In parts of the country and the world where the leaves have already turned brown, there will be plenty of California Dreamin’ going on this weekend. Between Kentucky, New York, California, and France, there will be 20 stakes races run Friday through Sunday that offer automatic berths into the Breeders’ Cup to be held Nov. 1-2 at Del Mar in Southern California. Conducted for the 41st time – and third time at Del Mar, where it will also be held in 2025 – the two-day Breeders’ Cup consists of 14 races with purses totaling a record $30 million. This, after it was announced in March, that the Breeders’ Cup Classic, the event’s richest race, will be worth $7 million and the Turf, the second-richest race, will have a $5 million purse. The last time the Breeders’ Cup was held at Del Mar, in 2021, horses based in Japan won two races – Marche Lorraine took the Distaff and Loves Only You the Filly and Mare Turf. According to Kate Hunter, the Breeders’ Cup’s Japan-based liaison, there are as many as 19 Japan-based horses under consideration for this year’s event. Three of those horses – Forever Young, Ushba Tesoro, and Derma Sotogake – are expected to be pre-entered in the Classic, which looks to be completely wide open. The 3-year-old Forever Young, who suffered his first career defeat when beaten a head by Mystik Dan in the Kentucky Derby, made a triumphant return to the races Wednesday in Japan, overcoming a slight stumble at the break to win the Japan Dirt Classic by about 1 1/2 lengths at Oi Racecourse. That should send him here as one of the favorites in what is expected to be a full Classic field. In last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, Derma Sotogake finished second and Ushba Tesoro fifth. Derma Sotogake is winless in three starts this year, including a fifth-place finish in the Nippon TV Hai Stakes on Sept. 25, a race in which Ushba Tesoro finished a late-running second. Ushba Tesoro is also winless in three starts this year, but he finished second in the $20 million Saudi Cup and $12 million Dubai World Cup. The most intriguing horse expected to be pre-entered the Classic is the 3-year-old City of Troy, a Kentucky-bred son of Justify who has never raced on dirt. He is 6 for 7 on turf but earned an automatic berth into the Classic by virtue of his one-length victory in the Juddmonte International at York on Aug. 21. City of Troy is trained by Aidan O’Brien, who, despite winning 18 Breeders’ Cup races and $33.8 million in purses, is winless with 17 starters in 14 runnings of the Classic. In 2000, O’Brien’s Giant’s Causeway was second to Tiznow and in 2008 Henrythenavigator finished second to Raven’s Pass at Santa Anita when the race was run over a synthetic track. O’Brien has called City of Troy the best horse he’s trained. :: ON SALE NOW: DRF Breeders' Cup Packages! Get everything you need to win and save 41% off the retail price. “He is and always was as a 2-year-old,” O’Brien said in a televised interview last week following City of Troy’s training session at Southwell Racecourse. “Obviously, it’s up to us to try and get that out of him for everybody to see.” Another potentially intriguing Classic runner would be Next should his connections opt for this spot. The dominant dirt marathon horse in the U.S., Next is being considered for the Classic and the Turf, at 1 1/2 miles. Trainer Doug Cowans said Next would have a workout next Tuesday at Turfway Park, after which he and owner Michael Foster will sit down to discuss which, if any, Breeders’ Cup race to pre-enter. There is a two-step entry process that will determine the fields for the 14 Breeders’ Cup races – the five races for juveniles being run Nov. 1, the remaining nine on Nov. 2. The first step is the pre-entry phase, where horses can be pre-entered in as many as two races for which they are eligible. The pre-entry deadline is Oct. 21 and pre-entered fields will be announced on Oct. 23. In the event a race oversubscribes, there is a multi-part process that helps determine the composition of the fields. In a 14-horse race, the first seven horses to gain entry are those who have won a designated Breeders’ Cup Challenge race or who have accrued the most points in graded stakes races. The next seven are determined by a Breeders’ Cup panel compromised of racing directors/secretaries. That panel also designates the order of preference for those who are not among the top 14. In a race limited to 12 starters, the first six are determined by Breeders’ Cup Challenge race wins or points and the remaining six are chosen by the panel. The second step is the entry phase, which takes place on Oct. 28; horses may only be entered in one race. In races where the maximum field is 14, up to four also-eligibles may be carded. In races where the maximum field is 12, up to six also-eligibles may be carded. Scratch time is 8 a.m. the day of the race. As far as the Classic is concerned, all the prep races have been completed. City of Troy, Arthur’s Ride, Highland Falls, Mixto, and Subsanador are all guaranteed spots in the Classic starting gate by virtue of winning designated Breeders’ Cup Challenge races. Sierra Leone (34) has accrued the most points in graded stakes and is also pointing to the race. Multiple Grade 1-winning 3-year-olds Fierceness and Seize the Grey are tied for second in points (27) and, by rule, the Breeders’ Cup panel/selection committee will select which of those two horses is guaranteed a spot and which one would have to be selected by committee. Seize the Grey is also being considered for the Dirt Mile. The Classic could attract as many as 20 pre-entrants. Fierceness won the 2023 BC Juvenile at 11-1 coming off a poor performance in the Grade 1 Champagne. It is possible Fierceness could be favored in this year’s Classic, coming off wins in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy and Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga. Fierceness, trained by Todd Pletcher, is currently training in Saratoga but is likely to move to Keeneland following this weekend. Fierceness trained at Keeneland last fall before winning the Juvenile. :: BREEDERS’ CUP CLASSIC: See DRF’s special section with top contenders, odds, comments, news, and more Fierceness is the 7-2 second choice on the early Classic morning-line set by Daily Racing Form’s Brad Free, who has City of Troy at 3-1. Fierceness, City of Troy, Forever Young, Sierra Leone, and Preakness winner Seize the Grey are the 3-year-olds expected for the Classic. The four-time Grade 1 winner Thorpedo Anna, arguably the best 3-year-old of either gender in training, is not under consideration for the Classic. She will run in the $2 million Distaff against defending Distaff winner and older dirt female champion Idiomatic. The group of older males under consideration for the Classic is a wildly inconsistent group, so much so that Free has Ushba Tesoro the shortest price of the elders at 8-1. Subsanador, trained by Richard Mandella, will come into the Classic off wins in the Iselin at Monmouth Park and a gutty head victory in the California Crown last Saturday at Santa Anita. Senor Buscador, who finished seventh in the Classic last year, finished fifth in the California Crown, but remains on target for the Classic, trainer Todd Fincher said Wednesday. He won the $20 million Saudi Cup in February and finished third in the $12 million Dubai World Cup. In two starts since, he was fourth in the Pat O’Brien and fifth in the California Crown. Newgate, beaten a head while third in the California Crown, is expected to be four-time Classic-winning trainer Bob Baffert’s lone Classic representative this year. Tapit Trice, winner of the Grade 2 Woodward; Pyrenees, the Grade 3 Pimlico Special winner; Crupi, the Grade 2 Suburban winner; Skippylongstocking, the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap winner; and longshots Il Miracolo and Facteur Cheval are also under Classic consideration. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.