Horse Racing

As usual, trainer Bob Baffert is expected to have a loaded hand in the Breeders' Cup Classic, and two of his top charges will go head-to-head on Saturday at Santa Anita Race Track. Accelerate and West Coast will square off in the (G1) Awesome Again Stakes where a field of six will run 1 1/8 miles chasing a $300,000 purse on the Santa Anita dirt.

The Joe Hirsch Turf Classic on Saturday afternoon from Belmont Park in New York is expected to live up to its name, with a field of multiple graded-stakes winners going 1 1/2 miles chasing a purse of $500,000. You could make a case for several of the eight starters to get the win, making the Joe Hirsch a real handicapping challenge.

On Saturday some of the top three-year-old colts in North America get one last prep race before heading to the Breeders' Cup Classic with the running of the $1 million (G1) Pennsylvania Derby. They'll be racing 1 1/8 miles on the dirt at Parx Racing outside of Philadelphia, and at least three in the field of 10 have BC Classic aspirations.

The focus of North American horse racing is on Parx Racing in Philadelphia this Saturday, which hosts the final two major stakes races this season restricted to three-old-fillies and colts. Both the Pennsylvania Derby and the Cotillion Stakes have handicapping implications for two of the biggest Breeders' Cup World Championships races coming up the first weekend of November at Churchill Downs.

With all the horses running at their special distance and on their special surface, every one of the 14 races that make up the Breeders' Cup weekend is a championship in its own right. With six weeks to go before the racing kicks off at Churchill Downs on November 2, here's a look at possible outright winners in a handful of races.

The race to the starting gate for the 2019 Kentucky Derby starts this Saturday at Churchill Downs with the running of the (G3) Iroquois Stakes. A full field of 12 two-year-old colts will go to the gate to run 1 1/16 miles on the Churchill dirt, chasing a purse of $150,000 and the first 2019 Derby qualifying points of the season.

The first and second-place finishers in the 2017 (G1) Northern Dancer Turf Stakes will renew their rivalry on Saturday at Woodbine Race Track, as defending champion Johnny Bear takes on UK star Hawkbill. The $300,000 Northern Dancer Turf will be run at 1 1/2 miles and has drawn an international field of 10 starters in a great betting race.

The road to the 2018 Breeders' Cup Mile goes through Woodbine Race Track this Saturday, with the running of the $800,000 Woodbine Mile. The race is a 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the BC Mile to be held at Churchill Downs on November 3. Four of the past six Woodbine Mile winners have used the race as a prep to winning the BC Mile.

A wide-open field of ten fillies and mares are expected to go to the gate on Saturday at Kentucky Downs for the running of the $500,000 (G3) Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf Stakes. As part of a four-stakes card that highlights the short Kentucky Downs summer meet, they'll be racing a flat mile on the turf course, with Maryland-bred I'm Betty G the lukewarm favorite.