Breeders' Cup 2019: Top Contenders, Early Odds and More for Classic Race

McKinzie looks set to go off as favourite for Saturday's 2019 Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California.

The headline race at the Breeders' Cup World Championships, the Classic will also include Kentucky Derby runner-up Code of Honor, who is expected to push McKinzie for victory in the 10 furlong race.

Here's a look at the top contenders running on Saturday, along with early odds, courtesy of Oddschecker.

McKinzie (3-1)

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Trainer Bob Baffert has won the Classic three times before, with Bayern in 2014, American Pharoah in 2015 and Arrogate in 2016.

This year, the Hall of Famer's hopes lie on four-year-old McKinzie, who will be jockeyed by Joel Rosario after a late change from Mike Smith, who will now ride Yoshida (8-1).

McKinzie's career form is remarkably good, with the colt finishing 12 out of 13 races in the top two spots.

The only outlier is last year's Breeders' Cup Classic, when he faded to finish 12th.

Also, not since winning his first three races has McKinzie recorded consecutive victories.

Given he finished second to Mongolian Groom (20-1) in his last race at the Awesome Again Stakes, it would be in keeping with that variable form to return to the winner's circle on Saturday. 

Code of Honor (9-2)

While McKinzie's form may have been a little inconsistent of late, Code of Honor comes into the Breeders' Cup Classic on the back of three wins in a row.

Most recently, the three-year-old prevailed in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, beating Vino Rosso (9-2) into second.

That duo will be starting from the extreme outside of the field of 11 for Saturday's race:

Code of Honor finished strongly at the Gold Cup and eventually was crowned the winner after Vino Rosso's disqualification.

Barring a major downturn in form from recent outings, he should be in the running to the end in the Classic.

Elate (13-2)

Five-year-old mare Elate has a lot going for her when it comes to picking a winner for Saturday's headline run.

Perhaps most pertinent among the statistics is that she has won all three of her races at 10 furlongs during her career:

She also has two wins and two seconds in her last four outings.

Then there are the less tangible elements. 

As the only mare in this year's race, Elate is looking to match the achievement of Zenyatta, who exactly a decade ago became the first, and still only, female horse to win the prestigious race.

Given Elate's pedigree and form, Zenyatta could have some company in the record books come Saturday evening.