I think we’re all in agreement that the field for Saturday’s $650,000 Grade I Santa Anita Handicap doesn’t rival some of the past Big ’Caps. Not even close.

Yes, Express Train is a nice horse and a deserving favorite in the 85th running of the historic event, but we’re talking about the nation’s first $100,000 race that dates to 1935 and has attracted such legends as Citation, Affirmed, Spectacular Bid and John Henry during its history.

But this is not Santa Anita management’s fault. The $20 million Saudi Cup and $12 million Dubai World Cup have robbed the Big ’Cap of some major players that ordinarily might have run in the race if not for those potential mega paydays in the Middle East.

Hot Rod Charlie, who has become a fan favorite and finished second behind Express Train in Santa Anita’s meet-opening San Antonio Stakes on Dec. 26, might be running Saturday if not for the riches in Dubai on March 26. There are others in past years, like Maximum Security, who might have stayed home and run in the Big ’Cap if not for the lure of more lucrative purses elsewhere.

We’ve definitely seen the last of Big ’Caps the likes of 1988, when a pair of Kentucky Derby winners, Ferdinand (1986) and Alysheba (1987), hooked up in a colossal showdown won by Chris McCarron and Alysheba. There were 70,432 on track that day, the sixth-largest turnout in the race’s history.

How about the 1979 and ’80 Big ’Caps when Triple Crown winner Affirmed and Kentucky Derby champ Spectacular Bid found the winner’s circle in consecutive years. The Bid’s trainer, the late Buddy Delp, was one of the most colorful horsemen to ever saddle a Big ’Cap winner.

Who can forget John Henry, who won back-to-back Santa Anita Handicaps in 1981 and ’82, the latter victory courtesy of the disqualification of Perrault and Laffit Pincay Jr. for interference in the stretch. It was one of the most thrilling and dramatic Big ’Caps I’ve seen in person.

One of my favorites was Vigors’ victory in the 1978 running. Vigors, who switched from the turf to the main track and became a come-from-behind monster for a short while, closed from far back that day under Darrel McHargue and beat Mr. Redoy. You need to go on YouTube and watch a replay of that race if you haven’t already seen it. The “Big White Horse,” as track announcer Dave Johnson called him, was something to see.

The legendary Seabiscuit ran in three Big ’Caps, finishing second in 1937 and ’38 and then finally winning the race two years later on his third try with Red Pollard aboard. His career was well-documented in the 2003 film starring Jeff Bridges as his owner, Charles S. Howard, Chris Cooper as trainer Tom Smith and Tobey Maguire as Pollard.

You have to hand it to the connections for Autocrat, who tried a record five times to win the Big ’Cap but came up short each time – 10th in 1945, eighth in ’46 and ’47, 11th in ’48 and seventh in ’49. I might have given up after the third failed attempt, but that’s just me.

Four horses have won back-to-back Santa Anita Handicaps, including Game On Dude (2013-14), Lava Man (2006-07), Milwaukee Brew (2002-03) and John Henry. Milwaukee Brew was owned by Frank Stronach, father of Belinda Stronach, the current CEO of Santa Anita’s parent company, the Stronach Group, and trained by the late, great Bobby Frankel.

Trainer John Sadler and Hronis Racing had a recent stranglehold on the race, winning three consecutive years with Accelerate (2018), Gift Box (2019) and Combatant (2020) until Idol and trainer Richard Baltas broke that streak last year with a stirring half-length victory over Express Train.

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One thing is certain about this year’s Big ’Cap – Joel Rosario will not win the race for a record fourth consecutive year. He’s not riding at Santa Anita this winter and does not have a mount for the 1¼-mile race.

Mike Smith is the only other jockey to win the race in three consecutive years, finding the winner’s circle twice with Game On Dude and completing his trifecta with Shared Belief in 2015.

One of my biggest memories from the race was the 1985 running. I was in Las Vegas, sitting in the old Barbary Coast sportsbook, and was amazed to see cars parked on the turf course to accommodate the on-track throng of 85,527, the largest crowd in Big ’Cap history. Lord At War with the legendary tandem of Bill Shoemaker and Charlie Whittingham beat Greinton that afternoon.

We’ll never see those glory years again, but they’re sure fun to look back on and remember the great history of this sport.

Follow Art Wilson on Twitter @Sham73