If high-octane horse racing is your thing, Santa Anita is the place to be Saturday.

Seven stakes races, highlighted by a highly anticipated duel between super powers Messier and Forbidden Kingdom in the $750,000 Grade I Santa Anita Derby, are part of a 12-race card that begins at noon.

Oh, and racing royalty will be on hand as well. Hall of Fame jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. will present the trophy to the winning owners of the Derby. Pincay, who at 75 looks like he could still ride today, won the Santa Anita Derby a record seven times.

The 85th running of the Santa Anita Derby, which serves as the West Coast’s major springboard to the Kentucky Derby, will be run as the sixth race at 2:30 p.m. It’s a short six-horse field, but one that includes arguably two of the best 3-year-olds in the nation.

In one corner you have Messier, coming off a record-setting 15-length victory in the Grade III Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 6. The son of 2003 Belmont Stakes winner Empire Maker has won three of five overall with two seconds. Ridden by John Velazquez, Messier was installed as the even-money favorite.

In the opposite corner you have Forbidden Kingdom, sired by 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and coming into the race off a pair of dominating victories – a 5 3/4-length win in the Grade II San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita on March 5 and a 2 1/4-length victory in the Grade II San Vicente Stakes on Jan. 29.

Forbidden Kingdom, trained by Hall of Famer Richard Mandella, knows only one way to race – gun for the lead and never look back. He’s been in front in all five of his races, winning three with one second and a third, and has carved out some insane fractions while doing so. He’s 6-5 on the morning line.

Many are expecting a speed duel between both heavyweights, but that might not necessarily be the case. Messier has won from off the pace, so if Juan Hernandez wants the lead aboard Forbidden Kingdom, he’ll likely have it.

“Our intention would be not to change him, just let him run his race,” Mandella told Santa Anita publicity.

Veteran trainer Tim Yakteen, who took over training duties for Messier from the recently suspended Bob Baffert, will saddle two others he inherited from Baffert – Taiba, the 4-1 third choice, and Armagnac.

Yakteen wasn’t about to divulge his strategy a day before the race. In Tabia, he has an interesting outsider. The Gun Runner colt has raced only once, but that was a 7 1/2-length romp in a maiden special weight while recording an impressive 103 Beyer Speed Figure.

“That’s why we’ve got our pilots on the horses,” Yakteen told Santa Anita publicity. “I’ve got confidence in all our riders. They’ll come up with their strategy depending on their horses. They’ll play the break and take it from there.”

Asked if he’s amped up about the day’s events, Yakteen said: “If races like these don’t get you excited, no races are going to get you excited.”

Yakteen will also saddle heavily favored Adare Manor in the $400,000 Santa Anita Oaks, a major steppingstone to the Kentucky Oaks on May 6. The Uncle Mo filly has won her past two starts by a combined 25 lengths and is the 3-5 morning-line favorite to make it three in a row.

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DERBY DAY

Facts about Saturday’s 85th running of the Santa Anita Derby:

• Bob Baffert has won the race a record nine times, but is a non-participant this year because of a 90-day suspension he began serving April 4.

• The race has produced 19 Kentucky Derby winners, second most behind the Florida Derby’s 24.

• Messier is the even-money favorite, followed by Forbidden Kingdom (6-5) and Taiba (4-1). A field of six was entered for the 1 1/8-mile race.

• The $750,000 Grade I race is scheduled to be run at 2:30 p.m. and will be televised by NBC.