silence, who had twice beaten him during that year’s Triple Crown series. Odds-on choices to have won the Classic include American Pharoah (7-10 in 2015) and Cigar (7-10 in 1995). Beaten odds-on favorites in the Classic include California Chrome (second at 4-5 in 2016), Curlin (fourth at 4-5 in 2008), Cigar (third at .65-1 in 1996), Easy Goer, and Slew o’ Gold (third placed second at 3-5 in 1984). The expected Classic field with riders and in Free’s odds order is: Flightline (Flavien Prat, 3-5), Life Is Good (Irad Ortiz Jr., 5-1), Epicenter (Joel Rosario, 6-1), Taiba (Mike Smith, 8-1), Olympiad (Junior Alvarado, 15-1), Hot Rod Charlie (Tyler Gaffalione, 15-1), Rich Strike (Sonny Leon, 20-1), and Happy Saver (John Velazquez, 30-1). Free made Cyberknife (Florent Geroux) a 30-1 shot in the Classic and listed him as 4-1 third choice in the Dirt Mile. Rich Strike, the Kentucky Derby winner, was confirmed on Sunday as a starter for the Classic. On Tuesday, he worked five furlongs in 1:02.71 at Keeneland with trainer Eric Reed saying Wednesday that he may not have another work before the race. “I’ll only work him again if he tells me I need to,” Reed said. Life Is Good and Happy Saver were expected to have their final works on Friday at Keeneland, while Olympiad will work Friday at Saratoga. Taiba had a terrific work Monday at Santa Anita and will work there again over the weekend before shipping to Kentucky. Epicenter and Hot Rod Charlie are also expected to have one more breeze, probably on Monday. Wednesday’s announcement of the pre-entries was the first stage of a two-part process for determining the final fields. A maximum of 14 horses are allowed run in 12 of the 14 races, with the Juvenile Turf Sprint and Dirt Mile limited to 12 starters. Eleven of the 14 races oversubscribed, with only the Classic (9), Distaff (8) and Juvenile (12) drawing fewer than the limit. Horses not selected into the field were put on a preference list by a Breeders’ Cup selection panel of racing directors and racing secretaries. Those horses may get in only if there are defections from those in the body of the race. There were 28 horses pre-entered in two races. Come Monday, when final entries are taken and post positions drawn during an event at the University of Kentucky’s Rupp Arena, horses may be entered in only one race. Up to four also-eligibles are permitted in the races that are limited to 14 starters; six also eligibles can be carded in the Juvenile Turf Sprint, which drew 26 pre-entrants. The Dirt Mile drew 13 pre-entrants, but if Jack Christopher runs in the Sprint, his listed first preference, all who want to run in the Dirt Mile can get in. In 2021, England-based trainer Charlie Appleby, who trains privately for Godolphin, won three Breeders’ Cup races at Del Mar, including the Juvenile Turf with Modern Games. Modern Games was mistakenly scratched just before the race and then was allowed to run for purse money only, rightfully rankling bettors who had used him in multiple-race wagers. This year, Modern Games will attempt to win the Mile, a race for which Free installed him as the 2-1 favorite. Appleby won the 2021 BC Turf with Yibir and has two for that race this year, including morning-line first and second choices Rebel’s Romance and Nations Pride. Aidan O’Brien, a 13-time Breeders’ Cup winner, has 11 pre-entrants, including Order of Australia, who upset the 2020 BC Mile at Keenland at odds of 73-1. He also has 2021 BC Turf runner-up Broome Japanese-based horses won two Breeders’ Cup races in 2021. Chain of Love is the only Japanese-based runner pre-entered this year. She was pre-entered in both the Filly and Mare Sprint, her first preference, and Sprint. Chad Brown leads all trainers with 14 pre-entrants, including Domestic Spending, who hasn’t raced since August of 2021 owing to a tendon injury that forced him to scratch from last year’s BC Turf, for which he was the morning-line favorite. “His last two works have been outstanding,” Brown said. “It’s a tall order but it’s a rare opportunity to make history, too.” Brown also pre-entered the filly Regal Glory in the Mile. He has three for the Filly and Mare Turf, with In Italian, Virginia Joy, and Rougir. Rougir has a second preference in the Turf. The Brown-trained Jack Christopher was the morning-line favorite for last year’s Juvenile, but was scratched due to a knee injury. He has come back this year to win a pair of Grade 1 stakes going seven furlongs and has been pre-entered in both the six-furlong Sprint and two-turn Dirt Mile. He is the second choice on Free’s morning line for both races. :: Breeders' Cup Pre-Entry PPs Now Available - Exclusively with a BC Package Jackie’s Warrior, one of nine pre-entrants for Steve Asmussen, is the 7-5 morning line favorite for the Sprint. Trainer Bob Baffert has five pre-entrants and is live in all four of his races, with Taiba (Classic), Cave Rock and National Treasure (Juvenile), Laurel River (Dirt Mile), and Speed Boat Beach (Juvenile Turf Sprint). In addition to Cave Rock being favored in the Juvenile, Laurel River is the early 5-2 favorite for the Dirt Mile. Todd Pletcher has 10 pre-entrants, led by the top two choices in the Distaff in the 3-year-old Nest (2-1) and 4-year-old Malathaat (5-2). The Pletcher-trained Chocolate Gelato is the early 7-2 favorite on David Aragona’s line for the Juvenile Fillies. Pletcher pre-entered Life Is Good and Happy Saver in the Classic. Among trainer Wesley Ward’s seven pre-entrants are Golden Pal (2-1) and Kimari (5-2), the respective early favorites for the Turf Sprint and Filly and Mare Sprint. Kimari’s first preference is the Sprint, in which she is the 5-1 third choice. Keeneland is hosting the Breeders’ Cup for the third time, and second time in three years. In 2020, fans were not permitted on the grounds because of the COVID pandemic. This year, the crowd will be capped at 45,000 for both days. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.