7:15 p.m.

If someone had told you a few months ago that John Shirreffs would win the BC Ladies’ Classic, you probably would have said no you-know-what Sherlock.

When you have Zenyatta in your barn, you have to expect that sort of response.

Well, Shirreffs did indeed win the Ladies’ Classic for a second year in a row, only now he has a chance to cash the Ladies’ Classic-Classic double all by himself.

With defending Ladies’ Classic champ Zenyatta set to run tomorrow against the guys in the BC Classic, Shirreffs’ second string, Life Is Sweet, rallied widest and fastest to beat Mushka to the wire and return $18.20.

Ironically, Shirreffs thought enough of Life Is Sweet to tackle the boys in the Hollywood Gold Cup, and now he sends out Zenyatta to face the guys and takes home the big check in the Ladies’ Classic with her. Not bad. Not bad, at all.

Yes, life is indeed sweet, unless you were like me and had Mushka, who had to settle for second at 16-1. The $171.60 exacta was a nice consolation, though I thought that combo would pay. Guess I’m getting greedy again.

As for the favored Careless Jewel you could be upset with her effort. Didn’t think this track was kind to early speed and then Mr. Landry rides her like she’s Usain Bolt, or for you horse racing fans, Presious Passion (see tomorrow’s BC Turf), opening a huge lead through insane fractions of 45.78 seconds and 1:09.74 en route to a last-place finish. To quote some esteem scholar, that ain’t right. If you’re going to go down with the chalk, you hate to lose on a suicide mission.

And so Day One is in the book. Two wins for Europeans and a mix of closers and those who stayed near the front hit the wire first. Careless Jewel showed what can happen when you get too brazen on the lead.

Tomorrow, the action resumes with the featured event being Zenyatta’s showdown with the boys in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.

As for the bankroll, we escaped with $88, though we would have been in the black if Mushka had gotten up. Oh, those would haves, they kept your wallet filled with moths.

I’ll be blogging right here again at ntra.com, as well as serving as a guest handicapper at the Foxwoods Resort in Connecticut. We’ll add the $88 to tomorrow’s bankroll, so we have $338 to invest on tomorrow’s card.

As for me, thanks to Mushka I can up least upgrade the dinner to a bowl of noodles with pork. Yum.

Where’s the shrimp with lobster sauce when you need it.

Maybe tomorrow.

Sounds like a song. Let me clear my throat.

Talk to you then.

That’s two for Europe with how many more to come?

Midday ($6.60) rode the rail and proved best in the F&M Turf, holding off a late charge from Pure Clan.

Just when you start writing off the invaders at a short price, it sort of figured this would happen.

Forever Together rallied mildly for third and she clearly is not the same mare as she was a year ago.

The Filly and Mare Sprint could be the race of the day as it brings together 2008 F&M Sprint winner Ventura (9) and Informed Decision (9). Both are dynamic closers with similar speed figures and the deciding factor could come down to who gets the better trip.

I’m siding with Informed Decision because her price is better. I love also the way she quickened in taking the Turf Club of America at Keeneland last month.

Beyond them, Sara Louise (2) seems nearly as fast as the top two but she’s never raced on synthetics so she’s just a light use here.

Game Face (3) is more appealing as a saver at 24-1 odds.

OK, we’re down to just $32, so we’ll take it easy. A $1 exacta box of 3-7-9 and a $2 box of 7-9. Then $2 doubles of 7-9 with 1-3-7. That’s $22, leaving us $10. No cash call here..

So much for one of my best bets. Negligee disappointed while She Be Wild worked out a pretty inside trip to win and return $16.80.

We saw one of those string-across-the track finishes in this one, with the outside closers taking the worst of it. One wonders if we’ll see a replay tomorrow in the Classic. Will Zenyatta have to go 8 wide?

The F&M Turf is the dilemma race for me. I don’t think Forever Together (2) is as good as she was last year, when she won this race. Yet I think she’ll love the firm turf and the distance so I’ll got to stick with her.

Midday (6) tops the Europeans and must be respected.

The one I’ll use in the exotics is Dynaforce (7). She’s inconsistent and flopped in the Flower Bowl in her last start. I know she likes soft turf, but she was running in a monsoon that day and might be been afraid of drowning as she swam around the track.

There should be a slow pace so I’ll give her a chance to wake up at a price, especially in the place and show spots.

So we’ll try a $2 box of 1-2-7 hoping to beat the European.

Then I’ll use 1,2,3,6 over 7 in $2 exactas and a trifecta of 2 with all with 7.

Finally, let’s get into the Pick Three with a $2 ticket of 2 with 3-7-9 with 1-3-7 and a $1 tickets of 1-2-7 with 3-7-9 with 1-3-7 and 2-6 with 3-7-9 with 1-3-7.

.

Here we go again.

The Europeans got off to a flying start as Man of Iron ($14.80) stuck his nose in front to beat Cloudy’s Knight, who may have moved way to soon to the lead.

It was a very tough beat if you had Cloudy’s Knight.

Speaking of beats, if you backed the two favored Europeans, Mastery and Father Time, who can rip up your tickets, just like I am. Neither one fired. Maybe the key to betting these Europeans is to back them at a price.

The winner skimmed the rail, so there’s surely wrong with that part of the track.

Lost $46 from the bankroll, so we’re down to $204.
Oh well, on to the Juvenile Fillies Turf is one of the toughest of the 14 BC races.

The top European, Lillie Langtry (8) is not that much faster than the Americans. Another promising European was parked outside in post 11. Rose Catherine, who owns the fastest turf race of all, hasn’t raced beyond six furlongs. But I do like her 6-1 odds.

Another of the fastest horses in the race, La Nez, has yet to race on grass but has done quite well on synthetics. Just wish she was higher than 11-1.

Also liked Junia Tepzia (11) but I’m worried about a wide trip.

So, let’s put the banroll into play with $10 to win on 4 and $1 exacta wheel of all with 4. Then a $2 exacta box of 2-8 and a $1 box of 4-5-8-11.

Want to cover Negligee in the JF, so give me $2 doubles of 4-5-8-11 with 10. Also a $1 pick three of 4-5-8-11 with 3-10 with 2-6-7.

The preliminaries are out of the way and now it’s time for the main event. The Breeders’ Cup kicks off with the 1 ¾-mile Marathon which should be a very telling race.

Europeans dominated the two-day event last year and the two stickouts in this race – Mastery (6) and Father Time (5) – are, guess what, both from overseas.

Each has excelled on grass, though they also have turned in a strong effort on a synthetic surface. They’re the fastest horses in the race and if they don’t run to expectations, we might want to re-think those visions of European Domination Part II.

Beyond them, Muhannak, another European, is the defending champ but is being overlooked because of shaky form this year. Yet he did show improvement in his last race and since I know he can handle the track and distance, I included him in the box exacta I listed earlier in the day. He’s also 25-1 at last look.

Mastery is favored at 7-5, but I’m more inclined to use Father Time at 3-1. Father Time has lost twice to Mastery on grass, but I’m hoping Father Time will turn the tables on the synthetics. I also can’t start Breeders’ Cup Day betting a favorite, either.

Looking at the doubles, the action is centering on Lillie Langtry (8). She’s hard to look past, though I also like Rose Catherine (4) and Junia Tepzia (11), though her post worries me.

I’ll also dabble with La Nez (5), hoping she’ll make a smooth transition to the turf. Her price is too inviting to pass up.

Greetings everyone and welcome to one of the great days in sports. It’s a moment so many of us have looked forward to for so long. All of the hard work, all of the dreams that have been realized. Today we celebrate and revel in them.

Yes, what else can match a New York Yankees victory parade down the Canyon of Heroes?

Oops. We’re here to discuss the Breeders’ Cup, aren’t we, and I promise to stay on topic, once I get one more baseball analogy out of the way.

Today, unlike the Phillies, the Breeders’ Cup will be going back-to-back at Santa Anita, returning to the scene of last year’s event and illustrating if what we saw in 2008 was just an elusion.

Will the Europeans dominate again? Will experience over the race track be an asset? Will the “dirt” horses flounder in a sea of plastic chips? Will speed horses grow weary and closers thrive on the synthetic main track?

Those were the key trends last year and today, if they resurface, don’t waste a moment of your time hoping for a big payoff. Those secrets are out and today and tomorrow we’ll see if any new lessons can be learned and converted into an exotic ticket that will have you reaching for your social security.

I’ll be blogging throughout the day while serving as a guest handicapper at the Foxwoods Casino Racebook in Connecticut, offering thoughts and opinions on what to expect and what we just saw.

I’ll also be putting a mythical $250 bankroll into play in hopes of making this an enjoyable and perhaps profitable afternoon. There’s no guarantee that last year’s wagering success on Day One in this blog will carry over to 2009, and if want to quibble I’ll be happy to have my attorney, Lawyer Ron, send you my disclaimer, which comes in print about as a big as a gnat.

Anyway, we’re still a couple of hours away from the 3:35 p.m. (Eastern) post time for the first Breeders’ Cup race, the Marathon, but I’d like to lock in a few early bets to give you a glimpse of my betting strategy.

Let’s start with $2 all-Euro exacta of Mastery (6), Father Time (5) and defending champ Muhannak (2) in the Marathon. Then an $8 exacta box of 5-6 and $1 triples of 6 over 1, 2, 3, 4, 9 over 5 and 5 over 1,2,3,4,9 over 6. That’s $38.

Then $2 doubles in the third (Marathon) of 5 and 6 with 4 and 5 for another $8.

Next, $10 to win on Negligee (10) in the Juvenile Fillies (race 5) and a $1 pick four beginning in the 5^th of 10 with 2,6,7 with 2,7,9 with 1,3,7 for $27.

That adds up to $83 and leaves us with $167 for the rest of the day.

Feel free to post comments with your own insights.

I’ll be back later.

Happy handicapping and good luck to us all.