GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Take a generous helping of Annika Sorenstam testing her mettle against the men of the PGA, season with Ali vs. Frazier in the “Thrilla in Manila” and you have the makings of Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic: a cross-gender slugfest pitting the great mare Azeri against a dozen of the toughest, orneriest male horses in the land.

Although the act of busting gender barriers is nowhere near as rare in horse racing as it is in golf – Sorenstam became the first female in 58 years to compete on the PGA circuit in May 2003 when she was given a sponsor’s waiver to play in the Colonial tournament – neither is it commonplace.

Only two other female horses have run in the first 20 Breeders’ Cup Classics out of 227 total entries, with the best showing being a third-place finish by the French invader Jolypha, who checked in 2½ lengths behind 1992 Classic winner A.P. Indy. The other who tried it, European import Triptych, finished sixth of 11 horses in 1986.

Although the practice of pitting females against males in races is almost standard practice in Europe – Jolypha had already faced older males in her brief five-race career when she showed up to contest the 1992 Classic – the practice still raises eyebrows in this country.

That’s especially true when the filly or mare (a female horse 5 for older) will be facing a deep field of accomplished male horses -- led by defending Classic champion Pleasantly Perfect -- in the richest race in North America.

“Anything can happen, but you usually judge your chances by the odds,” Murray Johnson, who trains the 5-year-old Classic competitor Perfect Drift, told USA Today on Tuesday, shortly after Azeri’s trainer, D. Wayne Lukas, announced the decision. “To go from being the dominant favorite of the day (in the Distaff, restricted to fillies and mares) to middle of the pack at a distance you’ve never won at (in the Classic), the owner must see it differently than the rest of us.”

The line maker at Lone Star Park, which plays host to Saturday’s eight-race extravaganza, agreed with Johnson’s assessment Wednesday, making Azeri the co-sixth choice in the 13-horse Classic field at odds of 15-1. She probably would have been the 6-5 favorite if her connections had elected to play it safe and run the 6-year-old mare against her own kind in the Distaff.

Still, Lukas wasn’t making any apologies for the move.

“We’re not taking as giant a step forward as you might think,” the Hall of Fame trainer said to one skeptic moments after his charge drew post position 3 for the 1 ¼-mile race. “If you do, bet on one of the other ones.”

Nor was the trainer pinning responsibility for the decision on Michael Paulsen, who manages the speedy mare for the living trust of his late father, Allen.

“It never was a debate,” he said. “A lot of hard facts went into the equation. We looked at the configuration of the racetrack, we looked at the competition – their style, our style. … Finally I said, ‘Michael, what do you want to do?’ … He looked at it and said, ‘Let’s go for it,’ and I said, ‘Great, let’s go for it,’ and that was the end of that.”

He also said that the bigger purse of the Classic -- $4 million vs. $2 million in the Distaff -– wasn’t a consideration.

“The money never came into it,” he said. “We’re trying to do something that has never been done. We’re trying to take … a mare to another level.”

Lukas is an unusual bird in the flock of American trainers, as he has a history of surprising observers by sending out a good filly or mare to victory over the males, often at long odds. Three of his most notable successes in that regard were 1988 Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors, Whitney Handicap winner Lady's Secret and Serena's Song, triumphant in the Haskell Invitational.

Still, there was no indication the second-guessing was dying down Wednesday on the Lone Star Park backstretch, as turf writers, other trainers and backstretch help gathered in knots to assess the move.

Some said the move appears misguided because Azeri was trounced in her only previous race against males – a 6 ¾-length loss in the Metropolitan Mile at Belmont on May 3, finishing well behind 50-1 Classic long shot Bowman’s Band.

Troubling to others is the fact that, despite her stellar record of 17 wins from 23 starts and $3,959,829 in earnings, which puts her atop the list of all-time female earners, Azeri has only run once at the demanding 1 ¼-mile distance. She lost.

The filly who beat her in the Personal Ensign Handicap this summer at Saratoga – Storm Flag Flying – is a solid 4-year-old who is third choice in the Distaff at 9-2 – but few would put her in a class with Azeri. To many observers, that suggests that Lukas’ charge will tire in the stretch when subjected to the strenuous pace that seems certain with Ghostzapper, Funny Cide, Roses in May and Newfoundland in the Classic.

Lukas said he shares neither of those concerns, saying Azeri hadn’t yet returned to her best form when beaten in the Met Mile and indicating that he has been working throughout the summer on getting Azeri to relax more in the early stages of her races so that she can finish strongly.

Apart from Johnson, who let it be known that he believes Paulsen called the shots in deciding to run Azeri in the Classic, citing a dispute last year in which the owner fired the mare’s previous trainer, Laura De Seroux, the other trainers with horses in the race appeared to take Azeri’s entry in stride.

“She’s definitely true speed and a great competitor, so you have to worry about her, but I don’t think it’s going to change what we do,” said Dale Romans, trainer of Roses in May, third choice in the morning line at 5-1.

Richard Mandella, trainer of Pleasantly Perfect, said he believes Azeri’s presence actually may increase the chances of his horse by ensuring a fast early pace that should set things up for the defending champ’s late kick.

Although he was reluctant to discuss the decision to enter Azeri in the race, Mandella eventually said the move to run in the Classic could be a defensive one aimed at protecting Azeri’s edge for the Eclipse Award for champion older female. Entering the Breeders’ Cup, Azeri is considered by many observers to be a slight favorite over the recently retired Sightseek to capture the honor for the third straight year.

“To be beaten (in the Distaff), she could lose that,” Mandella said. “But if she were to lose in the Classic, it probably wouldn’t be held against her. And if she were to win (the Classic), she could be Horse of the Year again. … There’s a lot more to gain and nothing to lose.”

But Lukas insisted the decision was nothing as Machiavellian as that.

“If you go through life afraid you’ll lose, you’ll miss a lot of opportunities. So we’re not afraid to lose. If we lose, we’ll accept it. If we win, we’ll high five and take the credit … and go out and ram it right down your ying-yang,” he said with a laugh.

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