The seventh running of the $20 million Saudi Cup will be held Feb. 14 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with Japanese and U.S. champion Forever Young the headliner in a deep and talented field for a race that anchors a robust card.

The card also features the $1.5 million Saudi Derby, which is part of the Euro/Mideast Road to the Kentucky Derby’s 10-race schedule and grants 63 points to the top five finishers on a (30-15-9-6-3) scale, among nine races worth $35.5 million.

North American-trained runners could also have a big say in the outcome of the $2 million Riyadh Dirt Sprint at about six furlongs (1,200 meters) and the $2 million 1351 Turf Sprint at about 6 ¾ furlongs (1,351 meters), while the $3 million Neom Turf Cup at about 1 5/16 miles (2,100 meters) boasts significant European and Japanese talent. The Saudi Cup plus undercard races will be broadcast live on FOX Sports as part of an expanded “America’s Day at the Races” show. Let’s take a look at the key runners to know in these five stakes races.

In the six editions of the Saudi Derby (Race 4, 9 a.m. ET) since its inception in 2020, four U.S.-bred runners and two Japan-bred runners have won the race with three winners conditioned by Japanese trainers and one coming from a U.S. barn. Jerome Stakes winner My World, a winner of three straight for trainer Brad Cox, leads the U.S. contingent, which also includes Grade 3 winner Obliteration (trained by Steve Asmussen), San Vicente Stakes third-place finisher Acknowledgemeplz (Doug O’Neill), and Street Sense Stakes third-place finisher Very Connected (Ken McPeek).

Japan’s Saudi Derby entrants include Satono Voyage, the probable favorite coming off three straight victories in Japan, including the Cattleya Stakes by 1 ½ lengths at this distance for trainer Hiroyasu Tanaka. Japan’s Best Green opened his career with four straight wins and enters off a third-place finish in the Zen Nippon Nisai Yushun for trainer Junji Tanaka. Both the Cattleya and Zen Nippon Nisai Yushun and part of the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby.

Imagination (BENOIT photo)

The last five editions of the Riyadh Dirt Sprint (Race 5, 9:40 a.m. ET) have been won by U.S.- or Japan-based runners, including Straight No Chaser last February. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s Imagination, runner-up in the 2025 Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint, leads a formidable group from the states that also includes Grade 1 winner Lovesick Blues (Librado Barocio) and Just Beat the Odds (Greg Sacco), winner of the Grade 3 Elite Power Stakes in December. The winner of the Riyadh Dirt Sprint receives a “Win and You’re In” berth to this fall’s Cygames Sprint at Keeneland.

Yamanin Cerchi (Naoya Nakamura) closed out 2025 on a roll in Japan with three wins and a second in the Group 3 Capella Stakes in his last four races, all stakes. American Stage (Yoshito Yahagi) finished fourth in the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Sprint but is winless in his last five starts.

No U.S.-based runner has won the 1351 Turf Sprint (Race 6, 10:25 a.m. ET) but graded stakes winners Reef Runner (David Fawkes) and Time to Dazzle (Mark Casse) along with 2025 Grade 1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile Stakes runner-up Zio Jo (Doug O’Neill) will try to change that Saturday.

Expect Lazzat (Jerome Reynier), winner of the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes in June 2025 at Royal Ascot, to be a heavy favorite, but Japan-based Group 1 winner Panja Tower (Shinsuke Hashiguchi) also looms a big threat.

A big name to know in the Neom Turf Cup (Race 7, 11:10 a.m. ET) is last year’s returning winner Shin Emperor, who boasts the same connections as Forever Young. He is trained by Yoshito Yahagi for owner Susumu Fujita and will be ridden by Ryusei Sakai. Shin Emperor will need a sharp reversal in form, however, to repeat in the race as he’s been unplaced and beaten by at least 6 ½ lengths in his last four starts. Multiple group stakes winner Royal Champion (Karl Burke) and Alohi Alii (Hiroyasu Tanaka), a Group 2 winner in France last August for Japanese connections, could play the role of spoiler.

Nysos (Eclipse Sportswire)

The marquee race on the card, the 1 1/8-mile (1,800 meters) Saudi Cup (Race 9, 12:40 p.m. ET), will be televised on FS1. All eyes will be on Forever Young (Yoshito Yahagi) in his first start since winning a strong edition of the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Nov. 1 at Del Mar that earned him champion older dirt male honors at the Eclipse Awards in January. Forever Young has excelled on this main track at King Abdulaziz Racetrack with wins in the 2024 Saudi Derby and last year’s Saudi Cup. If he can repeat in the Saudi Cup, Forever Young will secure a “Win and You’re In” berth for a repeat bid in the Longines Classic Oct. 31 at Keeneland.

Forever Young will face an accomplished North American cast of runners in the Saudi Cup led by Bob Baffert’s Grade 1 winners Nysos and Nevada Beach. Nysos won the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and Grade 2 Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes in his last two starts. Nevada Beach was second by a head to Nysos in the Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes.

Other stateside contenders include Grade 2 Cigar Mile Handicap winner Bishops Bay (Brad Cox), multiple graded stakes winner Banishing (David Jacobson), and Grade 1 winner Rattle N Roll (Ken McPeek), who was fifth in the 2025 Saudi Cup.