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 2026 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.

The first week of the 2026 Breeders' Cup Classic rankings are led by 2025 Kentuky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve and 2025 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets winner Sovereignty and defending 2025 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic winner Forever Young, who together garnered nearly all of the first-place votes. Sovereignty earned the first win of his 4-year-old season Aug. 8 in the Whitney Stakes.

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

Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings for Aug. 11, 2026

Sovereignty. (Gary Johnson/Eclipse Sportswire)

1. Sovereignty (26 first-place votes)

Owner: Godolphin

Trainer: Bill Mott

Jockey: Junior Alvarado

2026 record: 3 starts – 1 win – 1 second – 1 third

Last race: 1^st, Whitney Stakes, Aug. 8 at Saratoga Race Course

Next race: Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes, Sept. 18 at Belmont Park

Forever Young. (Kaz Ishida/Eclipe Sportswire)

2. Forever Young (13 first-place votes)

Owner: Susumo Fujita

Trainer: Yoshito Yahagi

Jockey: Ryusei Sakai

2026 record: 2 starts – 1 win – 1 second – 0 thirds

Last race: 2^nd, Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline, March 28 at Meydan Racecourse

Next race: Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes, Sept. 18 at Belmont Park

Magnitude. (Candice Chavez/Eclipse Sportswire)

3. Magnitude (2 first-place votes)

Owners: Winchell Thoroughbreds

Trainer: Steve Asmussen

Jockey: Jose Ortiz

2026 record: 4 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds

Last race: 6^th, Whitney Stakes, Aug. 8 at Saratoga Race Course

Next race: Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, Oct. 31 at Keeneland

Golden Tempo. (Casey Laughter/Eclipse Sportswire)

4. Golden Tempo 

Owners: Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable

Trainer: Cherie DeVaux

Jockey: Jose Ortiz

2026 record: 5 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 2 thirds

Last race: 1^st, Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets, June 6 at Saratoga

Next race: DraftKings Travers Stakes, Aug. 29 at Saratoga

Renegade. (Justin Manning/Eclipse Sportswire)

5. Renegade 

Owners: Robert Low, Lawana Low, and Repole Stable

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.

2026 record: 5 starts – 3 wins – 1 second – 1 third

Last race: 1^st, Jim Dandy Stakes Presented by Mohegan Sun, Aug. 1 at Saratoga

Next race: DraftKings Travers Stakes, Aug. 29 at Saratoga

Knightsbridge. (Katie Vordenberg/Eclipse Sportswire)

6. Knightsbridge

Owner: Godolphin

Trainer: Bill Mott

Jockey: Flavien Prat

2026 record: 5 starts – 3 win – 1 second – 0 thirds

Last race: 1^st, Monmouth Cup Stakes July 18 at Monmouth Park

Next race: Pacific Classic Stakes, Aug. 22 at Del Mar

Nitrogen. (Gary Johnson/Eclipse Sportswire)

7. Nitrogen

Owner: D J Stable

Trainer: Mark Casse

Jockey: John Velazquez

2026 record: 5 starts – 2 wins – 2 seconds – 1 third

Last race: 2^nd, Whitney Stakes, Aug. 8 at Saratoga Race Course

Next race: Juddmonte Spinster Stakes, Oct. 4 at Keeneland

Baeza. (Scott Serio/Eclipse Sportswire)

8. Baeza

Owners: C R K Stable LLC and Grandview Equine

Trainer: Bill Mott

Jockey: Flavien Prat

2026 record: 3 starts – 0 wins – 1 second – 1 third

Last race: 4^th, Whitney Stakes, Aug. 8 at Saratoga Race Course

Next race: TBD

Commandment. (Coglianese Photos/Gulfstream Park)

9. Commandment 

Owner: Wathnan Racing

Trainer: Brad Cox

Jockey: John Velazquez

2026 record: 6 starts– 3 wins – 2 seconds – 0 thirds

Last race: 2^nd, Jim Dandy Stakes Presented by Mohegan Sun, Aug. 1 at Saratoga

Next race: DraftKings Travers Stakes, Aug. 29 at Saratoga, or Pennsylvania Derby, Sept. 19 at Parx Racing

Antiquarian. (Sue Kawczynski/Eclipse Sportswire)

10. Antiquarian

Owners: Centennial Farms

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Jockey: Manny Franco

2026 record: 4 starts – 1 win – 0 seconds – 1 third

Last race: 3^rd, Whitney Stakes, Aug. 8 at Saratoga Race Course

Next race: Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes, Sept. 18 at Belmont Park