Earned a spot in the Breeders' Cup Classic via a Breeders' Cup Challenge victory in the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park on Saturday, September 27, 2008.

Strengths: North America’s first $10 million earner, he’s done it all from the 2007 Triple Crown trail, through last fall’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, to this spring’s Dubai World Cup. A pure, Classic-distance runner, he has a proven ability to grind down foes with his massive strides. Consistent, classy and has had the ability to win on a menagerie of different track surfaces and conditions. Sire, Smart Strike, is one of the sport’s top all-weather and turf sires, lending credence to his ability to handle the synthetics.

Weaknesses: A brilliantly fast sophomore in his initial tries, Curlin’s body has grown into massive proportions, and with it, he’s become a bit less athletic and more of a grind-it-out type. Since his highly impressive Dubai World Cup score, he’s returned victorious on several occasions, but most speed-figure calculations and naked-eye tests say he might be a step slower than he was in his brilliant run last autumn. But his style certainly has worked wonders for him, and a step slow for Curlin still may be two or three steps ahead of the rest.

Bet You Didn’t Know: Curlin became the third Preakness winner to annex the Breeders' Cup Classic. The other two were Alysheba and Sunday Silence.