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\tBy STEVE CARP
\n\tLAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
\n\tHard-core horseplayers look forward to this day every year.<\/p>\n
\tThe Breeders\u2019 Cup is being run at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., and after Friday\u2019s five-race warmup, which included Beholder\u2019s win in the Distaff at 5-2 odds, today\u2019s nine-race card could settle the Horse of the Year debate.<\/p>\n
\tEach race today has a minimum purse of $1 million, highlighted by the $5 million Classic.<\/p>\n
\tThe Classic field is headed by Game On Dude, defending champion Fort Larned and Palace Malice, who all are contenders for Horse of the Year. Game On Dude has won six straight races, most recently the Pacific Classic at Del Mar by a resounding 8\u00bd lengths. Fort Larned took the field wire-to-wire last year at Santa Anita at odds of 9-1. And 3-year-old Palace Malice won the Belmont Stakes in June but has struggled in his past two races.<\/p>\n
\tAnother Horse of the Year contender is Wise Dan, a 6-year-old gelding who had won nine straight before losing at Keeneland last month in a race that was switched from the turf to the main Polytrack. He\u2019ll head the field in the Mile.<\/p>\n
\tTwo things are certain at the Breeders\u2019 Cup: There will be no lack of opportunities to wager and make money, and expect the unexpected.<\/p>\n
\tDave Tuley of the Daily Racing Form has had his share of success on Breeders\u2019 Cup day, and the 15-year Las Vegas resident said whatever bettors do, demand value when making wagers.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cYou\u2019re going to get horses that are 10-1, 15-1 who are never this price springing the upset,\u201d Tuley said. \u201cLast year on Breeders\u2019 Cup Saturday, six of the nine horses that won paid $20 or more. So there\u2019s going to be value out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe sharp players took a lot of the value out of the Breeders\u2019 Cup future book at Wynn Las Vegas. John Avello, the Wynn\u2019s director of Race and Sports, said he\u2019ll be rooting against Dank, who opened at 22-1 to win the Filly and Mare Turf and was bet to 9-5. He\u2019ll also be rooting against The Fugue, who opened at 25-1 in the Turf and closed at 2-1.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI also don\u2019t need Wise Dan and Game On Dude to win, either,\u201d Avello said of the other horses he\u2019s heavily exposed on. \u201cBut we\u2019re going to be very busy all day, and that\u2019s what matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tAlong with offering the usual menu of wagers on each Breeders\u2019 Cup race, many books have head-to-head matchups, giving the person who might not know how to read a racing form a chance to be involved.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIt\u2019s popular because it\u2019s horse A vs. horse B, a 50-50 shot, just like a football or a basketball game,\u201d Avello said. \u201cYour horse doesn\u2019t even have to win the race. He just has to beat the horse he\u2019s head-to-head against.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tWynn is offering at least two head-to-head prop bets for each race. In the Classic, fans can wager that Mucho Macho Man will beat Game On Dude, with Game On Dude at minus-155 and Mucho Macho Man at plus-125. There\u2019s also a prop bet in the Classic between 3-year-olds Will Take Charge and Palace Malice, with Palace Malice at minus-120 and Will Take Charge at minus-110.<\/p>\n
\tTuley likes the idea of having the head-to-head prop bets, though he usually doesn\u2019t play them.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI don\u2019t do very well when I bet them,\u201d he said with a laugh.<\/p>\n
\tBut he will try to build some exotic tickets with Pick Threes, Pick Fours and Pick Six bets. Those wagers require hitting three, four or six races in a row, though sometimes there are consolation payouts if no one hits all the races.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe pools are usually huge, and it\u2019s a chance to win a lot without having to bet a lot,\u201d said Tuley, whose best bet today will be Fort Larned in the Classic. \u201cIt\u2019s horse racing\u2019s version of Megabucks.\u201d<\/p>\n