The $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic is North American Thoroughbred racing’s championship event. Often, the results of the Longines Classic are the determining factor in which racehorse is honored as Horse of the Year at the Eclipse Awards. In the 41 prior years of the Breeders’ Cup, 16 Classic winners have been voted Horse of the Year months later, including three in the past five years. 

Most years, the 1 ¼-mile Longines Classic draws some of the sport’s biggest stars, and it’s often the first time leading 3-year-olds of a particular year compete against older horses. Last year, 3-year-olds swept the top three spots in the Longines Classic at Del Mar: Sierra Leone, Fierceness, and Forever Young. Those three contenders have all enjoyed successful campaigns at age 4 and are headed back to Del Mar for another start in this year’s Classic Nov. 1.

If the presence of that trio wasn’t enough to excite fans and horseplayers, the three leading 3-year-olds from the 2025 Triple Crown series are also targeting the Classic: Sovereignty, Journalism, and Baeza. Add five more Grade 1 winners to the field in Mindframe, Antiquarian, Highland Falls, Locked, and Nevada Beach, and the 42^nd Longines Classic shapes up to be one of the most competitive editions in World Championships history.

(For all historical records in the Longines Classic, access the Breeders’ Cup statistical site here. The winningest trainer among those with a horse entered in this year’s Classic is Bob Baffert with four. The winningest jockey among those who have a starter in 2025 is Mike Smith, also with four.)

The Classic runs as the sixth of nine Breeders’ Cup races on Championship Saturday, Nov. 1, and will air nationwide on NBC with live streaming on Peacock. It will also be broadcast on the FanDuel TV network with a post time set for 6:25 p.m. ET/3:25 p.m. PT.

Whether you are interested in making a couple of bucks on the race or just want to know a little bit about this year’s runners, we’ve got you covered with our 2025 Breeders’ Cup Classic Cheat Sheet. Check back Monday, Oct. 27, for an updated Cheat Sheet with post positions and morning-line odds added.

Eclipse Sportswire

Antiquarian

Jockey: TBA

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Owner: Centennial Farms

Career record: 9 starts – 4 wins – 3 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $944,100

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 113

Pedigree: Preservationist – Lifetime Memory, by Istan

Age: 4

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Press the pace/stalker

Analysis: Antiquarian comes into the Longines Classic in career-best form, having tallied his three highest Equibase Speed Figures in his three most recent starts. In his final prep, he won a loaded edition of the 1 ¼-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes Aug. 31 at Saratoga that was unfortunately marred by a near-disastrous spill soon after the start when a chain reaction of veering in and bumping caused Mindframe to unseat jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. Antiquarian broke to the outside of the offending horse, Phileas Fogg, and largely escaped the trouble. He stalked Phileas Fogg’s pace, took over entering the stretch, and held off a rallying Sierra Leone for a signature 1 ½-length victory. Sierra Leone, Highland Falls, and of course Mindframe were all affected by the incident early in the race and are back to run in the Classic, and their presence plus that of Sovereignty, Journalism, and Baeza should boost Antiquarian’s post-time odds to the 15-1 range, making him an appealing horse to use in exotic bets such as the exacta and trifecta. This classy, stamina-bred, and consistent racehorse has reached a new level in 2025, and he’ll have to take another step higher to post the upset. Regular rider John Velazquez will be aboard Fierceness in the Classic. 

Eclipse Sportswire

Baeza

Jockey: Hector Berrios

Trainer: John Shirreffs

Owners: C R K Stable and Grandview Equine

Career record: 8 starts – 2 wins – 3 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $1,503,500

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 116

Pedigree: McKinzie – Puca, by Big Brown

Age: 3

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: After tussling with either Sovereignty, Journalism, or both in four consecutive races and coming up short, Baeza benefited from their absence Sept. 20 at Parx Racing, summoning a career-best performance in the Pennsylvania Derby to earn his first stakes victory. He had answered the call in those four earlier starts against the two 3-year-old division leaders despite going winless, finishing second in the Santa Anita Derby (to Journalism) and in the Jim Dandy Stakes Presented by Mohegan Sun (to Sovereignty) and third behind Sovereignty and Journalism in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve and the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets. In the 1 1/8-mile Pennsylvania Derby, he stalked the early pace under a patient ride from Hector Berrios and powered clear at the top of the stretch to win going away by 2 ¼ lengths. Baeza earned a career-best 116 Equibase Speed Figure in that race which, if repeated or improved in the Longines Classic, gives him a chance to win against an extremely tough field. He has an excellent pedigree for handling a mile and a quarter, as a half-brother (same dam [mother], different sire [father]) to 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage and 2024 Belmont Stakes winner Dornoch. This horse may be finally be putting it all together under the patient handling of John Shirreffs, just on a delayed timetable compared with Sovereignty and Journalism; if that’s the case, watch out.

Adam Coglianese/NYRA

Contrary Thinking

Jockey: TBA

Trainer: Chad Brown

Owner: Peter Brant

Career record: 7 starts – 2 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $140,140

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 96

Pedigree: Into Mischief – Valadorna, by Curlin

Age: 5

Color: Bay

Running style: Pacesetter

Analysis: Contrary Thinking is entered in the Breeders’ Cup Classic with one simple assignment: set a fast pace. The gelding, who has two career wins (going six furlongs and one mile), is owned by Peter Brant, co-owner of defending Classic winner Sierra Leone. That colt is a deep closer and as such is dependent on the early times set within a race being fast enough to help him come from behind and pass tiring opponents – a scenario that played out in last year’s Classic at Del Mar, which Contrary Thinking did not run in. Last summer, Contrary Thinking was entered in two of Sierra Leone’s races that didn’t draw very many speed horses in an attempt to ensure a fast, or at least an honest, pace. In the 1 1/8-mile Whitney Stakes, the gelding was bumped at the start and was unable to secure the lead and run fast, but Sierra Leone won anyway. In the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes held at the same mile-and-a-quarter distance as the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Contrary Thinking jumped out to an early seven-length lead before tiring; however, Sierra Leone was troubled by an early incident in the race (when Mindframe lost his jockey) and could only rally to finish second. Will the third time Contrary Thinking is entered as a “rabbit” (to use racing parlance) work to Sierra Leone’s benefit? Expect him to go straight to the lead with the goal of setting an early pace so fast that the main high-quality Classic opponent with speed, Fierceness, is forced to use up energy to stay within reach. If all goes to plan, Contrary Thinking should back out of the race somewhere near the far turn if not before – and then the real running will begin, for Sierra Leone, Fierceness, and every other legitimate contender in the Classic.

BENOIT photo

Fierceness

Jockey: John Velazquez

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Owners: Repole Stable, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith

Career record: 13 starts – 7 wins – 2 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $5,155,320

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 117

Pedigree: City of Light – Nonna Bella, by Stay Thirsty

Age: 4

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace

Analysis: In a stacked field for the 2025 Longines Classic, it can be argued that no contender has shown more brilliance on the track than Fierceness – when this colt is good, he’s really, really good. Several times in his career, he has unleashed performances that have left racing scribes grasping for superlatives, and one of those came in his most recent start, a 3 ¼-length tour de force in the Pacific Classic Stakes Aug. 30 at the same track and mile-and-a-quarter distance he’ll run Nov. 1. After ducking in at the start, he was confidently handled by regular jockey John Velazquez in the Pacific Classic, taking command on the far turn and drawing well clear of top-class 3-year-old Journalism. Fierceness also ran extremely well in last year’s Longines Classic at Del Mar, pressing a hot early pace and holding on for a clear runner-up spot behind Sierra Leone, who enjoyed a perfect setup for his rally. In order to help ensure another perfect setup, the connections of Sierra Leone have entered the “rabbit” pacesetter Contrary Thinking in the Classic. That gelding will attempt to force Fierceness and one or two other forwardly placed runners (Highland Falls, Mindframe, and Nevada Beach, perhaps) to expend energy trying to stay close behind during the early stages. But Fierceness has shown tactical speed – he doesn’t need the lead to win – and Velazquez could very well simply ignore Contrary Thinking and secure a comfortable position and tempo through the backstretch before getting into top gear. Fierceness is one of the main win threats in the Classic, with the only question mark being his tendency to put forth a subpar effort every once and a while, including his dud fifth-place finish in the Whitney Stakes two starts back.

Masakazu Takahashi photo

Forever Young

Jockey: Ryusei Sakai

Trainer: Yoshito Yahagi

Owner: Susumu Fujita

Career record: 12 starts – 9 wins – 0 seconds – 3 thirds

Career earnings: $15,718,590

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 113

Pedigree: Real Steel – Forever Darling, by Congrats

Age: 4

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: Japan’s Forever Young is a wild-card entrant in the Longines Classic having not been seen in North America since finishing third in last year’s edition. Leading into that race, he had already established his reputation as a viable threat to the best U.S. 3-year-olds when nearly winning the 2024 Kentucky Derby, and as it turned out he also ran well in the Classic at Del Mar to check in 2 ¾ lengths behind Sierra Leone and 1 ¼ lengths behind Fierceness. This year, Forever Young started his 4-year-old campaign with an easy win in the lucrative Saudi Cup held at 1 1/8 miles (earning $10 million), ran third in the 1 ¼-mile Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline, and then after a break of nearly six months tuned up for the Classic with a romping win back home in the 1 1/8-mile Nippon TV Hai against an overmatched field. Based on the evidence from last year and in the World Cup where he lost to good-but-not great U.S. horses Hit Show and Mixto, Forever Young is a cut below the top Longines Classic contenders … but not by much. He’s never finished worse than third, has shown he can handle a mile and a quarter, and should be ready for a top effort in his second start off of the layoff.

Adam Coglianese/NYRA

Highland Falls

Jockey: Luis Saez

Trainer: Brad Cox

Owner: Godolphin

Career record: 13 starts – 6 wins – 3 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $1,632,660

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 113

Pedigree: Curlin – Round Pond, by Awesome Again

Age: 5

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: When a Grade 1 winner who’s earned over $1.6 million on the track is a good bet to vie for carrying the highest post-time odds in a race, you know it’s going to be a special event. Such is the case with this year’s Longines Classic. Through 13 career starts, Highland Falls has only finished out of the top three twice – a fourth in the 2024 Santa Anita Handicap Presented by Yaamava’ Resort & Casino and then a distant ninth in last year’s Classic. He never really threatened that afternoon at Del Mar against a field that is arguably worse than the one he’ll face Nov. 1, but he’s come back at age 5 to run well in all three 2025 starts, winning a one-mile allowance race, running a very good second to Sierra Leone in the 1 1/8-mile Whitney Stakes, and then checking in fourth but moved up to third when seeking a repeat win in the 1 ¼-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes, won by Antiquarian. In the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Highland Falls was among the horses affected by an incident early when Mindframe lost his jockey, but he recovered to put forth his usual solid effort. His best probably is not good enough to win this year’s Classic, but Highland Falls has shown enough ability to rate consideration as a trifecta or superfecta filler.

Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO

Journalism

Jockey: Jose Ortiz

Trainer: Michael McCarthy

Owners: Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Elayne Stables 5, Robert LaPenta, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith

Career record: 10 starts – 6 wins – 3 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $3,998,880

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 110

Pedigree: Curlin – Mopotism, by Uncle Mo

Age: 3

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: In a star-studded roster for the Longines Classic, in terms of fan appeal Journalism takes a back seat to no other horse with the possible exceptions of Sovereignty and Forever Young. He’s the epitome of a top-class equine athlete, finishing no worse than second in every start at the stakes level, two of those runner-up finishes coming at the hooves of Sovereignty in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve and the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets. Moreover, Journalism has shown incredible courage in competition, most notably when posting an amazing half-length win in the 1 3/16-mile Preakness Stakes after bouncing between horses in early stretch. This well-bred colt would be a Triple Crown winner were it not for Sovereignty, and that rival’s presence in the Classic plus the improvement of Pennsylvania Derby winner Baeza (whom Journalism has finished ahead of three times) are concerns for a colt who has seemed to level off in terms of speed figures. Journalism ran well in his final Breeders’ Cup prep but was no match for a dominant Fierceness when second in the 1 ¼-mile Pacific Classic Stakes on this track back in August. He’s been training very well in Southern California since then and can be counted on to make his customary charge at the quarter pole from a stalking spot – whether that’ll good enough to win against this field is an open question. Perhaps the jockey change to Jose Ortiz will boost his chances.  

Walter Wlodarczyk/NYRA

Locked

Jockey: TBA

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Owners: Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm

Career record: 11 starts – 6 wins – 1 second – 3 thirds

Career earnings: $1,911,825

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 109

Pedigree: Gun Runner – Luna Rossa, by Malibu Moon

Age: 4

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: Locked should vie with Highland Falls as the horse with highest post-time odds in the Longines Classic. Like Highland Falls, he’s achieved an excellent career record (only once out of the top three in 11 starts) and amassed a seven-figure bankroll. He has two Grade 1 wins on his résumé, including a dominant 8 ½-length win in the 1 ¼-mile Santa Anita Handicap Presented by Yaamava’ Resort & Casino back in early March. Despite these accomplishments, based on speed figures Locked has maxed out at a level below that of most of his Classic opponents. His Big ’Cap win came against a field that’s of decidedly lower quality than the one he’ll face on Nov. 1, and in his lead-in race to the Classic, a victory in the 1 1/8-mile Woodward Stakes in New York on Sept. 27, he defeated only two opponents. Locked is an ultra-game racehorse whose best effort could enable him to fill out the superfecta in the Longines Classic, although even that’s a remote possibility against this elite group.

Coady Media

Mindframe

Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Owners: Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable

Career record: 8 starts – 5 wins – 2 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $1,844,580

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 118

Pedigree: Constitution – Walk of Stars, by Street Sense

Age: 4

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Press the pace

Analysis: Despite having the highest Equibase Speed Figure in this stacked Longines Classic field, Mindframe could be somewhat overlooked come post time if last year’s Classic top three finishers and the 2025 trio of elite 3-year-olds receive the bulk of betting support. Getting a price in the 6-1 to 10-1 range for this runner, who has finished first or second in every race he’s completed with a jockey, would be very enticing as he still has upside at age 4 having made only eight career starts. Mindframe began 2025 with three consecutive wins in stakes races, the first two around one turn followed by an impressive one-length score over Sierra Leone in the 1 1/8-mile Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs. The Constitution colt earned a 118 Equibase Speed Figure in the Stephen Foster, the highest among all Classic starters, and was all set to build on that effort in the 1 ¼-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes Aug. 31. Instead, he and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. were fortunate to escape harm as Mindframe was bumped shortly after the start and lost his rider in a chain reaction caused when Phileas Fogg veered in. Mindframe enters the Classic having not made a competitive start since late June, but he’s been training steadily at Saratoga in recent weeks and already has proved capable of winning after a long layoff (over seven months) in his 2025 debut. Add it up, and this colt rates a strong upset chance over more heralded opponents in the Classic if there are no lasting effects from his Gold Cup mishap.

BENOIT photo

Nevada Beach

Jockey: Mike Smith

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Owners: Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman

Career record: 4 starts – 3 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $296,500

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 108

Pedigree: Omaha Beach – Morrow Cove, by Yes It’s True

Age: 3

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Press the pace

Analysis: Three-year-olds in this year’s Longines Classic are represented by well-known Sovereignty, Journalism, and Baeza and also by this up-and-coming racehorse. Nevada Beach enters off of an upset win against older horses in the 1 1/8-mile Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita Park, where he defeated odds-on favorite Full Serrano by 1 ½ lengths. That was an impressive effort as he pressed Full Serrano’s pace for the first half-mile before moving ahead and keeping that foe, who won last year’s Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, at bay in the stretch. Nevada Beach boosted his Equibase Speed Figure to a career-top 108 in the Goodwood, and he's eligible to improve in what will be only his fifth career start. This is an incredibly tough spot to make that forward move in, however. “Big Money” Mike Smith took the mount on Nevada Beach for the first time in the Goodwood and should have him in a forward position in the Classic, not too far behind the dedicated pacesetter Contrary Thinking. His pedigree suggests that this colt would be best suited for races at a mile to the mile and an eighth he handled in his final prep; as such, a rematch against Full Serrano in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile would seem to be a more realistic assignment.  

Chelsea Durand/NYRA

Sierra Leone

Jockey: Flavien Prat

Trainer: Chad Brown

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

Career record: 13 starts – 5 wins – 5 seconds – 3 thirds

Career earnings: $7,006,200

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 117

Pedigree: Gun Runner – Heavenly Love, by Malibu Moon

Age: 4

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Closer

Analysis: Last year, Sierra Leone posted a mild upset in the Longines Classic at Del Mar as the fourth betting choice at 6.90-1 odds. He entered the race off of four straight efforts where he closed from well back in the field to finish second or third, including a runner-up loss by a nose in the 2024 Kentucky Derby, but in the Classic everything fell into place. He benefited from a swift pace to rally from 13 ¼ lengths off the lead after a half-mile and stormed through the stretch, overtaking Fierceness (who had pressed the early pace) to win by 1 ½ lengths. Sierra Leone came back in 2025 and finished a disappointing third in his debut race, a 1 1/8-mile stakes at Fair Grounds, and then improved to run a solid second to Mindframe in Churchill Downs’ Stephen Foster Stakes at the same distance. In his third start of the year, Sierra Leone won the 1 1/8-mile Whitney Stakes at Saratoga by a length over Highland Falls with a perfectly timed rally by Flavien Prat, and he closed out his Longines Classic prep campaign with a runner-up finish behind Antiquarian in the 1 ¼-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes at the same track where he had to check hard early in the race after Mindframe unseated his jockey. Sierra Leone is an easy horse to assess: he’s an elite-caliber runner with a bull’s-eye pedigree for racing a mile and a quarter who is also a one-dimensional closer and thus dependent on a solid pace to set up his charge. As such, co-owner Peter Brant has once again entered the gelding Contrary Thinking to serve as a “rabbit” (dedicated pacesetter) with the goal of setting fast early fractions through the first mile or so of the Classic and give Sierra Leone a better chance of winning. Contrary Thinking was entered in both the Whitney Stakes and Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes, but it’s arguable as to whether his presence made much of a difference: the pace in both races was solid but not sizzling, yet Sierra Leone ran up to standard in both races despite being bothered in the Gold Cup. Rabbit or no rabbit, if Sierra Leone is to join Tiznow as a dual Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, he’ll have to run past his 2024 Classic rivals, a formidable group of current 3-year-olds, and Mindframe to reach the winner’s circle. Achieving that task could make him Horse of the Year once again.

Adam Coglianese/NYRA

Sovereignty

Jockey: Junior Alvarado

Trainer: Bill Mott

Owner: Godolphin

Career record: 9 starts – 6 wins – 2 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $5,835,300

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 113

Pedigree: Into Mischief – Crowned, by Bernardini

Age: 3

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: Sovereignty heads into the Longines Classic with the opportunity to secure a victory that would put him in the discussion with American Pharoah (2015) and possibly Curlin (2007) as having the best season by a 3-year-old male in the 21^st century. He has reeled off four consecutive victories in visually impressive fashion, starting in the 1 ¼-mile Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve and followed by the 1 ¼-mile Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets, the 1 1/8-mile Jim Dandy Stakes Presented by Mohegan Sun, and the 1 ¼-mile DraftKings Travers Stakes. His Travers win at Saratoga in late August came against four overmatched opponents and amounted to little more than a paid workout, but in his other three wins Sovereignty handled the best of his age group with distinction. In the Classic, he’ll meet up with two familiar foes again in Journalism and Baeza, but the more intriguing question is whether Sovereignty can step up and defeat a high-quality group of older opponents led by Fierceness, Sierra Leone, Mindframe, and Forever Young (keep in mind that Journalism finished well behind Fierceness in his first attempt against older horses, the Pacific Classic Stakes). This supremely talented colt has a perfect stalking running style for the Classic, his 3-for-3 record at a mile and a quarter jumps off of the page, and jockey Junior Alvarado is as familiar riding his mount as most folks are with taking the family car (in this case, the family Ferrari) out for a spin. It would be surprising if Sovereignty failed to get a call during the stretch of the Longines Classic Nov. 1, and if he’s able to secure a fifth consecutive win against this formidable field, a Hall of Fame induction may be in his future.