Breeders' Cup Classic 2021 Entries: Brad Cox holds two great cards

Nine horses will contest the $6,000,000 Grade I Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar on Saturday and I'm starting to get the sense that this could be a thrilling race. The Morning Line odds are out and I think you can legitimately go six-deep and still be looking a potential win contenders...

For a few weeks now it looked likely that Brad Cox would have a 1-2 in the betting according to the Morning Line Odds for the Breeders’ Cup Classic and those thoughts were confirmed on Monday following the Post Position Draw for the 14th BC Race of the meet.

As expected, Knicks Go will open as the favorite having been allocated Post Position 5 and a 5-2 opening price. It was at the 2020 Breeders’ Cup where he made a name for himself winning the Dort Mile and followed that up by finishing a comfortable first in the Grade I Pegasus World Cup down at Gulfstream. A mid-season wobble was corrected and he comes into this race on a three-race win streak.

His top competition is likely to come from stablemate Essential Quality. Our man J.N. is going to be at Del Mar for the event and has been a huge EQ fan throughout the entire 2021 campaign. He’ll break from PP 4 and opens as a 3-1 shot. I’m not going to put words into his mouth but I’d be surprised if he isn’t his top choice when he comes to handicap the race later in the week

Hot Rod Charlie and Medina Spirit both have been tagged at 4-1. The draw looks good for the current winner of the Kentucky Derby as he has plenty of speed inside of him and won’t get boxed in early.

Both Art Collector and Max Player have started to look more and more like potential contenders in recent weeks. The former has won three straight and the move to Bill Mott seems to have worked wonders. That win over Maxfield in the Grade I Woodward last time out is a real quality notch on his resume. As for the latter, a new style seems to have suited and he won’t be the early speed. 8-1 for both will tempt.

This has all the indications of being a fascinating race. A shame that Maxfield isn’t here but when you look at the top six in the betting - all have a reasonable chance if everything falls right. That alone should make it fun to watch.

Our racecard is with all the M/L odds is at the top of the page and check back later in the week for J.N. Campbell’s preview along with my thoughts for the race.