Both Accelerate and City of Light had pre-dawn gallops on Friday here at Gulfstream Park before their showdown on Saturday in the Pegasus World Cup, which will be the final start of their careers before both head to stud at Lane's End Farm.

John Sadler, who trains Accelerate, said the finality of Accelerate's campaign is hitting his staff. He said exercise rider Javier Meza got off Accelerate Friday morning and remarked, "That's the last time I'll get on him."

Sadler said seeing Accelerate leave on Sunday morning for Kentucky is "gonna be hard."

"But he's going to a great farm. It's like raising your kids and sending them off to college," he said.

Sadler was still basking in the satisfaction of Accelerate winning an Eclipse Award for champion older dirt male and finishing second for Horse of the Year to Justify.

"We were emotionally prepared," he said of the vote for Horse of the Year.  "We were up against an undefeated Triple Crown winner. We're proud of what our horse did. A lot of years it would have been good enough for Horse of the Year. Not this year."

City of Light could go to the track early Saturday morning for a final gallop. Trainer Michael McCarthy said it would depend on the track condition on Saturday morning. If the rain holds off until then, he'll train. If the rain comes and the track is off, he won't go out.