The ballyhooed return of dual classic winner California Chrome in Saturday’s $1 million Pennsylvania Derby highlights a weekend that could go a long way in determining championship honours for both genders of three-year-olds.

The G2 Pennsylvania Derby, along with the $1 million G1 Cotillion Stakes for 3YO fillies which features divisional leader Untapable and her main challenger Stopchargingmaria, puts the Park track in Philadelphia on centre stage.

California Chrome will have his first start since his attempt to become racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner was thwarted when he managed only a fourth in the G1 Belmont Stakes on June 7.

Unbeaten through his first five starts of the season for trainer Art Sherman, including the G1 Santa Anita’s Derby, Kentucky Derby and G1 Preakness Stakes, California Chrome came up just short in the Belmont over the mile and a half which loosened his stranglehold on the division and potentially Horse of the Year honours.

He is now under threat from the re emergence of last year’s 2YO champion Shared Belief, who beat older horses impressively in his last start in Del Mar’s G1 Pacific Classic on August 24.

California Chrome’s trip to Parx will be the first of a two-start late season campaign that will culminate in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita, where he is scheduled to meet Shared Belief.

He returns Saturday off a slew of impressive workouts at Los Alamitos in California leaving Sherman eagerly awaiting a trip east.

While California Chrome rates as an imposing favorite in the Penn Derby the notable Bayern adds some star power and serious speed to the race.

Trained by Bob Baffert, Bayern rates as a dangerous threat on his crushing win in the G1 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park in July before an extremely disappointing last in Saratoga’s G1 Travers Stakes on August 23.

He brings a 4-for-8 lifetime record to Parx and will be a legitimate wire-to-wire threat if he’s allowed to set his own pace.

The wildcard could be Protonico, who won the local prep, the G3 Smarty Jones on September 1 for trainer Todd Pletcher.

The son of Giant’s Causeway is 3-for-5 lifetime and has the look of an up and coming star off his last win and before that was third behind subsequent Travers winner V.E. Day in Saratoga’s Curlin Stakes in July.

The field also includes multiple Group winner Tapiture, who rebounded from a disappointing 15th in the Kentucky Derby to win Churchill Downs’ G3 Matt Win in June and Mountaineer Park’s G2 West Virginia Derby on August 2; Candy Boy, who won Santa Anita’s G2 Robert Lewis in February and was most recently second in the West Virginia Derby for trainer John Sadler; and Aqueduct’s G2 Jerome Stakes winer Noble Moon, most recently fourth in Saratoga’s G1 King’s Bishop on August 23 for trainer Leah Gyarmati.