Richard Mandella may be part of Breeders' Cup Classic decision

When it comes to discussions of horse racing's seminal moment of the year, Big Brown vs. Curlin in the Breeders' Cup Classic, Richard Mandella is a man in the middle.

Mandella will be at Santa Anita today, partly as an observer, as the track puts on six Grade I races, with a total payout of $1.9 million. That is the first time six Grade I's have been run on the same track on the same day.

For the Hall-of-Fame trainer, his view will be from at least five sides:

That of fan: "Anybody who knows anything about horse racing wants to see this," he says. "This really is a big deal. It will be very unfortunate if it doesn't come together."

That of official: "I am a director of Oak Tree, and Oak Tree is a racing group that leases Santa Anita for a meeting this time every year. I want to make that clear. If Big Brown and Curlin run in the Breeders' Cup [at the end of the Oak Tree meeting], it will be a great thing for Oak Tree."

That of racing legend, the only person ever to train four Breeders' Cup winners on one day. That was 2003, the last time the Breeders' Cup was in Southern California and at Santa Anita. Mandella saddled winners Halfbridled in the Juvenile Fillies, Action This Day in the Juvenile, Johar in the Turf and Pleasantly Perfect in the Classic. His horses, including two others who were second and fourth, earned $4,564,040.

"I had a good day," the understated Mandella says.

He also says, "I had eight horses in that day. But when Halfbridled won, with Julie Krone riding her like a maestro, it was a huge relief.

"Then, things just got really busy."

Alex Solis rode Johar to a rare dead-heat finish and all that left for Mandella was Pleasantly Perfect, with Solis aboard again.

"I remember thinking that there's just no way this horse can win, too, even though he was a great horse," Mandella says. "That would just be too much."

But win he did, Mandella arriving just in time to saddle him. And now, his day is the gold standard for trainers in the richest of racing's many rich days, the Breeders' Cup.

Which makes his fourth role in all this even more interesting.

That of advisor to the Curlin camp.

Curlin is the 4-year-old who won last year's Preakness, finished in the money in the other two Triple Crown races, won the $5-million Dubai Cup and the $5-million Breeders' Cup Classic last year, and has a chance to become the top-winning thoroughbred of all time, surpassing Cigar's $9.9 million in purses.

That chance, dramatically for racing, also comes today, a continent away, in the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park in New York.

For Santa Anita, Oak Tree, the Breeders' Cup and racing in general, there is more at stake than a money record.

A victory by Curlin, or perhaps even a strong showing with a healthy recovery, would likely prompt Curlin's connections, led by majority owner Jess Jackson and trainer Steve Asmussen, to pack up Curlin for the West Coast and the ultimate showdown -- the Breeders' Cup Classic against Big Brown.

Big Brown is this year's Curlin. He was the shining star of the Triple Crown series, with just that one strange moment when he was pulled up while trailing badly on the last turn of the Belmont. Big Brown's connections, led by trainer Rick Dutrow Jr., have already committed to coming to the Classic.

So Curlin, in today's Jockey Club Gold Cup, is the last piece of the puzzle. That may be slightly more complicated than just win and come. And that's where Mandella plays a role.