Just like every sport, horse racing has its superstars, up-and-comers, veterans, comeback stories, and underdogs. Some horses simply dominate, others rely on speed, consistency, or toughness, and a few seem to find another level when people least expect it.

With the Breeders’ Cup World Championships approaching Oct. 30-31 at Keeneland, I wanted to look at some of the biggest names in racing through a different lens: matching each horse with a professional athlete whose career, style, or story feels similar.

Forever Young and Shohei Ohtani (Eclipse Sportswire/WikiMedia Commons)

Forever Young → Shohei Ohtani: The best horse in the world meets the best baseball player in the world. Both call Japan home and need no introduction to international crowds. Ohtani is a four-time MVP who has done things at the plate and on the mound that fans might never see again. Coming off a win in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Forever Young sets his eyes on a repeat win in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic. Earlier in the year, he became the first horse ever to win back-to-back Saudi Cups, the world’s richest race. Forever Young has made a major impact on the international stage, winning marquee races in multiple countries, just like Ohtani, who led Japan to victory in the World Baseball Classic. These two athletes have redefined their sports and just keep on showing up, especially on the biggest stage.

Sovereignty → Patrick Mahomes: Both have accomplished almost everything their sport has to offer at a remarkably young age. What’s missing from Sovereignty’s résumé is winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic, as last season was cut short due to injury. Sovereignty’s dominant 2025 season included victories in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets, and DraftKings Travers Stakes, with his 10-length Travers triumph capping off his Horse of the Year campaign. He returned in 2026 and proved he was still at the top of his game by dominating an elite field in the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga. Mahomes became the face of the NFL before turning 30. Could Sovereignty become the next king of racing? Like Mahomes, Sovereignty already owns a career that would define most Hall of Famers, yet he is still young enough to keep adding major accomplishments.

Victor Wembanyama and Knightsbridge (WikiMedia Commons/Eclipse Sportswire)

Knightsbridge → Victor Wembanyama: These are two freaks of nature. Both possess physical gifts that immediately separate them from their competition. At 7-foot-4, Wemby combines the size of a center with the shooting and ball-handling skills of a guard. Knightsbridge has won his last two races by a combined margin of 16½ lengths, including a 6 ¼-length win in the $1 million Pacific Classic Stakes, one of the biggest races on the Road to the Breeders’ Cup. Just like Wemby, Knightsbridge has not even scratched the surface of his true potential. The colt has an unlimited ceiling and has already impressed racing fans with a 122 Beyer Speed Figure in the Monmouth Cup Stakes. Knightsbridge and Wembanyama have shown immense talent, but they are both missing a career-defining moment.

Magnitude → Carlos Alcaraz: These athletes both went from exciting young talents to proven stars extremely quickly. Rather than needing years to prove they belonged, they stepped onto major stages at a young age and showed they could beat the best. Alcaraz became the world’s No. 1 tennis player as a teenager and showed he could beat the biggest names in the sport. Magnitude entered 2026 on the rise. He won the Razorback Handicap and then the $12 million Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline, in which he defeated Forever Young. He followed that by winning the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Stakes, giving the 4-year-old another major victory against elite competition. Like Alcaraz defeating the established giants of tennis at Grand Slams, Magnitude did not wait for the older generation to move aside. He went out and beat them.

Golden Tempo and Macklin Celebrini (Eclipse Sportswire/WikiMedia Commons)

Golden Tempo → Macklin Celebrini: Like Celebrini, hockey’s budding superstars, Golden Tempo went from young prospect to division leader seemingly overnight. Golden Tempo won the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes this year. By winning two legs of the Triple Crown, he immediately established himself as one of the biggest names in the sport. Celebrini followed a similar path. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, he quickly became the centerpiece of the San Jose Sharks at only 19 years old. What’s scary is that neither has reached his full potential. Both are still at the beginning of their careers, but each has proven he can compete with the best in the world.

Napoleon Solo → Jacob Misiorowski: Their weapon is the same: pure speed. Never heard of Misiorowski? You will soon. He burst onto the scene with his blazing fastball that regularly hits triple digits. Napoleon Solo first showed what his speed could do as a 2-year-old when he won the Champagne Stakes last year. He entered the 2026 Triple Crown season with high expectations. However, after disappointing fifth-place finishes in the Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes and Wood Memorial Stakes Presented by Resorts World Casino, some people wrote him off. He exploded back onto the scene in the Preakness Stakes, where he won the second jewel of the Triple Crown. He later finished second in the NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes and the Travers, further proving the Preakness was not a fluke. Like “The Miz” overpowering hitters with his 100-plus-mph fastball, Napoleon Solo is most dangerous when he uses his natural speed to make everyone else chase him.

Further Ado → Cooper Flagg: Further Ado, much like Cooper Flagg, was identified as a major talent early and produced jaw-dropping performances almost immediately. Flagg entered the NBA as one of basketball’s most hyped talents and quickly showed he could impact a game in almost every way. At Keeneland, Further Ado broke his maiden by 20 lengths as a 2-year-old before announcing himself as a major 3-year-old contender with an incredible 11-length victory in the Grade 1 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes. Although he disappointed as the slight favorite in the Kentucky Derby, he came right back by winning the Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs in the second-fastest running of the race behind only his sire, Gun Runner. Like Flagg, his talent jumps off the page when everything comes together. The next step is doing it more consistently.

Skippylongstocking → Kirk Cousins: They are veterans who refuse to disappear. Cousins changed teams, battled injuries, and watched younger quarterbacks grab the headlines, yet he has continued to find ways to remain an NFL starter. After years of competing in major races, Skippylongstocking entered 2026 and finally captured the biggest victory of his career by taking the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes in his fourth try. It came after a long career of traveling around the country, competing against different generations of top horses, and remaining relevant while younger stars came and went. Like Cousins, he may not be the first name people mention when discussing the best, but longevity, toughness, and the ability to keep producing are significant accomplishments.

Brock Purdy and Forged Steel (WikiMedia Commons/Eclipse Sportswire)

Forged Steel → Brock Purdy: Everyone likes a good underdog story. People can keep finding reasons to underestimate someone, but eventually the results become impossible to ignore. Purdy went from “Mr. Irrelevant,” the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, to starting in the Super Bowl. Forged Steel’s ascent started in 2026 with allowance victories at Tampa Bay Downs and Oaklawn Park before going into graded stakes competition in the Hollywood Gold Cup, where he responded by dominating the field by 9½-lengths for his first graded stakes win. He then proved that performance was legitimate by winning the Grade 1 Goodwood Stakes in September, earning a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Like Purdy, Forged Steel did not arrive with the reputation of the biggest stars, he simply kept winning until people had to take him seriously.

The Puma → Bryson DeChambeau: Sometimes a change in equipment can help unlock another level in an already talented competitor. The Puma had already won the ESMARK Tampa Bay Derby and finished second in the Curlin Florida Derby presented by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms at Xalapa earlier in 2026, showing that the ability was clearly there, but he had not yet won at the Grade 1 level. After fourth-place finishes in the Haskell and Travers, his connections added blinkers for the first time in the Pennsylvania Derby. The change immediately paid off: The Puma held off Further Ado to earn his first Grade 1 victory. DeChambeau has always experimented with equipment. Those adjustments helped an already talented golfer become a multiple major winner. The equipment did not create the talent; it helped an already proven competitor find a setup that allowed him to use that talent even more effectively. Let’s see if this equipment change is just what The Puma needs to beat the best in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Phileas Fogg → Baker Mayfield: The road to the top is not always a straight line. Phileas Fogg once ran in claiming races, but instead of fading away, he continued improving and completely transformed his career. He became a graded stakes winner in the Grade 2 Suburban Stakes Presented by Subourbon in 2025. This year, he scored a repeat victory in the Suburban in dominant fashion, winning by 10 lengths and proving his rise was no surprise. Like Mayfield, Phileas Fogg had to overcome moments in his career when it looked like he might never reach the level once expected of him. Mayfield bounced around the NFL before finding a home in Tampa Bay and reviving his career with the Buccaneers. Phileas Fogg has followed a similar path toward becoming one of the top older dirt horses in the country.