ARCADIA, Calif. — Horse racing got what it desperately needed Saturday at Santa Anita Park: a new superstar.

In a stirring stretch drive that was every bit a symbolic passing of the torch, California Chrome looked as if he was going to win the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic. But as the finish line approached, jockey Mike Smith switched to a right-hand whip on Arrogate and the colt found another gear that propelled the 3-year-old to a half-length win over the 5-year-old all-time leading money winner.

“At the eighth pole, all of a sudden he started getting into that gear, and he's coming and he's inching away at him,” winning trainer Bob Baffert said. “To run down a great horse like Chrome was just like — that's what the Breeders' Cup is all about.”

California Chrome has one more race in his career, the Pegasus, a new $12 million race at Gulfstream Park in January, before heading to breeding shed.

California Chrome trainer Art Sherman has already challenged Arrogate's connections to a rematch. But no response was forthcoming.

Arrogate's owners have indicated they would like to run him as a 4-year-old, which is good news for racing. Great 3-year-olds are often retired because their value at stud is frequently greater than their value as a racer.

When Garrett O'Rourke, racing manager of Juddmonte Farms, reiterated the likelihood of a return, Baffert pumped his fist and exclaimed, “Yes!”

Saturday was Baffert's third straight Classic win, having been in the same spot the past two years with Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and Bayern.

Listening to the conversation, it was difficult to miss the compliments flying back and forth between the trainers.

California Chrome “ran his race but just got beat in those last couple of jumps,” Sherman said of the nine-horse, 11/4-mile race. “That winner is the real McCoy. I knew he was the one to beat, but I didn't know how good he was. We had no excuses.”

And before the race, Baffert was explicit about how everyone should be rooting for Sherman and about the respect he has for the 79-year-old trainer. Predictably, Saturday's race didn't alter his opinion a bit.

“All I can say is Art Sherman, they've done an incredible job with California Chrome,” Baffert said. “I mean that's why this place was packed today. … I even became a fan of that horse.

“I could hear the whole grandstand screaming and yelling. And I know most of them were screaming and yelling for Chrome, and I can't blame them, because he's done a lot for racing.”

Arrogate paid $5.40, $2.80 and $2.60. Chrome paid $2.60 and $2.40. Keen Ice paid $5.80 to show.

It was Chrome's only loss in seven races this year.

Arrogate certainly didn't have the name recognition of his counterpart, partly because of his late start. He was not ready for the Triple Crown season, running only once, at Los Alamitos in April, and finishing second. His next race he won at Santa Anita in June and he hasn't stopped since.

It was his eye-popping performance at Saratoga in the competitive Travers Stakes that got everyone's attention, winning by 131/2 lengths in track-record time. Baffert would have liked to have given him a prep race leading into the Classic, but no race really fit the timing.

Rafael Bejarano had ridden Arrogate to all his wins going into the Travers but Baffert also had American Freedom in that race and the owners wanted Bejarano to ride that horse.

Smith happened to be “in the right place at the right time” and finds himself with the sport's newest superstar.

“He was relentless, this horse,” Smith said. “He never stops. He's got some stamina. Bob's done a great job. The horse has only run five times and he beat California Chrome.”

It was a remarkable Breeders' Cup, a collection of 13 races worth $28 million. Friday was highlighted by a quarter-mile stretch duel for the ages between retiring 6-year-old Beholder and upstart Songbird, an undefeated 3-year-old. Beholder won.

It was almost as if horse racing had stepped into a time capsule and recaptured a relevance it had long ago lost. The success was no doubt tied to horses people had heard about. It was a perfect mix of the old and new, and this time the new seems to be sticking around.