Cast of heavyweight champions makes Breeders' best by far

It might not be the richest event in racing these days, but the Breeders' Cup is still the biggest and the best. Sure, it's not without its flaws, but it remains the only event in racing that can even half-convincingly be said to represent a true world championships, uniting stars from both sides of the Atlantic in the sport's leading transcontinental contest.

The pre-entries for next weekend's two-day meeting were revealed to the British media this week in a press conference oddly held at that temple of international racing Chelmsford, a bit like having a World Cup group draw at Southend. And what names were announced: from America alone we have Arrogate, California Chrome, Tepin, Frosted, Beholder and Songbird – big horses, the best of the world's largest racing nation queueing up to take each other and the Europeans on.

You could write an epic on that list's achievements, but let's just focus on California Chrome and Arrogate for a moment. Officially ranked one and two in the world this year, they're a pretty sound place to begin, and their fascinating clash is the meeting in microcosm.