The main storylines to the $1.5 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint (race 8 on the Del Mar card) concerning Drefong’s attempted defense of his Sprint title, or whether horses like Roy H or Imperial Hint can upset Drefong in their current sharp form, almost take a back seat to the way Del Mar’s main track seems to be playing.

As noted by yours truly several times now, Del Mar’s main track was favoring speed opening day on Wednesday, and on Thursday. But on Friday, the opposite seemed true, with outside runners holding a distinct edge.

But if you go by how the Juvenile Fillies was run earlier in the card, if anything, you might think outside paths on the main track might be even stronger today. The Juvenile Fillies had an overwhelming outside flow to it, with the first four finishers – at odds of 17-1, 8-1, 30-1, and 5-1 – all racing away from the inside for most, if not all of the race.

If the inside is indeed dead, it could have a major negative impact on Drefong, who breaks from post 2, and be a big boon to Roy H and Imperial Hint, who both are in sensational form, and break from posts 8 and 10.

Of course, Drefong could escape the possible bias by breaking on the button, clearing quickly, and getting off the inside as fast as he can.

It will be fascinating to see how this plays out.