
Five Takeaways You Need to Know From an Action-Packed Kentucky Derby Weekend
Each week a panel of media members, horseplayers, and Breeders’ Cup World Championships officials release a poll tabulating their votes ranking the top contenders for the 2024 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic. The results 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 Four of the 2024 Breeders' Cup Classic rankings is led by top 3-year-old Dornoch, as he and two other horses in the top 10, Fierceness and Sierra Leone, all get ready to do battle in the DraftKings Travers Stakes Aug. 24 at Saratoga Race Course, in what will be one of the most important races on the calendar leading up to the Breeders' Cup Classic.
The rankings will be updated each week. The results of the latest poll are below.
1. Dornoch (14 first-place votes)
Trainer: Danny Gargan
Jockey: Luis Saez
2024 record: 5 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds
Last race: 1st, NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes, July 20 at Monmouth Park
Next race: DraftKings Travers Stakes, Aug. 24 at Saratoga Race Course
2. Arthur's Ride (5 first-place votes)
Owner: Glassman Racing
Trainer: Bill Mott
Jockey: Junior Alvarado
2024 record: 4 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds
Last race: 1st, Whitney Stakes, Aug. 3 at Saratoga Race Course
Next race: Jockey Club Gold Cup, Sept. 1 at Saratoga Race Course
3. Forever Young (2 first-place votes)
Owner: Susumo Fujita
Trainer: Yoshito Yahagi
Jockey: Ryusei Sakai
2024 record: 3 starts – 2 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third
Last race: 3rd, Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve, May 4 at Churchill Downs
Next race: TBD
4. Fierceness
Owner: Repole Stable
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Jockey: John Velazquez
2024 record: 4 starts – 2 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third
Last race: 1st, Jim Dandy Stakes presented by Mohegan Sun, July 27 at Saratoga Race Course
Next race: DraftKings Travers Stakes, Aug. 24 at Saratoga Race Course
5. Senor Buscador (3 first-place votes)
Owners: Sheikh Sharaf Mohammed Al Hariri and Joe Peacock Jr.
Trainer: Todd Fincher
Jockey: Joe Talamo
2024 record: 3 starts – 1 win – 1 second – 1 third
Last race: 3rd, Dubai World Cup sponsored by Emirates Airline, March 30 at Meydan Racecourse
Next race: Pat O’ Brien Stakes, Aug. 24 at at Del Mar
6. Sierra Leone
Owners: Peter Brant, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, and Brooke Smith
Trainer: Chad Brown
Jockey: Flavien Prat
2024 record: 5 starts – 2 wins – 2 seconds – 1 third
Last race: 2nd, Jim Dandy Stakes presented by Mohegan Sun, July 27 at Saratoga Race Course
Next race: DraftKings Travers Stakes, Aug. 24 at Saratoga Race Course
7. National Treasure (2 first-place votes)
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Jockey: Flavien Prat
2024 record: 4 starts – 2 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds
Last race: 6th, Whitney Stakes, Aug. 3 at Saratoga Race Course
Next race: TBD
8. City of Troy (4 first-place votes)
Owners: Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith
Trainer: Aidan O'Brien
Jockey: Ryan Moore
2024 record: 4 starts – 0 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds
Last race: 1st, Juddmonte International Stakes, Aug. 21 at York Racecourse
Next race: Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, Nov. 2 at Del Mar
9. Ushba Tesoro (1 first-place vote)
Owners: Ryotokuji Kenji Holdings Co. Ltd.
Trainer: Noboru Takagi
Jockey: Yuga Kawada
2024 record: 2 starts – 0 wins – 2 seconds – 0 thirds
Last race: 2nd, Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline, March 30 at Meydan Racecourse
Next race: TBD
10. Derma Sotogake (1 first-place vote)
Owner: Hiroyuki Asanuma
Trainer: Hidetaka Otonashi
Jockey: Christophe Lemaire
2024 record: 2 starts – 0 win – 0 seconds – 0 thirds
Last race: 6th, Dubai World Cup sponsored by Emirates Airline, March 30 at Meydan Racecourse
Next race: TBD
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