Each week a panel of media members, horseplayers, and Breeders’ Cup World Championships officials release a poll tabulating their votes on the nation's top contenders for the 2025 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic. The rankings are a weekly rating of the top 10 horses in contention and are determined by each voter ranking their top 10 horses with points assigned on a descending 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

Week nine of the 2025 Breeders' Cup Classic rankings are once again led by 3-year-old Sovereignty, the winner of the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve and the Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets who was the runaway 10-length winner of the Aug. 23 DraftKings Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course.

The rankings will be updated each week. The results of the latest poll are below.

Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings for Oct. 1, 2025

Walter Wlodarczyk/NYRA

1. Sovereignty (35 first-place votes)

Owner: Godolphin

Trainer: Bill Mott

Jockey: Junior Alvarado

2025 record: 6 starts – 5 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Last race: 1^st, DraftKings Travers Stakes, Aug. 23 at Saratoga Race Course

Next race: Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, Nov. 1 at Del Mar  

BENOIT photo

2. Fierceness (2 first-place votes)

Owners: Repole Stable, Derrick Smith, Michael Tabor, and Susan Magnier

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Jockey: John Velazquez

2025 record: 4 starts – 2 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Last race: 1^st, Pacific Classic Stakes, Aug. 30 at Del Mar

Next race: Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, Nov. 1 at Del Mar 

Susie Raisher/NYRA

3. Sierra Leone (2 first-place votes)

Owners: Peter Brant, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, and Brooke Smith

Trainer: Chad Brown

Jockey: Flavien Prat

2025 record: 4 starts – 1 win – 2 seconds – 1 third

Last race: 2^nd, Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes, Aug. 31 at Saratoga Race Course

Next race: Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, Nov. 1 at Del Mar

Coady Media

4. Mindframe 

Owners: Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.

2025 record: 4 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds

Last race: DNF, Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes, Aug. 31 at Saratoga Race Course

Next race: Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, Nov. 1 at Del Mar

Eclipse Sportswire

5. Journalism 

Owners: Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, LaPenta, Robert V., Elayne Stables 5, Magnier, Mrs. John, Tabor, Michael B. and Smith, Derrick

Trainer: Michael McCarthy

Jockey: Umberto Rispoli

2025 record: 7 starts – 4 wins – 3 seconds – 0 thirds

Last race: 2^nd, Pacific Classic Stakes, Aug. 30 at Del Mar 

Next race: Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, Nov. 1 at Del Mar

Dubai Racing Club/Liesl King

6. Forever Young (1 first-place vote)

Owner: Susumo Fujita

Trainer: Yoshito Yahagi

Jockey: Ryusei Sakai

2025 record: 3 starts – 2 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third

Last race: 1^st,, Nippon TV Hai, Oct. 1 at Funabashi Racecourse in Japan

Next race: TBD, possibly the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, Nov. 1 at Del Mar

Eclipse Sportswire

7. Baeza

Owners: C R K Stable LLC and Grandview Equine

Trainer: John Shirreffs

Jockey: Hector Isaac Berrios

2025 record: 7 starts – 2 wins – 3 seconds – 2 thirds

Last race: 1^st, Pennsylvania Derby, Sept. 20 at Parx Racing

Next race: Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, Nov. 1 at Del Mar

Chelsea Durand/NYRA

8. Antiquarian

Owner: Centennial Farms

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Jockey: TBD

2025 record: 4 starts – 2 wins – 2 seconds – 0 thirds

Last race: 1^st, Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes, Aug. 31 at Saratoga Race Course

Next race: Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, Nov. 1 at Del Mar

Eclipse Sportswire

9. Locked

Owners: Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Jockey: John Velazquez

2025 record: 5 starts – 2 wins – 1 second – 1 third

Last race: 1^st, Woodward Stakes, Sept. 27 at Belmont at the Big A

Next race: TBD, possibly Longines Breeders' Cup Classic or the Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, both Nov. 1 at Del Mar

Eclipse Sportswire

10. Highland Falls

Owner: Godolphin

Trainer: Brad Cox

Jockey: Luis Saez

2025 record: 3 starts – 1 win – 1 second – 1 third

Last race: 3^rd, Jockey Club Gold Cup, Aug. 31 at Saratoga Race Course

Next race: Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, Nov. 1 at Del Mar