Tips/Thoughts on Breeders' Cup tickets this year?

[SniperSB23]

Originally Posted by miraja2

True, but I just don't really see the point in handicapping ANY race before it is drawn. I rarely, if ever, handicap a race until at least the day before it is run. The more you know about who is actually in the race, all recent works, post positions etc., the better.
Even if we did know for sure who was going to be in all of the races (which we do not), we still don't know what the post positions are. Now, in my opinion, post position is pretty meaningless in the vast majority of all horse races, but in races with larger fields - and some of the BC races fit that description - it could play a role in dictating who will be forced to gun for the lead, who is at risk of getting caught wide, etc. This is the kind of stuff I like to know before I start handicapping.
I guess there is nothing really wrong with handicapping races before they are drawn, but it seems like a bit of a waste of time given the fact that I think a good handicapper would need to look carefully at the race AFTER it is drawn anyway.

Of course you need to go back and take another look once the official entries come out. I'm certainly not putting together actual wagers now but I think there is a benefit to capping through the races to get an idea of the horses' past performances and who will be potential pace factors. And usually when the final entries do come out there are very few adjustments that need to be made since there are very few surprises between the pre-entries and final entries.

So I don't see any problem with discussing the races now. Of course if you are just picking the horses' names that you recognize it is largely useless, but that has nothing to do with whether or not entries are out.