It seems like yesterday but horse bettors that have graying hair will remember how the game changed in 1984 but before going into the new Breeders' Cup format, consider this line from last week's column: 'As far the riders at Fairplex, it starts and ends with Martin Pedroza.' All Pedroza has done is win with 19 of his first 42 mounts of the stand. That's a cool 45% for those keeping score.

Impossible to believe that this year will be the 25th running of the Breeders' Cup and I was there for the very first running and this season, horse bettors will have 14 chances to reach for the golden ring and shoot for a life changer.

I was lucky enough to set the morning line for the Daily Racing Form for the inaugural Cup and it was a learning experience.

There were only 7 BC races and if memory serves, I picked three of the 7 correctly, but I was wrong in my assessment of the Sprint favorite but it was corrected before print time by the national publisher.

You tend to remember your mistakes in this sport and the best horse bettors around not only remember their mistakes but also learn from them.

This year there are 14, yep 14, BC races and now is the time for hard-working horse bettors to map out a strategy starting with what they will see less than 50 days from now.

Positioning and posturing will be all important in the next few weeks and the people that are pulling the strings, generally the trainers, have to have a plan of action that is able to be implemented in order for success on horse racing's biggest stage.

The Cup will encompass 2 days of action in Arcadia, California at Santa Anita, October 24 and 25, and the first day will be devoted exclusively for the female set.

The official order of the races are usually assigned about a dozen days out from the event.

It has also been announced for the first time, also eligible horses will be designated following the close of entries for all oversubscribed races at the Breeders' Cup World Championships.  An oversubscribed race is one in which there are more than 14 horses (or 12 in three instances) entered to participate.

Eight million in purses will be given on Friday with the mile and a sixteenth BC Juvenile Fillies, the mile and an eighth Ladies Classic and the mile and a quarter Filly and Mare Turf all earmarked with $2 million pots.

The other two events that day, the 7-furlong Filly and Mare Sprint and the mile Juveniles Fillies Turf will offer $1 million in total prizes.

On Saturday the 25th, the cheapest race will be the $500,000 mile and a half Dirt Marathon. The million-dollar events will be the mile Juvenile Turf, the six and a half furlong Turf Sprint and the Dirt Mile.

Two million in prize money will be up for grabs in the mile and a sixteenth Juvenile, 6-furlong Sprint and Mile while the mile and a half Turf will be for those elite chasing a $3 million pot.

The granddaddy of them all has a $5 million purse and the reward of likely Horse of the Year in the mile and a quarter Classic.

Leading up to the big day, horse bettors should try to read in between the lines of the connections and focus on stables that have a definite plan for their horse.

This is no time of the year to start waffling.