Breeders' Cup Classic 2013: Profiling Long Shots at Santa Anita Park

The 2013 Breeders' Cup Classic caps off a busy weekend at Santa Anita Park, as 12 horses will sprint one-and-a-quarter miles for a chance to win a portion of the race's staggering $5 million purse. 

It's kind of a big deal. 

This purse represents more money than all three of the Triple Crown races combined, and winning the race is a nice feather in the cap for future breeding purposes. 

There are a few heavy favorites, a handful of dark horses and a few long shots—as you'll find in every race. Here's a look at where every horse will start, along with their current odds, followed by a closer examination of the long shots. 

Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Odds
1	Last Gunfighter	Javier Castellano	Chad Brown	20-1
2	Paynter	Martin Garcia	Bob Baffert	12-1
3	Planteur	Ryan Moore	Marco Botti	20-1
4	Moreno	Joseph Talamo	Eric Guillot	15-1
5	Declaration Of War	Joseph O'Brien	Aidan O'Brien	10-1
6	Mucho Macho Man	Gary Stevens	Kathy Ritvo	5-1
7	Fort Larned	Brian Hernandez Jr.	Ian Wilkes	6-1
8	Palace Malice	John Velazquez	Todd Pletcher	10-1
9	Game On Dude	Mike Smith	Bob Baffert	8-5
10	Will Take Charge	Luis Saez	D. Wayne Lukas	12-1
11	Ron the Greek	Jose Lezcano	William Mott	8-1

Last Gunfighter

Looking at the impressive record that Last Gunfighter has put together this year, it would be easy to wonder why he isn't being given a chance to win this race. In six starts, this horse has four first-place finishes to go along with a second.

However, Last Gunfighter finished in fifth place in his last race, which was the first Grade 1 race he'd been entered into. 

This inexperienced horse has never run at a grand venue like Santa Anita Park, and he has never faced the level of competition he will see on Saturday. 

Planteur

It's not promising that Planteur's last Grade 1 win came back in 2011. 

Nor is it promising that the last time this horse stepped onto the track, he finished in 12th place. 

Combined with the fact that Planteur is a non-American horse, which always makes it hard to gauge in these big races, oddmakers are right to put long odds on this horse.

However, Planteur did finish in third place at the prestigious and rich Dubai World Cup the past two years, making it an intriguing betting option for you to consider. 

Moreno

With just two wins in 11 starts this year, Moreno isn't exactly the hottest horse coming into this race. However, a second-place finish isn't out of the question, as this horse has already finished one behind the leader five times this year.

Moreno's greatest attribute is his raw speed. Unfortunately, we've seen plenty of instances where stamina became an issue this year, and pacing isn't this horse's strong suite. 

As such, it was no surprise when trainer Eric Guillot said he didn't like Moreno's draw at the No. 4 post, inside the race's strongest horses, as noted by Jay Privman of DRF:

It'll take a magnificent performance by jockey Joseph Talamo to keep Moreno in good position at the end of the race for a final push. Chances are, Moreno will not be amongst the first to cross the finish line. 

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