Breeders' Cup Classic Cheat Sheet

The 2013 Breeders' Cup Classic field passes the grandstand for the first time. (All photos by Eclipse Sportswire unless otherwise noted)
The Breeders’ Cup Classic brings together the best Thoroughbreds the world over. Not only is there a $5-million purse on the line, but the race often influences the outcome of year-end Eclipse Awards.
This year’s race, to be held on Nov. 1 at Santa Anita Park, features Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner California Chrome, undefeated champion Shared Belief and Belmont winner Tonalist, plus a slew of horses trying to upset the Horse of the Year battle.
Use this handy guide to get up to speed on each of this year’s contenders.
1. Prayer for Relief (30-1)

Photo by Hodges Photography
Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
Trainer: Dale Romans
Owner: Zayat Stables
Career Record: 33 Starts — 8 Firsts, 6 Seconds, 7 Third
Career Earnings: $1,907,938
Earnings Per Start: $57,816
Pedigree: Jump Start – Sparklin Lil, by Mr. Sparkles
Age: 6
Color: Dark Bay or Brown
Running Style: Closer
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: Prayer for Relief hasn’t won sinceDecember 2013 but consistently performs in graded stakes company. The veteran of the field with 33 starts, Prayer for Relief finished third in the Suburban, fourth in the Whitney and third in the Woodward in his most recent efforts.
2. Cigar Street (12-1)

Photo by Churchill Downs/Reed Palmer Photography
Jockey: John Velazquez
Trainer: Bill Mott
Owner: Jake Ballis and Rashard Lewis
Career Record: 8 Starts — 5 Firsts, 1 Second, 0 Thirds
Career Earnings: $283,908
Earnings Per Start: $35,489
Pedigree: Street Sense – Arcadiana, by Deputy Minister
Age: 5
Color: Dark Bay or Brown
Running Style: Pacesetter/Stalker
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: Cigar Street’s win in the Homecoming Classic Stakes at Churchill Downs convinced his connections to run him in the Classic. The horse has made only eight lifetime starts but hasn’t finished out of the top three since April 2012. Cigar Street is owned by Jake Ballis and NBA veteran Rashard Lewis.
3. Imperative (30-1)

Jockey: Frankie Detorri
Trainer: George Papaprodromou
Owner: KM Racing Enterprise Inc.
Career Record: 19 Starts — 3 Firsts, 4 Seconds, 3 Thirds
Career Earnings: $1,320,870
Earnings Per Start: $69,519
Pedigree: Bernardini – Call Her, by Caller I.D.
Age: 4
Color: Bay
Running Style: Closer/Stalker
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: Imperative was claimed for $50,000 in December 2013 and soon repaid his owner’s investment. The gelding finished second in the San Antonio Stakes and won the $1.5-million Charles Town Classic. Imperative most recently finished fifth behind Shared Belief in the Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita.
4. Moreno (20-1)
Jockey: Javier Castellano
Trainer: Eric Guillot
Owner: Southern Equine Stable LLC
Career Record: 22 Starts — 3 Firsts, 7 Seconds, 3 Thirds
Career Earnings: $1,834,940
Earnings Per Start: $83,406
Pedigree: Ghostzapper – Danceinthesunlight, by A.P. Indy
Age: 4
Color: Bay
Running Style: Pacesetter
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: Moreno broke through with his first Grade 1 win in the Whitney Stakes at Saratoga this summer. The Southern Equine Stable homebred has a slew of graded stakes placings to his credit and does his best running on an unpressured lead. Javier Castellano will ride him for the first time in the Classic.
5. V. E. Day (20-1)

Jockey: Joe Talamo
Trainer: Jimmy Jerkens
Owner: Magalen Bryant 
Career Record: 7 Starts — 4 Firsts, 1 Second, 0 Thirds
Career Earnings: $859,010
Earnings Per Start: $122,716
Pedigree: English Channel – California Sunset, by Deputy Minister
Age: 3
Color: Chestnut
Running Style: Closer
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: V. E. Day (light blue silks in image above) did not race until this year but has made quite an impression in a short amount of time. He capped a four-race winning streak with a thrilling victory by a nose over fellow Jimmy Jerkens trainee Wicked Strong in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes, which was his graded stakes debut for owner Magalen Bryant.
6. Shared Belief (9-5)

Jockey: Mike Smith
Trainer: Jerry Hollendorfer
Owner: Jungle Racing LLC, KMN Racing LLC, Hollendorfer, Litt, Solis II and Todaro
Career Record: 7 Starts — 7 Firsts, 0 Seconds, 0 Thirds
Career Earnings: $1,552,200
Earnings Per Start: $221,743
Pedigree: Candy Ride – Common Hope, by Storm Cat
Age: 3
Color: Dark Bay or Brown
Running Style: Pacesetter/Stalker
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: Shared Belief was named champion 2-year-old male in 2013 off of three victories but did not begin his 3-year-old season until May. He has reeled off four more victories this year, including the Grade 1 Pacific Classic Stakes and Awesome Again Stakes against older horses, to remain undefeated. His ownership group includes television and sports talk radio host Jim Rome.
7. Bayern (6-1)

Jockey: Martin Garcia
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Owner: Kaleem Shah
Career Record: 9 Starts — 5 Firsts, 1 Seconds, 1 Third
Career Earnings: $1,639,680
Earnings Per Start: $182,187
Pedigree: Offlee Wild – Alittlebitearly, by Thunder Gulch
Age: 3
Color: Dark Bay or Brown
Running Style: Pacesetter
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: Bayern did not race until his 3-year-old year and got off to a quick start by winning his first two races. The speedy colt later blazed to victory in the Woody Stephens Stakes and triumphed in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational Stakes and the Grade 2 Pennsylvania Derby after making an easy lead in both.
8. Zivo (15-1)

Jockey: Jose Lezcano
Trainer: Chad Brown
Owner: Thomas Coleman
Career Record: 17 Starts — 9 Firsts, 3 Seconds, 4 Thirds
Career Earnings: $1,012,300
Earnings Per Start: $59,547
Pedigree: True Direction – American Skipper, by Quiet American
Age: 5
Color: Bay
Running Style: Closer
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: Zivo has finished worse than third just once in his career but only recently ventured into graded stakes company. In his first graded try, he won the Grade 2 Suburban Handicap before a fourth-place finish in the Woodward Stakes and a runner-up effort in the Jockey Club Gold Cup behind fellow Classic contender Tonalist.
9. Toast of New York (12-1)

Jockey: Jamie Spencer
Trainer: Jamie Osborne
Owner: Michael Buckley
Career Record: 7 Starts — 3 Firsts, 2 Seconds, 0 Thirds
Career Earnings: $1,443,115
Earnings Per Start: $206,159
Pedigree: Thewayyouare – Claire Soleil, by Syncline
Age: 3
Color: Bay
Running Style: Stalker
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: Toast of New York has done most of his running in England, where his trainer is based. The colt won a pair of races at Wolverhampton before heading to Dubai to contest the United Arab Emirates Derby. The colt won the race impressively but did not race again until July, running sixth on the turf in the Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes. He finished a good second to Classic favorite Shared Belief in the Pacific Classic Stakes on the synthetic surface at Del Mar, and the Classic will be his first start on dirt.
10. Footbridge (30-1)

Jockey: Rafael Bejarano
Trainer: Eoin Harty
Owner: Godolphin Racing
Career Record: 13 Starts — 3 Firsts, 4 Seconds, 3 Thirds
Career Earnings: $242,836
Earnings Per Start: $18,680
Pedigree: Street Cry – Thousand Islands, by Dubai Millenium
Age: 4
Color: Bay
Running Style: Stalker
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: The lightly raced Footbridge broke his maiden in March of his sophomore season. After a disappointing effort in the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes, the colt was returned to allowance ranks where eventually he reeled off two straight wins. Footbridge then headed back to stakes company, with a second-place finish in the San Diego Handicap and a third-place finish behind Shared Belief and Fed Biz in the Awesome Again to his credit this year.
11. Tonalist (5-1)

Jockey: Joel Rosario
Trainer: Christophe Clement
Owner: Robert S. Evans
Career Record: 8 Starts – 4 Firsts, 2 Seconds, 1 Third
Career Earnings: $1,802,000
Earnings Per Start: $225,250
Pedigree: Tapit – Settling Mist, by Pleasant Colony
Age: 3
Color: Bay
Running Style: Stalker
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: Tonalist broke his maiden early in his 3-year-old season. He followed with victories in the Peter Pan Stakes and Belmont Stakes before posting top-three finishes in the Jim Dandy and Travers Stakes. Tonalist enters the Classic off a 1 ¾-length win in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup.
12. Candy Boy (20-1)

Jockey: Corey Nakatani
Trainer: John Sadler
Owner: C R K Stable
Career Record: 11 Starts — 2 Firsts, 4 Seconds, 2 Thirds
Career Earnings: $786,800
Earnings Per Start: $71,527
Pedigree: Candy Ride – She’s an Eleven, by In Excess
Age: 3
Color: Bay
Running Style: Closer
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: Candy Boy hasn’t won since he captured the Robert B. Lewis Stakes in February, but he’s finished in the top three in each of his last three starts. The colt most recently finished third in the Pennsylvania Derby.
13. California Chrome (4-1)
Jockey: Victor Espinoza
Trainer: Art Sherman
Owner: Perry Martin and Steve Coburn
Career Record: 14 Starts — 8 Firsts, 1 Second, 0 Thirds
Career Earnings: $3,542,650
Earnings Per Start: $253,046
Pedigree: Lucky Pulpit – Love the Chase, by Not For Love
Age: 3
Color: Chestnut
Running Style: Pacesetter/Stalker
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: California Chrome has won three Grade 1 races this year including the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. He finished a troubled fourth in the Belmont Stakes before getting a rest over the summer. California Chrome returned to finish sixth in the Sept. 20 Pennsylvania Derby.
14. Majestic Harbor (20-1)

Jockey: Tyler Baze
Trainer: Sean McCarthy
Owner: Gallant Stable
Career Record: 25 Starts — 6 Firsts, 6 Seconds, 4 Thirds
Career Earnings: $674,014
Earnings Per Start: $26,961
Pedigree: Rockport Harbor – Champagne Royale, by French Deputy
Age: 6
Color: Bay
Running Style: Stalker
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: Majestic Harbor won the Gold Cup at Santa Anita in June to earn his first career Grade 1 win and a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Classic starting gate. The horse has another graded stakes victory to his credit and has shown an affinity for the Santa Anita Park main track, never finishing worse than fourth on the surface.
15 (also eligible). Big Cazanova (30-1)

Photo by Benoit Photo
Jockey: Elvis Trujillo
Trainer: Peter Miller
Owner: Wachtel Stable, Pena, Janet Belltaylor, Barber, Gary and Brous Stable
Career Record: 18 Starts — 3 Firsts, 6 Seconds, 6 Thirds
Career Earnings: $269,692
Earnings Per Start: $14,983
Pedigree: Giant’s Causeway – Gem Bob, by Morning Bob
Age: 5
Color: Chestnut
Running Style: Pacesetter
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: Argentine-bred Big Cazanova performed well in several group stakes in his native Argentina before heading north to Santa Anita Park. The ridgling won two U.S. races in a row before a seventh-place finish in the Jockey Club Gold Cup behind Tonalist and Zivo.