Bernardini and Lava Man will duel for Horse of the Year honors in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic, while trainer Todd Pletcher has a chance to make one of the biggest scores in racing with a record 18 horses set to run at the Breeders' Cup World Championships.

A total of 121 horses were pre-entered yesterday for eight Breeders' Cup races worth $20 million at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., Nov. 4.

As usual, the 1¹/₄-mile Classic is the main attraction. The smooth-striding Bernardini has cruised to six consecutive victories, including the Preakness, the Travers and the Jockey Club Gold Cup, and will be the favorite. There are plenty of legitimate challengers, from West Coast whiz Lava Man (7 for 7 this year -- all in California) to South American sensation Invasor (8 of 9 lifetime) to Europe's dynamic duo of Group 1 winners David Junior and George Washington.

A surprise pre-entry was Discreet Cat, the unbeaten 3-year-old owned by Sheik Mohammed's Godolphin Racing. Discreet Cat handed Invasor his only loss, in the UAE Derby, and is coming off a 10¹/₄-length romp in the Jerome Breeders' Cup Handicap.

Five starters from last year were pre-entered: Flower Alley, Perfect Drift, Super Frolic and Suave, the second- through fifth-place finishers, respectively -- and trainer Nick Zito's Sun King. Also in the field is Giacomo, who returns to the scene of his 2005 Kentucky Derby win at odds of 50-1.

Pro basketball

John Whisenant resigned as coach of the Sacramento Monarchs, but will remain the WNBA franchise's general manager. Whisenant led the Monarchs to the 2005 league title and got them back to the WNBA Finals this past season, losing in five games to Detroit.

College basketball

Ricardo Patton is through waiting for a contract extension. He announced he's resigning as the men's coach at the University of Colorado when his deal expires at the end of the 2006-07 season. Patton made the announcement at the team's annual media day. Patton is 177-140 in 10 years at Colorado.

Hockey

The Johnstown Chiefs overcame an early deficit to defeat the visiting Wheeling Nailers, 3-2, in ECHL action. Stanislav Lascek had a goal and an assist for Johnstown. Sean Collins gave Wheeling a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal in the first.

Cycling

Reducing the length of major races such as the Tour de France could be one way to help the fight against doping in cycling, the leader of the Pro Tour said.

"If the UCI audit shows that the length or the difficulty of the major Tours is identified as a factor [in doping], the UCI will not hesitate to act," Pro Tour manager Alain Rumpf said after meeting with members of the International Association of Professional Cycling Teams (AIGCP).

Tour de France champion Floyd Landis is accused of doping during July's race. The American faces a two-year ban and being stripped of his title. Critics suggest the torturous nature of the three-week race could encourage riders to use performance-enhancing substances. Organizers of the Tour, Spanish Vuelta and Giro d'Italia are in conflict with the Pro Tour. They wish to be excluded from the Pro Tour calendar and race separately. All three events, however, are included in the 2007 schedule.

Soccer

The South African government plans to spend $1.9 billion on new stadiums and related infrastructure for the 2010 World Cup. Finance Minister Trevor Manuel told parliament that preparations for the tournament -- the first to be held in Africa -- were one of the country's top spending priorities for the next three years.

FIFA suspended Kenya's federation for failing to prevent government interference in the sport.

Sean Esterbauer had both goals and goalkeeper Kosta Floros posted his eighth shutout of the season as host Bethany defeated Westminster, 2-0, to claim the Presidents' Athletic Conference title.

St. John's edged visiting Pitt, 1-0, in the first round of the Big East tournament.

Cross country

The Atlantic 10 men's and women's championships are Saturday at Schenley Park. Duquesne is the defending men's champion.