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American Pharoah installed as the 6-5 favorite in Breeders’ Cup Classic

Triple Crown winning jockey Victor Espinoza shares a laugh before the Breeders' Cup Classic horse race post position draw at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

Triple Crown winning jockey Victor Espinoza shares a laugh before the Breeders’ Cup Classic horse race post position draw at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

(Garry Jones / Associated Press)
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The stage is set for America’s best mare to take on America’s Triple Crown winner in Saturday’s $5-million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland Racecourse in Kentucky.

American Pharoah, the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years, drew post position No. 4 and was installed as the 6-5 favorite Monday for what will be his final race under jockey Victor Espinoza before heading to the breeding shed.

Drawing the outside post position at No. 10 was Beholder, a 5-year-old mare who is trying to become the first horse to win three different Breeders’ Cup races. Gary Stevens will ride Beholder, the second choice at 3-1 for the Classic.

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Each has a Hall of Fame trainer. Bob Baffert’s American Pharoah has become the crowd favorite after winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes. Richard Mandella’s Beholder has won 15 of 20 career starts and is trying to join Zenyatta as the only mare to win the Classic, a distance test at 1 1/4 miles.

“He fulfilled a goal for me that I wanted but thought was probably unreachable, and that was to win the Triple Crown,” Baffert said of the 3-year-old colt that has won eight of 10 career starts and earned $5,900,300.

American Pharoah had his final workout at Santa Anita on Monday and is set for a plane trip to Kentucky on Tuesday.

There will be four Breeders’ Cup races Friday and nine Saturday. It’s the first time since 2011 that the Breeders’ Cup hasn’t been held at Santa Anita. It’s scheduled to return to the Arcadia track next year.

Among the 175 horses entered in the Breeders’ Cup is Europe’s top 3-year-old, Golden Horn, who will race in the $3-million Turf at 1 1/2 miles. Golden Horn won the prestigious Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in France on Oct. 3.

POST - HORSE, JOCKEY: ODDS

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1 - Tonalist, John Velazquez: 6-1

2 - Keen Ice, Irad Oraz Jr.: 12-1

3 - Frosted, Joel Rosario: 15-1

4 - American Pharoah, Victor Espinoza: 6-5

5 - Gleneagles, Ryan Moore: 20-1

6 - Effinex, Mike Smith: 30-1

7 - Smooth Roller, Tyler Baze: 15-1

8 - Hard Aces, Joseph Talamo: 50-1

9 - Honor Code, Javier Castellano: 6-1

10 - Beholder, Gary Stevens: 3-1

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

Twitter: @LATSondheimer

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