Breeders' Cup 2013: Predicting Winners for Longest World Championship Races

With the 2013 Breeders' Cup World Championships slated to begin on Friday in Arcadia, California's Santa Anita Park, three of the 14 races in particular stand out for their grueling tests of endurance.

Saturday's Breeders' Cup Turf is the No. 2 race in terms of length at 1.5 miles and with regards to purse size at $3 million—more than any of the three Triple Crown races. However, Friday's Grade 2 Marathon Stakes kicks off the entire series on dirt at a whopping 1.75 miles.

Also on tap for the second day is the Filly & Mare Turf, which spans 1.25 miles on grass and boasts a sizable $2 million in prize money.

The victor in each of these three physically demanding ordeals will be well deserving of the respective trophies. Below is a list of predictions for the champion of this trio of long-distance races.

Note: All background information is courtesy of BreedersCup.com, where complete post positions and race listings are also available. Race history was obtained from Equibase.com unless otherwise indicated.

Marathon (1.75 miles): Commander (6-1)

This is the least renowned field of the 14, but these 10 entrants will be looking to pace themselves rather than rely on explosiveness to get the job done on the dirt.

Commander is the only returning horse from last year's jaunt, and is coming off of a win at Vancouver's Hastings Racecourse in the Grade 3 BC Premier's Handicap.

Although the race favorite, Ever Rider (7-2), is a formidable adversary, the experience accumulated by Commander last year will pay off with a winning ride this time around.

Around this time in 2012, North American Thoroughbred Horse Company syndicate manager Glen Todd was just hoping Commander would get into the Marathon, much less compete for the top prize:

Among the three 6-to-1 shots, Commander stands out as the definitive choice, as he's not only a bargain in terms of wagering, but he also has the substance and experience to back it up.

Turf (1.5 miles): Point of Entry (4-1)

Defending race champion Little Mike has Mike Smith in the saddle for this one. Smith has the most victories in Breeders' Cup history with 17.

No one is more experienced in the Breeders' Cup than Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, though, as statistics guru Gary Dougherty points out:

Velazquez will be aboard Point of Entry, a stout five-year-old trained by Shug McGaughey III, who won the Kentucky Derby this year with Orb.

Point of Entry finished second in the Turf last year by a half-length, which is sure to give a distance specialist like Velazquez plenty of confidence. Since then, the horse has made only two appearances, but has won Grade 1 races in both of them.

With two prior wins in the Belmont Stakes for Velazquez—which is the same distance as this race—he understands how to control a talented horse in a lengthy test such as this.

All those factors will be a victorious concoction for Point of Entry and his connections.

Filly & Mare Turf (1.25 Miles): Dank (5-2)

The odds-on favorite will take home the trophy to the other side of the Atlantic in this lengthy showdown.

Legendary trainer Sir Michael Stoute has never won a Breeders' Cup event, but he brings over Dank from Great Britain to invade the stellar field of 10. Dank won a "Win and You're In" Grade 1 Beverly D. Stakes back in August in a commanding performance:

Stoute is the only trainer to win at least one Classic British race in five straight seasons, and is a 10-time Champion Trainer as the nation's leading earner in all those seasons.

Ryan Moore is also one of the best jockeys fathomable to have in this race. The 30-year-old Englishman has won the Juvenile Turf in each of the past two years, and is a two-time winner of the Breeders' Cup Turf.

He also finished in the money at the 2011 Filly & Mare Turf aboard Misty for Me. Given his past success, Moore is as capable as anyone of delivering on Dank's promise despite starting closest to the rail.