Shug McGaughey and the Arlington Million have a history. McGaughey, stabled at Arlington Park during his third full year as a head trainer, watched the inaugural 1981 Million in person. “John Henry and The Bart. Photo was too close to call,” McGaughey said. Twelve years later, McGaughey had Lure, the two-time Breeders’ Cup Mile winner, entered in the 1993 Million. “He was 8-5 in the program, and I had to scratch him. It rained like a son of a gun. The turf was really soft,” McGaughey said. McGaughey got into his first Million in 2005. Good Reward floundered on a yielding course, checking in eighth. In 2012, Boisterous was ninth, and after Churchill Downs Inc. shuttered Arlington and moved the track’s signature race to Colonial Downs, McGaughey last summer sent Never Explain out to a fourth-place finish. Colonial’s iteration of the Million renews Sunday, one day later than planned, and this time, McGaughey stands a strong chance of winning. Integration is 3 for 3 over the Colonial course, including a dominant last-out score in Colonial’s preparatory stakes for the Million. He’s the horse to beat more than four decades after the late Arlington chairman Richard Duchossois inaugurated the world’s first seven-figure horse race. :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  The Million was scheduled for Saturday, but with Tropical Storm Debby bearing down on Virginia, Colonial officials on Wednesday elected to move the card back one day. Colonial, it appears, will be spared the heaviest of Debby’s rain, and with a sunny day in the high 80s forecast Sunday, the grass course should be in good shape for the 1 1/4-mile Million, which drew just six entrants and headlines a 12-race card that includes the Grade 2 Beverly D. and the Grade 2 Secretariat. While Integration won the Million Preview Stakes on July 13 by more than six lengths while racing over a soft course, McGaughey prefers firmer footing for the 4-year-old, who campaigns for Woodford Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds. It was at Colonial last September that Integration, making just his second start, demonstrated his high-level ability, posting a decisive 6-1 upset over heavily favored Program Trading in the Virginia Derby. Following up with a five-length victory in the Hill Prince at Aqueduct, Integration came into his 4-year-old season so full of shine that he went off the 6-5 favorite facing older horses for the first time in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf. Integration ran into compromising homestretch traffic in that Gulfstream start, finishing a close fifth in the first of three consecutive defeats. The Maker’s Mark Mile in April merely served as a stepping-stone to the Grade 1 Old Forester Turf Classic over 1 1/8 miles on the Kentucky Derby undercard, but Integration finished fourth there in a false-paced, mucky race contested over a tricky course with plenty of give. In the Million Preview, Integration reunited with jockey Kendrick Carmouche, who had been aboard for the Virginia Derby and Hill Prince before being taken off the colt. Carmouche rides back Sunday, and Integration, despite matching his career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure last month, won easily enough that he ought to move forward in his first try at a distance beyond 1 1/8 miles. Integration prefers to stalk the pace before unleashing a punishing stretch run. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. “That’s what I was hoping for, that kind of race last time. He trained well afterward at Fair Hill, and we’re excited about it. I think he’s ready to run his race,” McGaughey said. The Colonial morning line lists Integration as the 5-2 second choice behind Nations Pride, the 8-5 favorite. Nations Pride will take plenty of win betting, but Integration stands a strong chance of going favored. Mohammed al Maktoum’s Godolphin has two Million wins, with Santin in 2022 and Sulamani in 2003, but neither horse started for Nations Pride’s trainer, Charlie Appleby, whose lone Million runner, Tryster, finished 12th in 2016. Appleby’s North American string has run wild this season, with wins in 10 of the 21 graded turf-route stakes Appleby has entered, and Nations Pride probably only rates third in the stable, behind Measured Time and Silver Knott, at distances between nine and 10 furlongs. Nonetheless, Nations Pride has won Grade or Group 1 races in New York, Canada, and Germany, and is 6-2-0 from nine starts over 1 1/4 miles. “He’s won on soft ground, he’s won on quick ground, he’s won left-handed, he’s won right-handed,” Appleby said. “From a race-riding perspective, he’s a horse that’s led before, or he’s sat box seat, and he’s dropped off them, so the key part about him is versatility.” Nations Pride, William Buick named to ride, comes to the Million after finishing third, beaten nearly five lengths by Silver Knott, in the Man o’ War, and second, beaten two lengths by Measured Time, in the Manhattan. In both races, he finished heads up with Ohana Honor, a McGaughey-trained horse who wouldn’t rate as highly as Integration. While Appleby bases in England this time of year, Ancient Rome actually ships from England – though his connections surely have an eye on Kentucky Downs as much as Colonial. Ancient Rome, trained by Charlie Hills, scored a high-level handicap win over 1 1/4 miles about a year ago at Goodwood Racecourse, but has done his best work over one mile, including a victory last season at Kentucky Downs in the rich Mint Millions. He is being aimed at that race again, albeit after returning to England following the Million. Ancient Rome races for Fitri Hay, as does longshot Highland Chief, the Million’s least likely winner. Sugoi drops back from 11- and 12-furlong Kentucky turf stakes, the two best races of his career having come after he was claimed for $50,000 and turned over to trainer Mike Maker. Sugoi likes to lead but might not have quite the same pace as Talk of the Nation, who stretches out after a series of one-mile races. :: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances – the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures Talk of the Nation, trained by Todd Pletcher, is by Quality Road and has stamina on his dam’s side, his second dam a sister to the great Zenyatta. Talk of the Nation is the likely leader, Integration the likely winner. “I remember when Mr. Duchossois decided to run a million dollar race. I thought it was crazy. It’s worked out pretty good,” McGaughey said. McGaughey has worked things out pretty good for himself, a Hall of Famer who can win his first Arington Million – in Virginia – on Sunday. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.