Zenyatta won’t race with the boys

A full field of 14 horses will run in the Breeders’ Cup Classic Oct. 25, and star filly Zenyatta will not be one of them.

Zenyatta was a long shot possibility to race against the boys in the Classic. But the unbeaten 4-year-old, trained by John Shirreffs, will be the star of the show in the $2-million Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic next Friday.

Zenyatta has won all eight of her starts, three of them Grade I races.

Thursday was announcement day for pre-entries for the 14-race, $25.5-million Breeders’ Cup series that will be held at Santa Anita as part of the fall Oak Tree meeting.

Curlin, last year’s Horse of the Year and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, will face the maximum 13 competitors in the $5-million Breeders’ Cup Classic race. That list includes Go Between, Well Armed, Tiago, Colonel John, Smooth Air, Pyro, Casino Drive, Student Council, Raven’s Pass, Champs Elysee, Duke of Marmalade, Mast Track and Henrythenavigator. There could be last-minute shuffling, however, because seven of the 16 horses pre-entered in the Classic also were pre-entered in another race.

Tuesday is the deadline for final entries into a single race.

Thursday’s announced pre-entry list of 180 horses was a Breeders’ Cup record in this, the event’s 25th year. Of that total, 35 were from Europe, also a record, and two were by the same trainer, Aidan O’Brien, who has Duke of Marmalade and Henrythenavigator.

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Eight retired Hall of Fame jockeys will go through a re-licensing procedure at Santa Anita this morning, before riding in a special Legends race Saturday that not only will count on their records but also be open to parimutuel betting.

The eight are Angel Cordero Jr., 65; Jerry Bailey, 45; Sandy Hawley, 59; Gary Stevens, 45; Pat Day, 55; Jacinto Vasquez, 64, Julie Krone, 45, and Chris McCarron, 53. Bailey drew the favorite in the seven-furlong race, Dee Dee’s Legacy.

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bill.dwyre@latimes.com