Though it's technically a Grade 2 event, the $500,000 San Antonio Stakes has taken shape as a Grade 1 showdown, be it in early February or even early November.

The mile-and-an-eighth test will bring together 2014 Horse of the Year California Chrome and the one-time frontrunner for the award, Shared Belief, on Saturday in a widely anticipated clash that should set in place the pecking order for major awards and stakes in 2015.

The two last met in the 2014 Breeders' Cup Classic. Shared Belief entered that race with a perfect record of 4-for-4 in 2014 and 7-for-7 in his career and the certainty that a victory in the mile-and-a-quarter contest would seal Horse of the Year honors for him. Instead, the then-3-year-old gelding was involved in a case of equine bumper cars at the start of the race and wound up fourth.

California Chrome, who was making just his second start in 5 months, was a close third and through a process of elimination was named Horse of the Year off the merits of wins in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.

Now the two will meet again, though that doesn't necessarily mean either of them will win the San Antonio.

In the BC Classic, trainer Bob Baffert played the role of spoiler with Bayern, who seemed an unlikely candidate to handle the mile and a quarter distance. Yet at 6-1 odds under jockey Martin Garcia, he held on to win by a nose in an outcome soaked with controversy because Bayern initiated the bumping at the start of the race.

Hoof problems are keeping Bayern out of the San Antonio, but in his place among the field of nine Baffert will send out Hoppertunity, who was plagued in the past by an untimely case of foot problems.

After finishing second to California Chrome in the Santa Anita Derby, Hoppertunity was scratched just two days before the Kentucky Derby because of a foot injury.

It sidelined him for nearly seven months, but after a runner-up finish in his comeback race, the 4-year-old has returned to top form. He won the Grade 1 Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs by a half-length and most recently posted a length and three-quarters victory in the Grade 2 San Pasqual at Santa Anita on Jan. 10.

Though Baffert told Daily Racing Form, the San Antonio was just a prep for a richer test - the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap on March 7 - overlooking Hoppertunity on Saturday could be a mistake. While his Beyer speed figure regressed in the San Pasqual, if he can bounce back with an effort that mirrors his game victory in the Clark, he could make matters interesting for California Chrome and Shared Belief. Maybe even spoil the showdown.

After all, he will not be favored and he's trained by Baffert and ridden by Garcia. Do you remember when all of those elements last came into play in a race that featured California Chrome and Shared Belief? Perhaps in the rematch, Baffert might fool everyone once again -- hopefully without any help from the stewards.