ESPN Horse Racing

West Virginia Breeders' Classic
Saturday, Oct. 18, Charles Town

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The Low-Down: I sat in the grandstand 21 years ago at Charles Town for the inaugural West Virginia Breeders' Classic program, happy as a lark to see our local hero, Onion Juice, dismantle Delaware Park carpetbagger Kiss My Tan. Who would have thought, all these years later, I would be bringing this race to an ESPN audience on a platform that didn't even exist in 1987? It's a special night of racing to me, worth every penny of the $1.8 million in purses that will be given away throughout the championship divisions. And for those who whine about stars not sticking around, I present you 10-year-old CONFUCIOUS SAY, who could surpass the $1 million mark in career earnings with a first or second-place finish Saturday night in the featured $500,000 Classic. ESPNews will televise the race live at 10:15 p.m. ET.

Our Eyes: Despite what appears to be a marathon distance, the three-turn Classic around Charles Town's bullring track puts even more emphasis on a quality, front-end speed horse. Given a large field of 10 and short run into the first turn, ground loss can be key, and those with tactical speed can avoid trouble. EASTERN DELITE and CONFUCIOUS SAY dueled one-two throughout most of last year's main event before the former pulled away to a daylight score. But the old man 'CONFUCIOUS' appears to have as much zip as ever in 2008. Remember, this is a horse who won this race in 2001 and 2002. He's won the Frank Gall and Bobby Hilton Memorials on the engine this year and always is a forward factor. EASTERN DELITE, on the other hand, has lost all four starts since his 14-1 upset last October.

The new shooter to watch is the rising 3-year-old local star GHOSTLY THUNDER. Trained by Gary Capuano of CAPTAIN BODGIT fame, this gelding has won 7 of 10 local starts, including the track's biggest race historically, last fall's Tri-State Futurity. How good is GHOSTLY THUNDER for a West Virginia-bred sophomore? He took Dale Romans' HALO NAJIB, a legitimate graded-stakes player on the Kentucky Derby trail, tooth and nail in the Ocala Breeders Sale Championship at 1 1/16 miles earlier this year.

The balance of the field includes GOLD STANDARD, a winner on Classics night last year vs. 3-year-olds; PEACEFUL BLISS, exiting a where'd-that-come-from 98 Beyer Speed Figure last time out against starter allowance foes at this distance; and tough-drawn THREE'S A CROWD, the best closer of the bunch who leaves from post No. 10.

The Bottom Line: Give me the six-pound weight break, 122-116, with GHOSTLY THUNDER and I'll take him against the elder heavyweights. Travis Dunkelberger rides the local oval as good as anyone I've seen in my lifetime, and I've followed Charles Town since before I could read a schoolbook. Mom was never too proud of that. I'll key GHOSTLY THUNDER on top with CONFUCIOUS SAY and THREE'S A CROWD underneath in the gimmicks.