The 2026 Breeders’ Cup is on Friday, October 30, and Saturday, October 31, at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky. Forever Young, last year’s Classic winner, tops the official Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings published on September 22.
The 2026 Breeders’ Cup at a glance
- Dates: Friday, October 30, and Saturday, October 31, 2026
- Track: Keeneland Race Course, Lexington, Kentucky
- Edition: the 43rd Breeders’ Cup World Championships
- Classic: Saturday, October 31, 1 1/4 miles on the main track
- Classic purse: $7 million
- Classic field: limited to 14 starters
- Classic TV: NBC
The official rankings below follow the Classic alone, with the ten horses a panel rates highest for it. The Breeders’ Cup has said the next one is due September 29 and the last on October 6.
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Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings, September 22
| Rank | Horse | Trainer | Votes | First-place votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Forever Young (JPN) | Yoshito Yahagi | 364 | 24 |
| 2 | Sovereignty | Bill Mott | 355 | 12 |
| 3 | Knightsbridge | Bill Mott | 296 | 1 |
| 4 | Magnitude | Steve Asmussen | 270 | 2 |
| 5 | Golden Tempo | Cherie DeVaux | 245 | 0 |
| 6 | Nitrogen | Mark Casse | 129 | 0 |
| 7 | The Puma | Gustavo Delgado | 103 | 0 |
| 8 | Napoleon Solo | Chad Summers | 102 | 0 |
| 9 | Renegade | Todd Pletcher | 95 | 0 |
| 10 | Baeza | Bill Mott | 40 | 0 |
The rankings come from a poll, and no money is bet on them. A panel of racing media, horseplayers and racing secretaries scores horses from 10 points for first down to 1 for tenth. The Breeders’ Cup states that the rankings have no bearing on qualification or selection for the race.
Forever Young took the top spot from Sovereignty after winning the Jockey Club Gold Cup at the new Belmont Park on September 18. The gap is 9 votes, 364 to 355. Sovereignty, the 2025 Kentucky Derby winner, won the Whitney this year for Bill Mott, who trains three of the ten.
Four horses already have a spot
Four Classic contenders have earned automatic starting positions through the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, known as Win and You’re In:
- Sovereignty, through the Whitney
- Forever Young, through the Saudi Cup and the Jockey Club Gold Cup
- Magnitude, through the Dubai World Cup and the Stephen Foster
- Knightsbridge, through the Pacific Classic
Two more names climbed the poll on their own form. Golden Tempo, fifth, is the winner of the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes for trainer Cherie DeVaux. The Puma entered the top ten at seventh this week after winning the Pennsylvania Derby.
Breeders’ Cup odds
No price on any horse for the 2026 Classic is quoted here. As of September 24, we have none we can source and date, and a price we cannot date is worse than no price.
Race-day odds work differently from a sportsbook line. The morning line is the starting odds set by the track handicapper, and after that North American racing is pari-mutuel: the more money bet on a horse, the lower its odds. Much of the money often arrives in the last few minutes, so a price can shift a long way in the final minute or two before the gate opens.
For how each bet works, from win, place and show up to the Pick 6, see our guide to horse racing bets. The Breeders’ Cup betting guide and our Breeders’ Cup betting tips have more on betting the two days.