By Rory Carroll
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Trainer Bob Baffert’s Arabian Knight has a clear path to victory in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park after Belmont Stakes winner Arcangelo scratched this week.
Arcangelo’s absence due to a left hind foot issue narrowed the field down to 12 horses for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, which is sometime called the “Super Bowl” of thoroughbred racing.
Arcangelo, who also triumphed at the Travers Stakes, had drawn the inside post and was a 7-2 choice before trainer Jena Antonucci announced the colt was unable to run.
“We need to do right by him and missing a race is going to be what it’s going to be this time,” said Antonucci, who became the first female trainer to win one of U.S. thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown races at the Belmont Stakes in June.
Baffert, the winningest trainer in history, is looking to notch his fifth victory in the $6 million Classic. Pacific Classic champion Arabian Knight is a 3-1 favorite in what will be just the colt’s fourth career start.
Ushba Tesoro and White Abarrio are both 4-1 in the 1-1/4 mile race on dirt, while 12-1 Zandon comes in with momentum after winning the Woodward Stakes last month.
The 40th running of the Breeders’ Cup, which consists of 14 races over Friday and Saturday, comes amid ongoing controversy over the welfare of horses in a sport which is desperately trying to revive its image.
That effort faced new setbacks this week after Practical Move, who was scheduled to compete in Saturday’s Dirt Mile, died of an apparent heart problem after a training session at Santa Anita on Tuesday.
Fellow three-year-old Geaux Rocket Ride was euthanized on Wednesday after being seriously injured while training at the track, bringing number of race horses who have perished at California tracks this year alone to 72.
Baffert, one of the sport’s most recognizable faces, is no stranger to allegations of the illegal doping of horses and questions about thoroughbreds dying in his stables over his Hall of Fame career.
Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby, has suspended Baffert through 2024, saying he has not been honest about the failed drug test of Medina Spirit, who finished first at the 2021 Kentucky Derby but was later disqualified.
Baffert, who trained Triple Crown winners American Pharoah and Justify, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Protesters are expected to greet fans arriving at scenic Santa Anita, which is located just outside Los Angeles.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles, editing by Ed Osmond)
