With the Breeders Cup races a week away, I’m doing my best to handicap the races that I intend to wager on. In most cases I already have a pretty good idea who I’ll bet on, and in what race. All except the Classic. There are so many “what if” factors to consider in this year’s Classic. Generally, we’ve found that most really good turf horses run the pro-ride surface very well too. Think last year’s Classic’s #1 and #2 finishers, Raven’s Pass and Henrythenavigator, both really good turf horses. That being the case, one would figure that both Rip Van Winkle and Gio Ponti should run well. Then there’s the proven synthetic track horses. Who in racing run’s synthetic tracks, or most particularly Santa Anita any better than Zenyatta? No one I know of. Then there’s Einstein, who’s run well himself at Santa Anita winning the “Big Cap” there earlier in the year. He may be a player. Also Colonel John and Richard’s Kid have both had some success of late on synthetics, although I think this group of contenders may be a little tougher competition then their used to racing against. The big question mark’s for me in the race are Summer Bird and Quality Road. Both have been warriors this year on the dirt, but how will they respond to the pro-ride surface? If they do respond, I feel that Quality Road may be sitting on a big race having gotten bogged down on off tracks his last two starts. And if Summer Bird responds, he’ll likely make his run to put the field to a test. As I said, a lot of “what if” factors to consider in handicapping this race.