ARCADIA, Calif. – Trainer Art Sherman is armed with the acknowledged favorite for the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic in California Chrome, but when Sherman contemplated the prospective field the other morning at Los Alamitos, he figured it would come up tougher than expected. “You’ll have to run every inch,” he said. “There’ll be no gimmes in this race.” He appears to have been quite prescient. When the pre-entered field for the Nov. 5 Classic was announced here at Santa Anita on Wednesday, the depth of the richest of the 13 Breeders’ Cup races to be run here Nov. 4-5 was profound. Fourteen horses were pre-entered, including two Kentucky Derby winners – California Chrome and Nyquist – as well as two 2015 Breeders’ Cup race winners in Found and Nyquist, the exciting Travers winner Arrogate, and Met Mile winner Frosted. :: BREEDERS’ CUP 2016: Pre-entries, odds, comments, and more Most of the runners had been expected all along, but trainer Aidan O’Brien threw a couple of curveballs in recent days, first with the announcement this week that Found – the winner two starts back of the Arc de Triomphe – would be pre-entered in the Classic, and then at pre-entry time on Wednesday, when Highland Reel also was put in the race. Neither of those high-class turf horses has ever raced on dirt. Both Found and Highland Reel were among five Classic runners also pre-entered in other races. Highland Reel has the Turf as his first preference, and Found has the Classic listed as her first preference, with the Turf as her second preference. That would indicate that O’Brien and the mighty Coolmore outfit from Ireland are leaning toward running Highland Reel in the Turf and Found in the Classic. The other horses pre-entered in two races – Gun Runner, War Story, and Win the Space – all have the Classic designated as their first choice. Gun Runner and War Story have the Dirt Mile as their second choice, while Win the Space has the Turf listed as his second choice, but he’s on the outside looking in for that oversubscribed race. :: Breeders’ Cup Challenge: Results, replays, charts, and more A maximum of 14 can run in the 1 1/4-mile Classic, so all could run if their connections desire. For those cross-entered, the decision on which race to go in must be made by Monday, when final entries are due and posts drawn. California Chrome is seeking a giant payday. In addition to the $3.3 million winner’s share of the purse, he can earn a $1 million bonus for adding the Classic to prior victories in the Awesome Again at Santa Anita and Pacific Classic at Del Mar. A victory secures for him Horse of the Year, a title he earned in 2014. Classic pre-entrant Effinex was second in last year’s Classic to American Pharoah. Hoppertunity comes off a win in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. Keen Ice beat American Pharoah in last year’s Travers. Melatonin has the home-court advantage, with victories this year in the Santa Anita Handicap and the Gold Cup at Santa Anita, both, like the Classic, at 1 1/4 miles. Shaman Ghost won the Woodward, upsetting Frosted.