2023 Breeders' Cup Classic predictions, odds, post time, top contenders: Picks from Santa Anita-based insider

The Breeders' Cup serves as the top horse racing meet during the fall and the 2023 Breeders' Cup Classic features another strong field. One of the biggest differences between the Breeders' Cup and the Triple Crown races over the summer is that the Breeders' Cup 2023 is open to horses age three and older. The Breeders' Cup 2023 will run Saturday from Santa Anita Park in California. When it comes to experience, no horse in the 2023 Breeders' Cup Classic lineup has run more races than Ushba Tesoro. The six-year-old Japanese horse has 10 victories in 30 starts and is 4-1 in the 2023 Breeders' Cup Classic odds. Arabian Knight is the 3-1 favorite among the 2023 Breeders' Cup Classic horses. 

Post time for the 1¼-mile race is 6:40 p.m. ET. With several accomplished horses set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you'll want to see what Santa Anita-based racing reporter and analyst Michelle Yu has to say before making any Breeders' Cup Classic picks.

Few people in racing are as well-connected as Yu. An on-air host and reporter who has provided racing analysis for TVG, HRTV and the Breeders' Cup, Yu has spent a lifetime in racing. Prior to her television career, she worked for trainers Steve Asmussen and Ron Moquett. She also is married to Santa Anita-based trainer Ryan Hanson.

Yu also has tremendous handicapping chops. In a wide-open Kentucky Derby in 2021, she gave out Medina Spirit, who crossed the finish line first, as the winner at 12-1. In Pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager last year, she suggested a play on All Other 3-Year-Olds, which cashed at a whopping 18-1 when Rich Strike won the Derby.

Since the end of February, she has crushed the Saudi Cup, riding a 15-1 winner, nailed Derma Sotogake to win the UAE Derby and hit the exacta in the Santa Anita Derby. She has hit the exacta in the Preakness Stakes and Hollywood Gold Cup and had both the winner and exacta in the Summertime Oaks and the Prince of Wales's Stakes. And in July, she smashed the Haskell Stakes for a $663 score, hitting 12-1 winner Geaux Rocket Ride as well as the exacta.

For Saturday, Yu has handicapped the 2023 Breeders' Cup Classic lineup, made her picks and constructed her best bets. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.