Overview
- Following the midweek scratch for a fever, the Classic field is set at nine, with morning-line odds listing Fierceness at 5-2 and Sierra Leone at 7-2.
- The 1 1/4‑mile, $7 million race goes off at 6:25 p.m. ET Saturday at Del Mar and will be televised on NBC.
- Trainer Chad Brown entered Contrary Thinking as a pace-setting ‘rabbit’ for Sierra Leone, a move publicly challenged by Fierceness owner Mike Repole, who argued entries should be made to win.
- Key contenders still include Journalism, Forever Young, Mindframe, Antiquarian, Baeza and Nevada Beach, with last year’s top three finishers—Sierra Leone, Fierceness and Forever Young—back in the gate.
- The Classic anchors a 14-race, $34 million Breeders’ Cup program, with Rebel’s Romance seeking an unprecedented third victory in the $5 million Turf.