There are fans of the sport of Thoroughbred racing, and there are fans of Thoroughbred racing because of the intellectual challenge of handicapping and betting. There is some cross over between these two spheres. For example, my love for the game is fueled by both the wagering component, and by my huge respect for the history of the sport. But by and large, Thoroughbred racing is a dichotomous entity.This comes to mind because of Saturdays stakes activity. The road to the Breeders Cup takes a serious turn Saturday with five Grade 1 stakes at Santa Anita, each of them Win and Youre In events for the Breeders Cup on Nov. 4 and 5 that Santa Anita will host. There are also five graded stakes at Belmont Park, three of them Grade 1 contests, two of which are also Breeders Cup WAYI races. And there are stakes-heavy cards at Churchill Downs and Gulfstream Park, although those cards carry less of a significant Breeders Cup impact.Many of these stakes on Saturday are very important from a sporting perspective. A few are even critical, and I will explain why in a moment. But from a wagering standpoint, many of these stakes are, frankly, duds.As prep races for the Breeders Cup go, the stakes at Santa Anita would be important even if you didnt know a single horse entered in any of them. All five of these stakes will be run on the same main track or turf course that their corresponding Breeders Cup races in November will be run on. It is for this reason that these preps take on an added degree of significance. And Saturdays Rodeo Drive, Chandelier, and FrontRunner Stakes will not only be run on the same surface as their corresponding Breeders Cup races, they will also be run at the same distance as the Filly & Mare Turf, Juvenile Fillies, and Juvenile, respectively.Santa Anitas Awesome Again Stakes, the local prep for the Breeders Cup Classic, boasts California Chrome, the best horse in the world (right now, at least), and the future book favorite for the Classic. If California Chrome wins Saturday, hell become an even stronger favorite for the Classic. If he loses, it will turn the Classic on its head.Klimt is in a similar position in the FrontRunner. I have Klimt as the future book favorite for the Juvenile in DRF, and whatever race the favorite for any Breeders Cup event has his or her final prep in, it makes that race a key prep.The Zenyatta, the other big stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday, lured Beholder and Stellar Wind, currently the two best older dirt females in the country, leading candidates for the Breeders Cup Distaff, and two horses the likes of which Songbird has not yet met.At Belmont, Flintshire, Americas dominant male turf horse and the favorite for the Breeders Cup Turf, gets his final tune up in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic.Also at Belmont, A. P. Indian, winner of two Grade 1 events during the Saratoga meet, and X Y Jet, freakish in Florida early this year and who was a narrowly beaten second in the Dubai Golden Shaheen despite chipping a knee, meet in the Vosburgh. By any measure, A. P. Indian and X Y Jet are top contenders for the Breeders Cup Sprint.And at Churchill Downs, Runhappy, last years champion male sprinter, makes his belated 4-year-old debut in the Ack Ack Stakes, a return that could have significant implications for a couple of Breeders Cup events, and beyond.Clearly, there is big stuff going on Saturday. It doesnt take F. Lee Bailey to make that case.But if youre a bettor who is not a chalk-eating weasel (a term of endearment, sort of, for people who like to wager on short-priced horses), how many of these races are you eager to bet on?Runhappy will be a prohibitive favorite and, in my view, there arent any appealing wagering alternatives in his race.California Chrome will also be a prohibitive favorite. Dortmund looks like the only imaginable alternative to him in the Awesome Again, and even though Dortmund just doesnt seem as good as California Chrome, he wont be much of a price, either.Klimt looks very imposing, and so do A. P. Indian and X Y Jet. But all three will be short prices.Flintshire, who might be the tiniest price of the day, faces only three opponents. And only three others lined up to face Beholder and Stellar Wind, who were going to be heavily bet no matter how many showed up to oppose them.Look, I know declining foal crops have resulted in a shallower pool of available stakes horses. That said, short fields and competitive racing are not necessarily mutually exclusive. You still can have six or seven horse races that are competitive, and thus reasonably attractive, betting-wise.And thats the rub. As important as many of Saturdays stakes might be, satisfying the sports purists, many are also decidedly uncompetitive, frustrating bettors. Cheap Nike Free China . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. Discount Nike Free . The winner Saturday will remain in the elite 10-team field next year. "We talked about wanting to be disciplined and stick with our game plan and good things will come," Draisaitl said, who had two goals for the victors. http://www.cheapnikefree.net/ . P.A. Parenteau scored early in the third period to help the Avs edge Toronto 2-1 on Tuesday night. Cory Sarich also scored for Colorado (3-0-0), which is off to its best ever start. Cheap Nike Free . U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield in Manhattan agreed that lawyers on both sides could make their formal requests by Nov. 8. A hearing is scheduled for a day earlier. Jordan Siev, a lawyer for Rodriguez, wrote in a joint letter to the judge from lawyers on both sides that MLB lawyers planned to ask that the lawsuit be dismissed. Cheap Nike Free Wholesale .875,000, avoiding arbitration. Clippards deal Monday means all eight Nationals players who filed for arbitration wound up settling before a hearing. Matt Tifft has returned to racing 11 weeks after having brain surgery, and he said he felt great heading into Friday nights Camping World Truck Series race.The 20-year-old had surgery July 1 to remove a tumor that was about the size of a half-dollar and was located on the right side near his temple, about an inch into his brain at the deepest point. It was not cancerous but had the potential to grow aggressively.Tifft, who received applause when he was introduced in the pre-race driver meeting, finished 12th.After the surgery, I think the reason I was able to make such a quick return was just the support I had from family and friends and just the motivation to get back to racing, Tifft said Friday, a day after his return to the track for practice. Its one of my favorite things to do and I love racing.I think for having that ability to go out and say, All right, I want to get back in the truck, I [had] the motivation to do that. That really helped along with the recovery process because the days that were hard I could say to myself, OKK, next week youll feel a little bit better, a little bit better.ddddddddddddSomeday youll be back. And, that day was yesterday.Tifft has three starts in the Red Horse truck this year with a best finish of fifth. He also has competed in six Xfinity Series events for Joe Gibbs Racing and has recorded two eighth-place finishes.To get prepared to race and make sure he was OK to compete, Tifft has twice tested a late-model stock car at a North Carolina track in the past few weeks. NASCAR has cleared him to compete.Tifft said he has suffered no ill effects from the brain surgery after his two late-model tests.Every time I got in the car, it was like everything had been way before, Tifft said. [I] did a lot of go-karting as well in between and before the late-model test. I didnt feel anything at all that was different, and I would not be here this weekend if I did not feel like I was 100 percent and ready to go. ' ' '