Just a few more days! On October 31 and November 1, the Del Mar racetrack in California will play host to the biggest global horse racing event of the year. Bob Baffert calls the Breeders’ Cup the “All-Star game of horse racing“, and he isn’t wrong in saying that. While the Kentucky Derby might be the more popular event among the casual fans, the real ones know: the Breeders’ Cup is the fad. Naturally, with 2025 not being the best year on his resume, Baffert’s followers were sure that the Hall of Fame trainer would go all-in for the upcoming spectacle. But bleak news arrives instead.

A post by sports journalist J.J. Hysell on X from October 25 shares how the 72-year-old horse racing trainer will need to scratch one of his horses from the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1). “Desert Gate is OUT of the BC Juvenile,” the social media update notes. The reason? The man himself, Baffert, shared why the 2-year-old had to be dropped from the field.

“He got an infection on his hock and we had to treat it with antibotics. I wouldn’t be able to work him (on Sunday). He is going to be OK, but he is not going to run,” Baffert was quoted as saying in Hysell’s tweet. Undoubtedly, a blow to the guts for the fans who were hoping to see Baffert unleash his full force in Del Mar. Desert Gate, too, had a lot of potential to show off his skills for the connoisseurs to witness at the top-tier race.

The son of Omaha Beach made his graded debut in August by winning the Best Pal Stakes (G3). At the Del Mar Futurity (G1) in September, Desert Gate’s second-place finish sealed a one-two finish for Bob Baffert (Brant won the race) and proved beyond a doubt that great things awaited the colt and his trainer. In October, the colt finished second at the American Pharoah Stakes (G1), and Baffert noted that the rising horse racing sensation was “built for speed.” Many had hoped to witness this speed firsthand in California, but it isn’t to be.

Desert Gate’s last workout came on October 20 at the Santa Anita racecourse, where he crossed five furlongs in under a minute. With Baffert heading to the Breeders’ Cup with multiple horses for almost all the races, Desert Gate could have easily used the opportunity to prove his worth to the legendary trainer to take up more responsibilities in the coming days.

Thankfully, though, while fans won’t be able to experience how the horse would have fared against some of the top horses in the world, some of whom were also his stablemates, horse racing enjoyers won’t be missing out on the Bob Baffert action altogether.

Bob Baffert will have a tough challenge in Del Mar

In the absence of Desert Gate, Litmus Test and Brant will be Baffert’s poster boys at the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Litmus Test (sired by Nyquist) comes off a third-place finish at the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity (G1), while the son of Gun Runner is feeling like a good bet after his Del Mar Futurity victory. But the Juvenile isn’t the main draw of the Breeders’ Cup by any means. Desert Gate’s half-brother, Nevada Beach, will be entering the Breeders’ Cup Classic and face-off against the likes of Sovereignty (Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, and Travers Stakes winner) and Journalism (Preakness Stakes and Haskell Stakes winner).

With Sovereignty looking good ahead of the big race slated for next Saturday, Baffert will have to come up with a special plan to give Nevada Beach a fighting chance. Moreover, the inclusion of names like Fierceness (2024 Breeders’ Cup runner-up and 2025 Pacific Classic winner) and Sierra Leone (the defending Classic champ) will only make things more contentious.

But if you’ve followed Bob Baffert’s career with any attention, you’ll know perfectly well that discounting him from a race should be the last thing you’d want to do. Granted, his return to Churchill Downs after three years wasn’t something to cry home about, but Baffert’s massive resume should be enough to give the bettors hope in any race, and the Breeders’ Cup won’t be any different!