by Jeff Lowe

Jerry and Ann Moss escaped this past weekend from the buildup for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, attending the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 25th anniversary concerts in New York.

On Tuesday, the Mosses and trainer John Shirreffs gave Zenyatta the final go-ahead to perform center stage as she puts her unbeaten record on the line against males and on home ground in the $5-million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).

Jon White, the oddsmaker for the Oak Tree meeting at Santa Anita Park, installed the 13-for-13 mare as the 5-to-2 favorite in a field of 13 for the Classic, which was the centerpiece in the draw for all 14 races on Tuesday afternoon in Santa Anita’s Frontrunner restaurant.

Zenyatta also had been pre-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (G1), the race she won last year at Santa Anita, but she will get the opportunity to become the first female to win the 1¼-mile Classic. Three other fillies or mares have competed in the 25 previous editions of the Classic, and the best performance was a third-place finish by Jolypha in 1992 at Gulfstream Park. Triptych finished sixth in 1986 at Santa Anita, and three-time champion older female Azeri finished fifth in 2004 at Lone Star Park.

“I went to a lot of rock and roll concerts last weekend, trying to get my mind off of this stuff, and it worked, and right now we’re back in the thick of it,” said Jerry Moss, a member of the Rock and Hall of Fame who named Zenyatta after The Police’s third album, Zenyatta Mondatta. “We’re having a great time. She’s so special. She deserves the chance. I think everybody is in for a treat Saturday. I love racing and I wish more people felt the same way. I hope maybe this will get more people interested in the game.”

Shirreffs said Zenyatta’s season worked out ideally for her to be at her best on Saturday. She has raced four times this year, winning the Milady (G1) and Vanity (G1) Handicaps at Hollywood Park, Clement L. Hirsch Stakes (G1) at Del Mar, and Lady’s Secret Stakes (G1) at Oak Tree. The Classic will be her first start beyond 1 1/8 miles.

“She’s raced four times this year, so she’s in great racing shape,” Shirreffs said. “In a campaign, you always want to build one race after the other. It would be a perfect time for her to do this. It’s not like after nine or ten races. We thought if she trained well up for this race that this would be the place to go, because she’s on the brink of making history. … She runs late and it always seems that the last sixteenth of a mile seems is when she’s hitting her best stride, so we’re hoping that the added distance will be to her advantage.”

Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (Eng-G1) winner Rip Van Winkle is the second-choice on the morning line for the Classic at 7-to-2. Last year, the top two finishers from the Queen Elizabeth II, Raven’s Pass and Henrythenavigator, ran one-two in the Classic. Henrythenavigator’s trainer, Aidan O’Brien, will take another shot with Rip Van Winkle.

Top American three-year-old colt Summer Bird is the 9-to-2 third choice, and six horses follow at 12-to-1: Colonel John, Richard’s Kid, Einstein (Brz), Gio Ponti, Quality Road, and Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner Mine That Bird, who drew the rail.

The shortest-priced favorite in the two-day program is O’Brien’s Irish Two Thousand Guineas (Ire-G1) and St. James’s Palace Stakes (Eng-G1) winner Mastercraftsman at 6-to-5 in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1).

Defending Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) winner Conduit (Ire) will make a repeat bid while Goldikova (Ire) is 8-to-5 as she tries to match Miesque as the only female to win consecutive editions of the TVG Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1). She will have to do it from the outside post in a field of 11.

Lookin At Lucky, the 8-to-5 top choice in the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1), also has the outside in a field of 13. His stablemate, Zensational, drew the rail for the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1).

“Of course I don’t like it, you never like the one hole, especially with speed horses,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “I was hoping to get the outside and we’re stuck in the one hole, but all the real speed is inside. … I really wasn’t sure where I wanted [Lookin At Lucky], but he is very manageable so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

With Zenyatta bypassing Friday’s feature, Beldame Stakes (G1) winner Music Note and Alabama Stakes (G1) winner Careless Jewel will have the spotlight in the $2-million Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (G1). White installed Music Note as the slight favorite at 9-to-5, with Careless Jewel at 2-to-1.

Forever Together is a 5-to-2 favorite to claim a repeat victory in Friday’s $2-million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1).

Ventura will be looking for a repeat win in the Sentinet Jet Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) on Friday. Ventura was made the 8-to-5 favorite and will break from post nine.

Complete fields for all 14 Breeders' Cup races including morning-line odds are available at THOROUGHBRED TIMES' Road to the Breeders' Cup website .

Jeff Lowe is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer