When it comes to winning Breeders’ Cup races, trainer Bill Mott has been one of the best. He has won eight, including last year’s $5-million Classic with Drosselmeyer.

On Saturday, he’ll have Flat Out, Ron The Greek and To Honor And Serve set to go in the Classic at Santa Anita while trying to become the second trainer in the 29-year history of the event to win the Classic in consecutive years. Jay Robbins won with Tiznow in 2000 and 2001.

“I’ve got three good horses, and I think any one of them could win the race on their big day,” Mott said.

Mott, 59, also won with Cigar in the 1996 Classic. He won the Ladies’ Classic last year with Royal Delta, who is back for a repeat try Friday.


Kentucky Derby winner returns

Animal Kingdom, the 2011 Kentucky Derby winner, returns to the races in the $2-million Mile on Saturday.

The 4-year-old has not run since Feb. 18 after suffering a pelvis injury. His trainer, Graham Motion, has been thinking about the Breeders’ Cup for months.

“It was something that I thought was within his grasp,” Motion said. “Of course, everything had to go perfectly to get there, but it wasn’t like it was a last-minute decision.”


The 2011 Preakness winner, Shackleford, is running in the $1-million Dirt Mile.

Weather gamble

Those who made the decision to hold the 29th running of the Breeders’ Cup in Southern California are feeling good considering all the weather issues back East.

“Horse racing is a gambling game and one of the great things coming to California is you’re probably going to get good weather,” said Craig Fravel, president of the Breeders’ Cup.


Rise of Joe Talamo

What a weekend it could be for 22-year-old jockey Joe Talamo. He’s scheduled to ride in 10 of the 15 Breeders’ Cup races and also is on the verge of his first Southern California riding title, having a 10-win lead in the Santa Anita jockey standings with four days of racing left.

“He’s riding so well and works so hard,” agent Scott McClellan said. “He’s a breath of fresh air. Trainers respect him. They know they’re going to get an all-out ride.”

Buying in


Coolmore Stud has purchased a 50% interest in unbeaten Juvenile favorite Shanghai Bobby, according to Blood-Horse. The son of Harlan’s Holiday is supposed to arrive from New York on Wednesday.

Website problem

The Daily Racing Form’s website was experiencing outages on Tuesday because of the impact of the super storm Sandy, according to an email sent out by the organization.

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com