NBC Sports will provide 10 ½ hours of live coverage of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships from Keeneland Race Course Oct. 30-31 in Lexington, Ky. The season-culminating two-day event features 14 races worth more than $34 million in purses and awards.

“Future Stars Friday” on Oct. 30 will showcase many of the world’s most promising 2-year-olds and will be broadcast on USA Network from 1-6 p.m. ET. The Championship Saturday coverage Oct. 31 also will begin on USA Network from 1-3:30 p.m. before shifting to NBC and Peacock from 3:30-6:30 p.m. The action culminates in the $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, which has a post time of 6:16 p.m. ET.

Veteran broadcaster Randy Moss will again provide expert analysis. He discussed Japan’s superstar Forever Young and his bid to join Tiznow as the only consecutive winners of the Classic, horses that loom as primary challengers to Forever Young, and other aspects of the Breeders’ Cup during a wide-ranging question-and-answer session conducted by Tom Pedulla on behalf of America’s Best Racing.

PEDULLA: Can Forever Young join Tiznow (2000-’01) as the only back-to-back Classic winners?

MOSS: There is no reason why he wouldn’t be able to. It’s going to be a challenge, as you would expect for a race like the Breeders’ Cup Classic. But he beat a field last year that was arguably as tough a field as he’ll face this year. He beat Sierra Leone and Fierceness a year ago. I guess the only question is, “Is he as good now as he was then?” His connections feel he’s as good or better.

Sovereignty gallops at Keeneland (Eclipse Sportswire)

PEDULLA: Does reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty or Knightsbridge represent the better hope in the Classic for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott?

MOSS: I would have to think Sovereignty. His workouts have been what most people consider slightly sub-par for Sovereignty, but we’ve all learned to have nothing but 100% faith in Mott. If Mott chooses to run Sovereignty, then I think we can all be confident that he expects the ‘A’ performance from Sovereignty that we’ve all become accustomed to like he showed in the Whitney Stakes.

PEDULLA: Should Knightsbridge be viewed as a contender?

MOSS: I think he should be viewed as a contender. As long as he can settle comfortably off the pace or manage to get a comfortable lead without having to be overly used, then I think he’s definitely in with a shot because he showed at Monmouth Park (in the Grade 3 Monmouth Cup Stakes) and he showed again at Del Mar (in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic) that he doesn’t have to be a one-turn horse. 

PEDULLA: How do you think Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve and Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets winner Golden Tempo will fare in his first test against older horses?

Golden Tempo at Keeneland (Eclipse Sportswire)

MOSS: It depends 100% in my opinion on the pace. He got a very lively pace setup in the Kentucky Derby, and we saw what he was capable of doing. But in the Belmont Stakes, which he won, he didn’t get the same kind of pace setup and he didn’t get the same kind of pace setup in the Travers Stakes either. He still ran pretty well (third). He is probably better now than he was when he won the Kentucky Derby. But given his running style, in a race like the Classic against older horses, he is going to be completely pace dependent.

PEDULLA: Can Magnitude rebound from his sixth-place finish in the Whitney?

MOSS: I would give the same answer for Magnitude as I did for Golden Tempo. It’s pace dependent but just in the opposite direction. Golden Tempo needs a fast early pace to set up his closing kick. Magnitude needs a very realistic pace to perform at his very best level. When he won the Dubai World Cup and when he won the Stephen Foster (Stakes), in both races he got a very comfortable early lead, an uncontested early lead and didn’t have to go overly fast, and he showed what he can do under those circumstances. When he ran in the Whitney at Saratoga and didn’t get that kind of setup, he didn’t run nearly as well. Maybe he just doesn’t like Saratoga. That’s a possibility. 

PEDULLA: How formidable is Nitrogen in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff?

MOSS: I think it’s a much more competitive race than we expected it to be a couple of months ago. Fully Subscribed has become a much-improved filly since she ran against Nitrogen last time. She has run just as fast as Nitrogen has in most of Nitrogen’s races. Splendora has won eight of her last nine races. 

Englishman at Keeneland (Eclipse Sportswire)

PEDULLA: Does Englishman look close to unbeatable in the Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint?

MOSS: If he holds his most recent form, he’s absolutely unbeatable. His most recent start was an off-the-charts, unbelievable performance. Sometimes horses regress a little bit, even when given time after a huge, huge effort like that. To me, he’s the most talented 3-year-old in America. But you’ve also got a horse in there in T O Elvis who was not as spectacular as Englishman but he was extremely impressive when he won the Churchill Downs Stakes at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby weekend. Among the horses who finished behind him in that race was Knightsbridge. 

PEDULLA: Do you see Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert winning his seventh Breeders’ Cup Juvenile with Hughes?

MOSS: I think Baffert has an excellent chance of winning his seventh Juvenile with either Hughes or Salahudin. I think people might be going to sleep a little bit on Salahudin. I think his race in the Iroquois Stakes, when he was left at the gate and was able to win anyway, even with a wide trip, was very impressive. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to see either him or Hughes in the winner’s circle for the Juvenile. Both horses are very, very deserving of strong support. There also is Coach Pope, who I think is very, very interesting. I think he’s extremely talented and I think he is in with a solid chance in the Juvenile as well.

PEDULLA: Who is Japan’s best hope after Forever Young?

T O Elvis at Keeneland (Eclipse Sportswire)

MOSS: T O Elvis is easily second best. After T O Elvis, there is a big dropoff. They have some other decent horses, but none that are as good as the top two. 

PEDULLA: T O Elvis has just one start this year. Do you hold that against him or does it not bother you?

MOSS: It doesn’t bother me at all, not at all, because it’s by design. If he had missed a race because of illness or injury and had missed training time as a result, at that point I start to get a little concerned. 

PEDULLA: May I ask you for a live longshot?

MOSS: R Disaster (Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint)

PEDULLA: May I ask your top four in the Classic?

MOSS: Sovereignty, Forever Young, Golden Tempo, The Puma