Labor Day Weekend Races Lead to Multiple Changes to Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings

Racing
Breeders’ Cup Classic rankings top 10 Fierceness City of Troy Forever Young Sierra Leone Dornoch Highland Falls Arthur’s Ride Ushba Tesoro Derma Sotogake Senor Buscador Jockey Club Gold Cup
Highland Falls entered the top 10 rankings for the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic after posting a four-length win in the Sept. 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes at Saratoga. (Susie Raisher/NYRA)

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 Six of the 2024 Breeders' Cup Classic rankings is led by DraftKings Travers Stakes winner Fierceness, who maintains his advantage from Week Five.

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


Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings for Sept. 3, 2024

Walter Wlodarczyk/NYRA

1. Fierceness (22 first-place votes)

Owner: Repole Stable

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Jockey: John Velazquez

2024 record: 5 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third

Last race: 1st, DraftKings Travers Stakes, Aug. 24 at Saratoga Race Course

Next race: Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, Nov. 2 at Del Mar


Eclipse Sportswire

2. City of Troy  (10 first-place votes)

Owners: Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith

Trainer: Aidan O'Brien

Jockey: Ryan Moore

2024 record: 4 starts – 3 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


Coady Media

3. Forever Young (3 first-place votes)

Owner: Susumo Fujita

Trainer: Yoshito Yahagi

Jockey: Ryusei Sakai

2024 record: 3 starts – 2 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third

Last race: 3rdKentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve, May 4 at Churchill Downs

Next race: TBD


Eclipse Sportswire

4. Sierra Leone

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

Trainer: Chad Brown

Jockey: Flavien Prat 

2024 record: 6 starts – 2 wins – 2 seconds – 2 thirds

Last race: 3rd, DraftKings Travers Stakes, Aug. 24 at Saratoga Race Course

Next race: Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, Nov. 2 at Del Mar


Anne M. Eberhardt/BloodHorse

5. Dornoch 

Owners: West Paces Racing, R. A. Hill Stable, Belmar Racing And Breeding, Two Eight Racing, and Pine Racing Stables

Trainer: Danny Gargan

Jockey: Luis Saez

2024 record: 6 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds

Last race: 4th, DraftKings Travers Stakes, Aug. 24 at Saratoga Race Course

Next race: Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, Nov. 2 at Del Mar


Susie Raisher/NYRA

6. Highland Falls

Owner: Godolphin

Trainer: Brad Cox

Jockey: Flavien Prat

2024 record: 6 starts – 3 wins – 2 seconds – 0 thirds

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

Next race: TBD


Eclipse Sportswire

7. Arthur's Ride (1 first-place vote)

Owner: Glassman Racing

Trainer: Bill Mott

Jockey: Junior Alvarado

2024 record: 5 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds

Last race:  5th, Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes, Sept. 1 at Saratoga Race Course

Next race: Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, Nov. 2 at Del Mar


Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia

8. 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


Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia

9. 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


Eclipse Sportswire

10. Senor Buscador (1 first-place vote)

Owners: Sheikh Sharaf Mohammed Al Hariri and Joe Peacock Jr. 

Trainer: Todd Fincher

Jockey: Joe Talamo

2024 record: 4 starts – 1 win – 1 second – 1 third

Last race: 4th, Pat O’ Brien Stakes, Aug. 24 at at Del Mar

Next race: California Crown Stakes, Sept. 28 at at Santa Anita


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