With just days remaining until the Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championships, racing fans are wondering whether Azeri and Ouija Board will turn the eight-card event into a Battle of the Sexes in Texas.

On Tuesday, Azeri was entered in the $4 million Classic instead of the Distaff, and everything will become more apparent Wednesday when entries are drawn for Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup races at Lone Star Park, which will be broadcast live from 1-6 p.m. ET by NBC Sports.

Azeri, one of the best racemares of all time, with 17 victories from 23 starts, will face top older males such as defending champion Pleasantly Perfect, 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Funny Cide and the lightly raced but brilliant Ghostzapper. If trainer D. Wayne Lukas and Michael Paulsen, who manages the 6-year-old mare for his late father Allen’s living trust, had decided not to take on the males, Azeri would have been the heavy favorite against other fillies and mares in the $2 million Distaff.

Meanwhile, trainer Edward Dunlop and owner Lord Derby are on the fence over whether to run the excellent British filly Ouija Board against the sharp U.S.-based 3-year-old colt Kitten’s Joy and older male grass runners in the $2 million Turf, or stick with her kind in the $1 million Filly and Mare Turf.

Azeri probably has a slight edge over the recently retired Sightseek in the race for the Eclipse award for older female runner, and a victory in the Distaff likely would have cemented an unprecedented third straight. The only horse to ever win 3 or more consecutive divisional Eclipse awards is the great Forego, who was voted best older male from 1974-1977 and was Horse of the Year in all but '77.

On the other hand, a victory in the Classic would vault Azeri into contention for Horse of the Year honors, an accolade she captured in 2002. No filly or mare has ever won Horse of the Year twice, and doing so would add to Azeri’s value as a broodmare when she is expected to retire after this year.

A loss in either race — such as a 6¾-length drubbing she suffered in the Metropolitan Mile last May, which was the only time she faced males — could open the door for Sightseek to snatch divisional honors.

There isn’t quite as much riding on the Ouija Board decision.

A win in either the Turf or the Filly and Mare Turf would instantly make her the favorite for the Eclipse for best female turf runner. But her owner might prefer a victory in the Turf over older males — an achievement she narrowly missed when she was a fast closing third behind Bago in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on Oct. 3.

While the Turf and the Classic would be more intriguing with the ladies in the lineup, both races offer handicappers plenty if they don’t show up.

With Azeri, as many as 13 horses are expected in the Classic, the richest race in North America and often the deciding factor in Horse of the Year voting.

Defending champion Pleasantly Perfect, trained by last year’s Breeders’ Cup hero Richard Mandella, will try to become the second horse to defend his title (Tiznow did it 2000 and 2001) and the first to capture the testing 1¼-mile race at the relatively old age of 6. A good effort would send him to the Japan Cup in Tokyo on Nov. 27, after which he is to be retired.

A victory, on top of wins this year in the Pacific Classic and the Dubai World Cup, would sew up the Eclipse for best older male runner and could propel him to Horse of the Year.

Among the main challengers to Pleasantly Perfect are Birdstone, Smarty Jones’ conqueror in the Belmont Stakes and the only colt standing from this year’s Triple Crown chase in terms of Breeders’ Cup competition; Funny Cide, resurgent star of last year’s Triple Crown campaign;  Ghostzapper, a Bobby Frankel-trained 4-year-old who has developed into a major star this year on the East Coast; and late-blooming 4-year-old Roses in May, who earned his chance to run for yellow roses in Texas by going 5-for-5 this year.

If Ouija Board is a no-go in the Turf, Kitten’s Joy won’t have to share the marquee in the 1½ mile race.

The Dale Romans-trained colt is leading candidate for the Eclipse for male turf runner and is in the running for both top 3-year-old and Horse of the Year honors as the result of a stellar campaign that saw him win six of seven turf races this year.

The son of El Prado holds a speed-figure edge over his rivals, but if there’s a surprise package in the field it may come from Powerscourt, an Irish invader who already has crossed the pond once to win the Arlington Million (and then lose it via disqualification).

The first six races on the card, all of which carry purses of at least $1 million, also have plenty to keep handicappers occupied:

Distaff
With Azeri in the Classic, this race becomes a tussle among 3-year-old fillies Ashado, Society Selection and Stellar Jane and their elders, 4-year-olds Storm Flag Flying, who beat Azeri this year, Island Fashion and European Nebraska Tornado, trained by three-time Breeders’ Cup winner Andre Fabre. The younger horses are fighting it out for end-of-year honors for best 3-year-old filly.

Juvenile Fillies
Likely favorite Sweet Catomine, trained by the canny Julio Canani, will have to deal with Frizette winner Baletto, Arlington Lassies winner Culinary, Alcibiades winner Runway Model, Matron winner Sense of Style and other improving 2-year-old fillies if she is to add to her victories in the Del Mar Debutante and the Oak Leaf Stakes. The winner will almost certainly be the Eclipse Award winner for 2-year-old filly.

Mile
Defending champion Six Perfections crosses the Atlantic once more, though her form isn’t as impressive as it was entering this race last year. Among her challengers in what looks like a wide-open rendition are Artie Schiller, who broke the course record for 1 1/8 miles in his last start at Belmont; the Frankel-trained Nothing to Lose; the Julio Canani-trained duo of Special Ring and Blackdoun; Oak Tree Mile winner Musical Chimes and Singletary, who finished two nostrils behind her in that race; Atto Mile winner Soaring Free; and the intriguing French colt Whipper. The winner will be catapulted into the picture for the appropriate Eclipse turf award

Sprint
The decision of the owners of division leader Pico Central not to supplement their star to the race is good news for the connections of division leaders Speightstown, Kela, Our New Recruit and Champali. The always heavily armed Frankel has an intriguing duo in here, defending champion Cajun Beat, transferred to his care earlier this year, and the versatile Midas Eyes, who comes into the race off a pair of sharp victories at Saratoga this summer. Pico Central probably has the top sprinter Eclipse sewn up, but an impressive victory by any one of the Sprint entrants could make the voting interesting.

Filly & Mare Turf
If Ouija Board goes here, she’ll be a strong favorite. If she doesn’t, handicappers will have to sort through an ensemble headed by Frankel’s Light Jig and Megahertz; Flower Bowl Invitational winner Riskaverse; Wonder Again, triumphant in the Diana Handicap; the quick-footed Moscow Burning; improving recent European import Aubonne; and Nebraska Tornado, an intriguing Fabre-trained runner who reportedly heads to Texas in search of firmer ground than she’s been running on in Europe. The winner immediately becomes a leading contender for older female turf honors, unless Ouija Board wins the Turf.

Juvenile
The most formful of Breeders’ Cup races attracts a small field of eight pre-entries. Likely favorite Roman Ruler, trained by Bob Baffert, must contend with Champagne Stakes winner Proud Accolade; Champagne runner-up Afleet Alex, the Lukas-trained Consolidator, winner of the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland in his last start; and intriguing European invader Wilko, who is bred for dirt and looks like he has been crying out for more distance. To the winner goes the Eclipse for best 2-year-old male.

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