ESPN Horse Racing

Updated: October 2, 2008, 11:54 AM ET

Breeders' Cup Fan Fantasy: The Ladies' Classic

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By Jeremy Plonk
Special to ESPN.com
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ESPN.com has challenged eight racing experts to match wits in the first Breeders' Cup Fan Fantasy game, where your votes will determine the greatest Breeders' Cup World Championships victors of all time. Over a five-week span, the expert panel's eight greatest champions in the Mile, Sprint, Ladies Classic (formerly the Distaff), Turf and Classic will be unveiled. Each week, the voting will be opened to ESPN.com readers, who will cast their ballots for the greatest champion in each division.

We'll keep a tally of how the expert stables are doing, provide a look at each of the weekly divisional contenders and provide the voting results in the next week's BC Fan Fantasy column.

Last Week's Breeders' Cup Fan Fantasy Sprint Results:

The fans went a different direction than the experts in the Sprint, tabbing Kona Gold on top at 30.8%. Precisionist, top pick in the expert's mock draft, settled for place honors among the fans at 20.0 percent. Cherokee Run earned 13.0 percent of the vote to earn the show dough over Artax in a photo. That gives ESPN.com's Jeremy Plonk five points for Kona Gold (selected fourth in the expert draft), Jon White of HRTV three points for second, and TVG's Simon Bray two points for third place.

Breeders' Cup Fan Fantasy Sprint
Win  Kona Gold, 30.8% (Jeremy Plonk, ESPN.com, 5 points)
Place  Precisionist, 20.0% (Jon White, HRTV, 3 points)
Show  Cherokee Run, 13.0% (Simon Bray, TVG, 2 points)

BC Fan Fantasy Expert Stable Standings (through 2 of 5 races)
5 pts. Joe Kristufek
5 pts. Jeremy Plonk
3 pts. Gary West
3 pts. Jon White
2 pts. Jay Privman
2 pts. Simon Bray

The draft order was reshuffled for the expert stables prior to this week's Breeders' Cup Fan Fantasy Ladies' Classic draw (formerly the Distaff division), and here's how it shook out:

First choice: Gary West, Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Second choice: Joe Kristufek, Horseplayerpro.com.
Third choice: Simon Bray, TVG.
Fourth choice: Jon White, HRTV.
Fifth choice: Ed Fountaine, New York Post.
Sixth choice: Jeremy Plonk, ESPN.com.
Seventh choice: Jay Privman, Daily Racing Form.
Eighth choice: Trevor Denman, ESPN's voice of the Breeders' Cup.

Breeders' Cup Fan Fantasy All-Time Ladies' Classic Field (alphabetical):

Azeri

Bio Blast: Selected third in our expert draft by Simon Bray, Azeri is one of three distaffers ever to be voted Horse of the Year in America, joining All Along and Lady's Secret & Romped to a five-length win in the 2002 Distaff at Arlington, a pinnacle in what turned out to be an 11-race winning streak & Among those she bested in Chicago were a sensational 3-year-old cast led by Kentucky Oaks winner Farda Amiga, Take Charge Lady and Imperial Gesture ... At age 6, Azeri tried the boys in the '04 Classic, finishing fifth of 13 to Ghostzapper & In addition to her Distaff glory, Azeri won 10 other Grade 1 stakes events, topped by the Apple Blossom and back-to-back wins in both the Spinster and Vanity & Originally trained in California by Laura De Seroux, for whom she won the Distaff, Azeri was later transferred to D. Wayne Lukas & Mike Smith was Azeri's regular pilot.

Bayakoa

Bio Blast: Selected second in our expert draft by Joe Kristufek, the Argentine-bred is the only two-time winner in Breeders' Cup Distaff history & A $200,000 supplement to the '89 renewal, she dispatched a field that included Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors and former BC Juvenile Fillies winner Open Mind & A year later, she engaged in a wondrous duel with 3-year-old star Go For Wand at Belmont Park, registering a bittersweet 6-3/4 length victory as her brave rival broke down in the final sixteenth of a mile & A champion miler in her homeland, she 10 Grade 1 stakes in America outside of the Breeders' Cup, including back-to-back editions of the Spinster & Trained in America by Ron McAnally, the California-based mare was ridden to both Distaff scores by regular pilot Laffit Pincay, Jr.

Hollywood Wildcat

Bio Blast: Selected eighth in our expert draft by Trevor Denman, Hollywood Wildcat is one of seven sophomores to win the Distaff, capturing the 1993 renewal at Santa Anita in a thriller over defending champion Paseana, Kentucky Oaks winner Dispute and east coast star Sky Beauty ... One of three horses ever to win this race by a nose, joining Personal Ensign and Escena, despite her rider losing the whip in the final sixteenth of a mile & In addition to the Distaff, Hollywood Wildcat was a two-time Grade 1 winner of the Hollywood Oaks and Gamely Handicap, showing elite-level versatility on dirt and turf & Finished a disappointing sixth at Churchill Downs in the '94 Distaff while the beaten favorite in her title defense & Trained by Neil Drysdale, Hollywood Wildcat was ridden by Eddie Delahoussaye.

Inside Information

Bio Blast: Selected seventh in our expert draft by Jay Privman, Inside Information registered the biggest blowout in Breeders' Cup history when she romped by 13-1/2 lengths in the 1995 Distaff at Belmont & Heavily favored in a mutuel entry with runner-up stablemate Heavenly Prize, among those she demolished at Belmont included star 3-year-old Serena's Song & Inside Information won five other Grade 1 races outside her Distaff heroism, including the Ashland and Acorn at age 3, and the Spinster, Shuvee and Ruffian at 4 & She lost just once in eight starts in her championship season, when sprinting in Saratoga's Grade 1 Ballerina & Trained by Shug McGaughey, Inside Information was ridden by Mike Smith.

Lady's Secret

Bio Blast: Selected fourth in our expert draft by Jon White, Lady's Secret is one of three distaffers ever to be named Horse of the Year in America, joining All Along and later joined by Azeri ... After finishing second to stablemate Life's Magic in the '85 Distaff, a more seasoned 4-year-old Lady's Secret crushed the '86 Distaff in wire-to-wire fashion at Santa Anita & Her challengers in that event included the first two Juvenile Fillies winners in history, Outstandingly and Twilight Ridge & Lady's Secret won six Grade 1 stakes in 1986 alone, including a signature win against the boys in the Grade 1 Whitney at Sartaoga, and she also was second in the Grade 1 Woodward to champion Precisionist & Lady's Secret won back-to-back editions of the Grade 1 Beldame, Ruffian and Maskette & Based in both New York and California, she was trained by D. Wayne Lukas and ridden by Pat Day in her '86 title run.

Paseana

Bio Blast: Selected sixth in our expert draft by Jeremy Plonk, the Argenitine-bred mare dominated one of only two capacity, 14-horse fields in Distaff history, running away with the 1992 edition by four lengths & Overcame post 14 in that contest at Gulfstream to kick clear of the likes of Kentucky Oaks heroine Lite Light and former Juvenile Fillies winner Meadow Star & Returned in '93 to finish second by a nose to Hollywood Wildcat in her title defense, well clear of Kentucky Oaks winner Dispute and Sky Beauty & A Group 1 winner in Argentina, she became a graded stakes winner in America at ages 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, scoring crowns in 10 Grade 1 stakes away from the Breeders' Cup, including back-to-back Apple Blossom events at Oaklawn & Based in Southern California, she was trained by Ron McAnally and ridden by Chris McCarron.

Personal Ensign

Bio Blast: Selected first in our expert draft by Gary West, Personal Ensign became the first (and only) major American racehorse to retire undefeated and sound since Colin in 1908 when she courageously collared Winning Colors in the final stride of the 1988 Distaff at Churchill Downs ... It was an even more historically invoking victory under the Twin Spires when you consider the two-three finishers had won that spring's Kentucky Derby (Winning Colors) and Oaks (Goodbye Halo) & Overcoming a pastern fracture that required her to race with five surgically inserted screws throughout most of her career, Personal Ensign was a Grade 1 winner at ages 2, 3 and 4, beating the boys in the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga during her 7-for-7 season in 1988 & Her seven Grade 1 victories outside of the Distaff also included two renewals of the Beldame, as well as the Frizette, Maskette and Shuvee & Trained by Shug McGaughey, the New York-based Personal Ensign was ridden by Randy Romero.

Princess Rooney

Bio Blast: Selected fifth in our expert draft by Ed Fountaine, Princess Rooney's inaugural Breeders' Cup Distaff tour de force still ranks as the third-largest blowout in race history at 7 lengths ... In the early days, the Distaff was 1-1/4 miles, just as the Classic, and Princess Rooney's track record-setting time of 2:02-2/5 at Hollywood Park was a full second faster than Wild Again's Classic thriller at day's end & Sent away an odds-on choice in the Distaff, she dusted a short, but select field that included eventual 1985 Distaff heroine Life's Magic and reigning Kentucky Oaks winner Luckyluckylucky & Herself a Kentucky Oaks winner at age 3, Princess Rooney was a Grade 1 winner at ages 2, 3 and 4, notching the Frizette, Spinster and Vanity among her successes & Trained by Neil Drysdale, the California-based Princess Rooney was ridden by Eddie Delahoussaye.

Jeremy Plonk has been an ESPN.com contributor since 2000. You can E-mail Jeremy about this topic or anything racing-related at Jeremy@Horseplayerpro.com.