Belmont Stakes winner Essential Quality will try to end his career on a winning note when he leaves the starting gate in the 2021 Breeders' Cup Classic on Saturday at Del Mar. A winner of eight races in nine career starts, Essential Quality will retire after Saturday's $6 million race and go into stud duty next year, his owners announced. The three-year-old son of top American sire Tapit is 3-1 in the 2021 Breeders' Cup Classic odds.

Knicks Go, who like Essential Quality is trained by Brad Cox, is the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the nine-horse 2021 Breeders' Cup Classic field. Post time is 8:40 p.m. ET. With an elite field set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you'll want to see what handicapping wunderkind Matt Bernier has to say before making any 2021 Breeders' Cup Classic picks.

Bernier is one of the country's most recognizable horse racing analysts. An on-air contributor to NBC's horse racing telecasts and the host of "The Matt Bernier Show" podcast, Bernier first gained renown in 2013 when, at 23 years old, he became the youngest person at the time to qualify for the National Horseplayers Championship. He parlayed that success into a spot on the reality TV show "Horseplayers," which followed professional horseplayers around the country.

Two of his biggest scores came in 2014. In the prestigious Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge that year, Bernier finished sixth, earning $61,000 for the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance charity. He won $40,000 after winning the Aqueduct handicapping championship.

He also has cashed Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks future bets at enormous odds, including 75-1 on I'll Have Another in 2012, 75-1 on Orb in 2013 and 35-1 on Shedaresthedevil in 2020. Anyone who has followed him is way up.

Now, he has handicapped the 2021 Breeders' Cup Classic horses, made his picks and constructed his bets. You can only see them here.

Top 2021 Breeders' Cup Classic expert picks

One shocker: Bernier is completely fading Knicks Go, even though he is the morning-line favorite at 5-2. A gray son of Paynter who likes to go straight to the front and play "catch me if you can," Knicks Go has won nine races and more than $5.5 million in his career. Three starts ago, he won the Cornhusker Stakes with a Beyer Speed Figure of 113, which is the best in the field.

However, Knicks Go has been able to set easy fractions on uncontested leads in his last few races, and he is not likely to get the scenario on Saturday with other speed horses in the race. Bernier will not be using Knicks Go anywhere in his wagers.

How to make 2021 Breeders' Cup Classic bets, wagers

Bernier's top pick is a long shot who is peaking at the perfect time. Bernier is including this horse in his 2021 Breeders' Cup Classic bets, and so should you. He's sharing which horse to back here.

So who wins the 2021 Breeders' Cup Classic? And which long shot stuns horse racing? Check out the latest Breeders' Cup Classic odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Bernier's picks for the Breeders' Cup Classic, all from the expert who cashed big in the Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge.

2021 Breeders' Cup Classic odds

Knicks Go 5-2
Essential Quality 3-1
Hot Rod Charlie 4-1
Medina Spirit 4-1
Art Collector 8-1
Max Player 8-1
Tripoli 15-1
Express Train 20-1
Stilleto Boy 30-1