The 43rd running of the $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic looks like one of the more competitive editions in recent years, and the field of eight entrants boasts more than $59 million in career purse earnings, led by defending Classic winner Forever Young. The globe-trotting star is the richest racehorse of all-time with at least one start in North America with more than $32.3 million, while seven of the eight Breeders’ Cup Classic entrants are Grade 1 winners.
Here’s a look at the field from the rail out:
T O Password, who made a bid in the 2024 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, drew the rail for trainer Daisuke Takayanagi. With the highest morning-line odds on the board at 30-1, T O Password ships in from Japan to compete in his first Grade/Group 1 race since the run for the roses a couple of years ago. Kazushi Kimura, who rode him to a fifth-place finish in the 2024 Kentucky Derby, will be aboard. Godolphin homebred Sovereignty, last year’s Horse of the Year after winning the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets, and DraftKings Travers Stakes, will be making the final start of his incredible career for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott and regular rider Junior Alvarado. The 4-year-old Into Mischief colt dominated the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes by 4 ¾ lengths last time out and is a career 3-for-3 at this 1 ¼-mile distance. This year's Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner Golden Tempo, by Curlin, enters off a third-place finish in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga Aug. 29 for trainer Cherie DeVaux. Regular rider Jose Ortiz opts to stay aboard. The Puma, the second of three 3-year-olds in the field, won the Pennsylvania Derby in his most recent race Sept. 19 for trainer Gustavo Delgado. The Essential Quality colt will be making his fifth consecutive start in a Grade 1 and will have regular rider Javier Castellano aboard. Forever Young is the 2-1 morning-line favorite after winning the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park by 3 ¼ lengths Sept. 18 in his first race after a 5 ½-month layoff for trainer Yoshito Yahagi. The 5-year-old by Real Steel won last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic and is 8-for-8 in the money at this 1 ¼-mile distance. Forever Young will have regular rider Ryusei Sakai aboard. Magnitude won four consecutive graded stakes races, including the $12 million Dubai World Cup over Forever Young and the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Stakes over Sovereignty, before a sixth-place finish last time out in the Whitney after stumbling at the start. The 4-year-old Not This Time colt will be making his first career start at Keeneland and will have a new jockey in Flavien Prat. Knightsbridge has won his last two starts by a combined margin of 16 ½ lengths, dominating the Monmouth Cup Stakes by 10 ¼ lengths in his first start around two turns in July and the Grade 1 Pacific Classic Stakes by 6 ¼ lengths Aug. 22 when stretching out to this 1 ¼-mile distance for the first time. Like Sovereignty, Knightsbridge is also owned by Godolphin and trained by Mott. Luis Saez picks up the mount for Alvarado, who stayed with Sovereignty. Napoleon Solo, the third 3-year-old who is expected to challenge for the lead with Knightsbridge, drew the far outside post for trainer Chad Summers. The 2026 Preakness Stakes winner finished runner-up in both the Grade 1 NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes and Travers Stakes in his last two starts and will have John Velazquez back aboard.
Analysis and Main Contenders:
There is no doubt about the ability of Sovereignty after his near flawless 3-year-old campaign that included wins in the Derby, Belmont, and Jim Dandy Stakes Presented by Mohegan Sun, and a 10-length romp in the Travers. As a 4-year-old, Sovereignty started the year finishing second in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap and a distant third in the Stephen Foster behind Magnitude. In August, Sovereignty returned to winning form with a runaway victory in the Whitney, showing the dominance a Horse of the Year is expected to produce. Sovereignty not only reverted to his winning ways in the Whitney but also to the running style that proved so effective in 2025. He went from sixth to first in a single point of call in the Whitney and surged clear, a similar run to his win in the Derby. With an abundance of early speed in this year’s Classic, Sovereignty has a wonderful opportunity to repeat those performances, racing behind a hot pace and pouncing at the quarter-pole with a sustained stretch run. This is backed by his massive late pace rating of 127.0, ranking first among these world-class contenders. While Sovereignty is battling back from a hind foot abscess, he proved in his most recent workout at Keeneland that all systems are go, breezing a half-mile in company in :48.20 while looking simply spectacular galloping every day. There is a reason Mott and Godolphin have kept this colt in training. Racing fans might witness one of Sovereignty’s greatest performances to date on the world’s biggest stage.
Magnitude has proved time and time again that he is a colt who can run and win among the very best. As a 3-year-old after dominating the Grade 2 Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes, Magnitude was sidelined with an injury and taken off the Kentucky Derby trail. Following a 4 ½-month layoff, he returned to the track to again dominate, winning the Iowa Derby by 9 ¼ lengths. He subsequently finished a distant third behind Sovereignty in the Travers and then ran second in the Pennsylvania Derby. Magnitude returned to the winner’s circle last November when he stalked the pace against older horses for the first time in the Grade 2 Clark Stakes Presented by Norton Healthcare at Churchill Downs and edged away to prevail by a half-length. He returned in February of this year and was simply much the best in his 4-year-old debut, drawing clear to win the Grade 3 Razorback Handicap at Oaklawn by 3 ¼ lengths. In March, Magnitude faced his toughest test yet in the Dubai World Cup and led from start to finish, defeating Forever Young by a length. Following such a big international effort, Magnitude faced the challenge of retaining that top form in his return to North America and proved up to the task in a front-running Stephen Foster score over Baeza and Sovereignty. Last time out in the Whitney, Magnitude stumbled badly at the start and finished a distant sixth on Saratoga main track he is clearly not fond of. As a bettor, if you are willing to cross that race off, Magnitude becomes a lot more appealing in this spot with proof he can beat several top Classic contenders. With Knightsbridge and Napoleon Solo expected to duel for the lead, Magnitude has a great opportunity to make a run like his win in the Clark, racing just off the pace and accelerating near the quarter-pole instead of going gate-to-wire, the running style that has proved so successful in his career. Magnitude has been working forwardly since the Whitney for trainer Asmussen. Despite his regular rider opting to stay aboard Golden Tempo, Magnitude gets a more-than-suitable replacement with arguably the best rider in the country, Flavien Prat. At 6-1 morning-line odds, Magnitude could complete the Classic exacta at a solid price and provide significant value.
Forever Young no doubt has put together a brilliant and special international career and deserves respect at any level, especially in a race he won last year. Forever Young started his career 5-for-5 before shipping to North America to run third by just a head in the 2024 Kentucky Derby. Since then, he has added five Grade/Group 1 wins to his resume from all around the world and today has the most earnings of any horse in history with at least one start in North America. After finishing runner-up in the Dubai World Cup, Forever Young did not race for nearly six months before shipping across the globe to New York for the Jockey Club Gold Cup. Historically, Forever Young has not been his best off a long layoff. Despite that track record and finishing on the wrong lead in the Belmont stretch, he won by 3 ¼ lengths while earning a 118 Equibase Speed Figure. Forever Young has never finished out of the money in his 16-start career, taking 12 trips to the winner’s circle. However, all four of Forever Young’s defeats have come in eight starts at this 1 ¼-mile distance with a second and three thirds. Like Magnitude, Forever Young probably will be racing just off the pace set by contenders to his outside and could very well repeat his performance last year at Del Mar to become the second horse in history to win back-to-back editions of the Classic. Regardless of odds, Forever Young should be on every ticket and has earned every right to be the favorite come post time.
The rest of the field (with best Equibase Speed Figure in similar races): T O Password (100), Golden Tempo (101), The Puma (108), Knightsbridge (109) and Napoleon Solo (103).
Win contenders in preference order:
Sovereignty
Magnitude
Forever Young
