SCENE SETTER: The youngest of the Breeders’ Cup divisions hits its fifth renewal. PRIVATE CREED has been the king of Kentucky, winning key preps at Keeneland and Kentucky Downs. The filly LOVE REIGNS bypassed the local tune-up to come in fresh; it’s hard to doubt anything Wesley Ward does in this division. SPEED BOAT BEACH maybe California’s best chance yet in the JTS. The Europeans are looking for a breakthrough here and have the favorite in the international betting markets with THE PLATINUM QUEEN, who beat older horses last time out.

SCENE SETTER: Handicapping this division should start with the Frizette, and this year’s winner CHOCOLATE GELATO will vie for favoritism with local Keeneland prep heroine WONDER WHEEL. But both failed to dominate last out and have opened the door for the competition. AND TELL ME NOLIES won California’s pair of top preps by less than a combined length. There’s little margin for error in this year’s JF.

SCENE SETTER: DELIGHT crushed Keeneland’s Jessamine by 5 lengths as the favorite and stamped herself a force. The historically relevant Miss Grillo was won by PLEASANT PASSAGE in a wire-to-wire upset that may force some bettors to want further validation. Trainer Chad Brown is America’s preeminent player with fillies and mares on the grass, but his 2-year-old crop this year has yet to come to full hand. Might the Euros re-emerge for the first time since 2013? Irish filly MEDITATE states a strong case.

SCENE SETTER: CAVE ROCK figures to be one of the strongest favorites of this year’s Breeders’ Cup and the fourth odds-on chalk in the Juvenile in the past 6 years. California’s main contender hasn’t found an equal on the west coast, and it’s up to FORTE, a major prep winner at Saratoga and Keeneland, to provide a counter. Note: the only odds-on winner of the Juvenile came all the way back in the 1984 inaugural via Chief’s Crown.

SCENE SETTER: SILVER KNOTT stamped himself Europe’s top force in a division they’ve had the upperhand, winning the Autumn Stakes at Newmarket for the ever-dangerous Charlie Appleby and Godolphin connections. MAJOR DUDE won the historical tell-tale US prep in the Pilgrim for Todd Pletcher, 1 of only 5 US-based trainers to win this race. ANDTHEWINNERIS and PACKS A WAHLOP both delivered as favorites in KY and CA final preps with an impressive turn of foot late, but their regions haven’t had much success in this division.

SCENE SETTER: Defending champion CE CE has alternated losses and wins in her 6 starts this year en route to a possible FMS repeat. Was the August 28 Ballerina at Saratoga the tell-tale race in the division, when GOODNIGHT OLIVE rolled a field that included CE CE in a never-threatening fifth-place finish? New Mexico-based SLAMMED has traveled to Del Mar and Keeneland to flex her muscle and could get a rematch from her Rancho Bernardo rival EDGEWAY.

SCENE SETTER: GOLDEN PAL broke like he had a jetpack in last year’s TS en route to victory at Del Mar and now defends his crown at what might be his favorite course at Keeneland. He’s 4-4 locally, including the BC Juvenile Turf Sprint in 2020. European challengers appear strong with HIGHFIELD PRINCESS at the fore, though it’s noteworthy only 1 international runner has won this race – albeit at Keeneland in 2020 with Glass Slippers at 10-1.

SCENE SETTER: After featuring odds-on favorites in 5 of the last 8 years, the DM has a much more wide-open feel to it this year. That’s because defending champ LIFE IS GOOD is being aimed at the Classic. The Friday scratch of LAUREL RIVER puts CODY'S WISH front and center in the DM spotlight. Sophomore CYBERKNIFE certainly has more experience around 2 turns, but we’ll see how he measures with older horses. We often see a smashing performance in this race so buckle up.

SCENE SETTER: For the past 10 years, this race literally has been a tale of Chad Brown vs. the Internationals. Brown has done his best to hold down the fort with 4 wins, but the worldwide raiders gained the edge with 6. Brown has Flower Bowl upsetter VIRGINA JOY and the speedy local winner IN ITALIAN while America’s best, WAR LIKE GODDESS, instead is tackling the boys in the BC Turf at 1-1/2 miles. That puts the Europeans in the spotlight, topped by French Oaks heroine NASHWA.

SCENE SETTER: JACKIE’S WARRIOR was upset in Saratoga’s Forego in August and not much clarity has come to the division since. ELITE POWER romped 4 rivals in a Vosburgh that was a shadow of its historical norms. Keeneland’s Phoenix produced a trifecta that returned more than 1700-to-1 odds. The 6-5 favorite in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship ran 5th of 6. Defending champ ALOHA WEST didn’t have a race or workout for 3 months until recently.

SCENE SETTER: KINROSS rides a 4-race win streak from England while last year’s Juvenile Turf winner MODERN GAMES looks to remain unbeaten in his third North American raid, having also won the Woodbine Mile in September. Like MODERN GAMES, America’s best chance may also be a 3-year-old, ANNAPOLIS. He won Keeneland’s major Fall Meet mile over a field that included 2020 BC Mile winner ORDER OF AUSTRALIA.

SCENE SETTER: Todd Pletcher stablemates, the brilliant NEST and the consistent MALATHAAT, have risen to the top of the class, posting easy victories in the Bedame and Spinster. Both are major stakes winners at Keeneland and should be on favorable footing. Steve Asmussen also has a pair of aces to play, wire-to-wire Cotillion dominator SOCIETY – the division’s biggest unknown – and CLAIRIERE, who beat MALATHAAT in the Shuvee and Phipps this summer. Both MALATHAAT and CLAIRIERE were within a length of winning last year’s Distaff.