BC Classic Void of U.S.-Based 2023 Triple Crown Horses

Following the recent defections of Mage  and Arcangelo  from the Nov. 4 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita Park, there will be no American-trained alumni from the 2023 Triple Crown in the $6 million main event.

Only the Japanese-trained Derma Sotogake  is a Classic participant after competing in the first leg of the American Triple Crown, finishing sixth in the May 6 Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs. Trainer Hidetaka Otonashi trains the son of Mind Your Biscuits  for owner Hiroyuki Asanuma.

Regarding the individual race winners—Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mage was not entered after his connections said he ran a fever over the weekend; Preakness Stakes (G1) winner National Treasure  is running instead in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) earlier on the card; and Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Arcangelo was announced as scratched by trainer Jena Antonucci Oct. 31 over concerns related to heat in the 3-year-old's left hind foot.

King: Arcangelo to Scratch From Breeders' Cup Classic

Gash: Mage to Miss Breeders' Cup Classic

Other notable Triple Crown participants, such as Belmont runner-up Forte  , are not in the race due to physical setbacks, and still others did not perform well enough over the year to warrant racing in the prestigious 1 1/4-mile Classic.

So Derma Sotogake will be the only familiar Triple Crown chestnut equine face among the dozen horses remaining, of which four are 3-year-olds.

Tuesday, Derma Sotogake jogged over the Santa Anita surface under Masa Segawa before jockey Christophe Lemaire climbed aboard to give him a robust and untimed gallop, coming down the stretch with energy and galloping out evenly around the turn. A short workout is a possibility Nov. 1.

"He went very well. He was grabbing the ground well and feels strong. I liked how he felt," Lemaire said.

Though the Classic will be without American-based Kentucky Derby runners, the favorite is a horse that fans saw on the Road to the Kentucky Derby early in the year: Zedan Racing Stables' Arabian Knight , winner of the Southwest Stakes (G3) in January for trainer Bob Baffert.

Needing time off, he missed the major 3-year-old races in the spring and was pointed for a summer and fall campaign. Since returning, he was third in the July 22 Haskell Stakes (G1) at Monmouth Park—a loss Baffert blames on the Uncle Mo   colt being too fresh after a layoff—and a front-running win in the Sept. 2 Pacific Classic (G1) at 10 furlongs against older horses at Del Mar.

He is 3-0-1 in four starts with earnings of $1.2 million and considered one of the few 3-year-olds with a chance to potentially outpoll Arcangelo as champion 3-year-old male, though to do so, he would need a top performance Saturday.

The remaining two 3-year-olds in the Classic are late developers—Saudi Crown  and Dreamlike , 1-2 in the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) Sept. 23 at Parx Racing.

Arabian Knight, Saudi Crown, and Dreamlike may have missed the Derby, but a pair of 4-year-old Classic entrants raced in the Derby last year at age 3: Jeff Drown's Zandon   and C2 Racing Stable and La Milagrosa Stable's White Abarrio , respectively third and 16th.

Both won their final tune-ups for Saturday's race. Zandon took the Oct. 1 Woodward Stakes (G2) during the Belmont at the Big A meet, and White Abarrio rolled at Saratoga Race Course in the Aug. 5 Whitney Stakes (G1), in which he defeated Zandon by 6 1/4 lengths.