The state-bred showcases run day and night in the Mid-Atlantic on Saturday as Charles Town’s West Virginia Breeders' Classics will follow nearby Laurel Park’s Maryland Million Day card. The $300,000 Sam Huff West Virginia Breeders’ Classic main event goes as Race 8 on a 10-stakes card with post time set for 10:32 pm ET. The mile and one-eighth feature lured a capacity field of 10 over the Charles Town bullring.

Let’s meet the contenders for the Sam Huff WV Breeders’ Classic:

#1-Tyry Tyrannosuarus (Keimar Trotman / Michael Jones Jr.) 50-1 ML
$5,000 claim in March is just 3-for-44 lifetime and the field’s rank outsider. Goldencents 5-year-old will be making his first try at the 1-1/8 miles distance and first in a stakes race.

#2-Coastal Mission (Arnaldo Bocachica / Jeff Runco) 4-5 ML
Five straight victories for the Confucius Say and Russell Road Stakes winner make him the morning line favorite. The son of sprint influence Great Notion has been nearly unbeatable locally between 4-1/2 and 7 furlongs and will be tested for stamina while 10: 9-1-0 lifetime over his local oval.

#3-Buff’s Eye View (Jeiron Barbosa / David Walters) 30-1 ML
This 8-year-old makes his fifth appearance on WV Breeders’ Classics Night, having won on the 2018 undercard before finishing fourth, second and third in the last three main events. Third in this race at 31-1 odds last year, he was an effective 2022 claim for just $10,000. Has hit the superfecta finish in 9 of 10 starts since coming to the Walters barn.

#4-Martin Man (Victor Rodriguez / Wade Sanderson) 20-1 ML
Runner-up in this race last year by a half-length at 54-1 odds, he’s lost 10 in a row but has finished in the superfecta nine times in that span. Joins Buff’s Eye View as the elder statesmen in this race at age 8, making his third bid in this race and fourth overall on WV Breeders’ Classics Night.

#5-Late in the Game (Gustavo Larossa / Ronald Sigler) 6-1 ML
Smashing local allowance prep winner September 21 by 5-1/4 lengths, this rising 4-year-old has been busy this year in making his 11th start of the campaign. Third last year on Breeders’ Classics Night in the WV Lottery Stakes for 3-year-olds, he’s 0-for-5 in stakes lifetime.

#6-Noballstwostrikes (Orlando Bocachica / Jeff Runco) 15-1 ML
Distant, beaten favorite when runner-up to Late in the Game in September 21 local allowance prep. The longest price of the three Jeff Runco trainees in the field, this one took 18 starts to pass his first-level open allowance condition two starts back.

#7-Rip Thorn (Charlie Oliveros / Timothy Collins) 30-1 ML
Twirling Candy 7-year-old gelding has won 3 of 4 this season at Mountaineer Park and returns to Charles Town for the first time since October a year ago. He makes his first stakes attempt while heading to the post for the 36th time in his career.

#8-C R’s Mandate (Denis Araujo / Raimondo Schiano-Dicola) 15-1 ML
Familiar opponent with Noballstwostrikes, the pair having faced off in their last 4 starts (this one chasing home his rival in 3 of those). Former maiden claiming graduate won last year’s Onion Juice on the WV Breeders’ Classics Night undercard at 7 furlongs. He finished just three-quarters of a length behind Mua’dib in the 2022 Randy Funkhouser Memorial in his only prior bid at the WV Breeders’ Classic distance.

#9-Candy Invasion (Antonio Lopez / Kristy Petty) 15-1 ML
Well-beaten fourth in this race last year at well-backed odds of 8-5 (his same finish as in the 2021 edition), he’s struggled to regain his 2022 form in 7 starts this year. He’s 0-6 at Charles Town on the campaign with 5 off-the-board finishes, posting his only win at Mountaineer in allowance company.

#10-Muad’dib (Marshall Mendez / Jeff Runco) 5-2 ML * pictured above *
Two-time defending champion in this race can flirt just shy of the $1 million mark in lifetime earnings with another victory Saturday. His sparkling 18: 14-1-1 record has come exclusively at Charles Town, but second and fourth-place finishes in the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic the past two years underscore his ability against stronger competition. As it was in 2022, it’s a light, 5-race campaign where he’s hoping to end the season with 3 victories on the same ledger. Jockey Arnaldo Bocachica notably jumps off his longtime perch to ride stablemate Coastal Mission.