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The Breeders’ Cup will be missing two of the biggest names in horse racing.
Sovereignty and Mystik Dan, the last two winners of the Kentucky Derby, were excluded from racing at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in California.
Sovereignty, winner of this year’s Run of the Roses and Belmont Stakes, was officially ruled out Wednesday after coming down with a fever. He had been the early 6-5 favorite to win the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.
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Sovereignty, with Junior Alvarado on top, wins the 151st Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. (Michael Clevenger and Christopher Granger/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
It was announced Saturday that last year’s race winner Mystik Dan would no longer race in the $1 million Dirt Mile due to a sprained left ankle.
Last year’s Classic was won by Sierra Leone, who lost to Mystik Dan by a narrow margin in the 2024 Derby. Sierra Leone finished third in that year’s Belmont Stakes and won the Whitney Stakes last August at Saratoga. Sierra Leone will race again on Saturday, aiming to become the first horse to win the Classic in consecutive years since Tiznow in 2000 and 2001.
Mystik Dan #3, ridden by jockey Brian J. Hernandez Jr. crosses the finish line to win the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 4, 2024, in Louisville, Kentucky. (Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
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The Classic field includes 2025 Derby finalist Journalism (who won the Preakness and finished second in the Belmont) and Mindframe, who was runner-up in the Belmont and Haskell Stakes last year.
The Dirt Mile course features White Abarrio, who won the Classic, and Whitney in 2023.
Jockey Junior Alvarado reacts aboard Sovereignty (2) after winning the 157th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Saratoga Springs, New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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Post time for the Classic is 6:25 pm ET, and the dirt mile is one hour and 20 minutes later.
