The Arlington Million could be getting a pretty big name in 2015.
According to a report by The Blood-Horse, handlers for 2014 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner California Chrome are considering having the colt run in next year’s Arlington Million. The report says the horse will race as a four-year-old and that his handlers are looking to try him on grass.
That chance could come at Arlington, near co-owner/breeder Perry Martin’s Chicago birthplace.
“We want to try him on the grass and that race will probably be the Arlington Million,” Martin told the website. “(Trainer Art Sherman) has had good luck there and I grew up there (in the Chicago area), so it would be nice to run in front of family and friends. The Breeders’ Cup Classic in Lexington is the end of year goal.”
California Chrome entered the Belmont Stakes with a chance to become the first winner of the Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978 but finished in a dead heat for fourth.
Still, California Chrome’s presence at next year’s Million could provide a boost for the race. This year’s seven-horse field was tied for the shortest in race history, and eventual winner Hardest Core was an 11-1 longshot.
