Each week a panel of media members, horseplayers, and Breeders’ Cup World Championships officials release a poll tabulating their votes on the nation's top contenders for the 2025 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic. The rankings 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 five of the 2025 Breeders' Cup Classic rankings are led by Sovereignty, who was a runaway 10-length winner of the Aug. 23 DraftKings Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. The big movers in the power rankings this week were Fierceness, who moved up to second after this win in the Pacific Classic Stakes Aug. 30 at Del Mar, and Antiquarian, who joined the rankings for the first time in a tie for eighth after his victory in the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes Aug. 31 at Saratoga Race Course.

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

Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings for Sept. 2, 2025

Sovereignty. (Eclipse Sportswire)

1. Sovereignty (36 first-place votes)

Owner: Godolphin

Trainer: Bill Mott

Jockey: Junior Alvarado

2025 record: 6 starts – 5 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Last race: 1^st, DraftKings Travers Stakes, Aug. 23 at Saratoga Race Course

Next race: Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, Nov. 1 at Del Mar  

Fierceness. (BENOIT photo)

2. Fierceness (3 first-place votes)

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

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Jockey: John Velazquez

2025 record: 4 starts – 2 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Last race: 1^st, Pacific Classic Stakes, Aug. 30 at Del Mar

Next race: Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, Nov. 1 at Del Mar 

Sierra Leone. (Eclipse Sportswire)

3. Sierra Leone (1 first-place vote)

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

Trainer: Chad Brown

Jockey: Flavien Prat

2025 record: 4 starts – 1 win – 2 seconds – 1 third

Last race: 2^nd, Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes, Aug. 31 at Saratoga Race Course

Next race: Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, Nov. 1 at Del Mar

Mindframe. (Eclipse Sportswire)

4. Mindframe 

Owners: Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.

2025 record: 4 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds

Last race: DNF, Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes, Aug. 31 at Saratoga Race Course

Next race: TBD

Journalism. (BENOIT photo)

5. Journalism 

Owners: Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, LaPenta, Robert V., Elayne Stables 5, Magnier, Mrs. John, Tabor, Michael B. and Smith, Derrick

Trainer: Michael McCarthy

Jockey: Umberto Rispoli

2025 record: 7 starts – 4 wins – 3 seconds – 0 thirds

Last race: 2^nd, Pacific Classic Stakes, Aug. 30 at Del Mar 

Next race: TBD, possibly the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, Nov. 1 at Del Mar

Forever Young. (Eclipse Sportswire)

6. Forever Young (1 first-place vote)

Owner: Susumo Fujita

Trainer: Yoshito Yahagi

Jockey: Ryusei Sakai

2025 record: 2 starts – 1 win – 0 seconds – 1 third

Last race: 3^rd, Dubai World Cup sponsored by Emirates Airline, April 5 at Meydan Racecourse

Next race: TBD, possibly the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, Nov. 1 at Del Mar

Nysos. (Eclipse Sportswire)

7. Nysos

Owner: Baoma Corporation

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Jockey: Flavien Prat

2025 record: 3 starts – 2 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Last race: 1^st, San Diego Handicap, July 26 at Del Mar

Next race: TBD

Antiquarian. (Adam Coglianese/NYRA)

8 (tie). Antiquarian

Owners: Centennial Farms

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Jockey: John Velazquez

2025 record: 4 starts – 2 wins – 2 seconds – 0 thirds

Last race: 1^st, Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes, Aug. 31 at Saratoga Race Course

Next race: Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, Nov. 1 at Del Mar

Baeza. (Eclipse Sportswire)

8 (tie). Baeza

Owners: C R K Stable LLC and Grandview Equine

Trainer: John Shirreffs

Jockey: Hector Isaac Berrios

2025 record: 6 starts – 1 win – 3 seconds – 2 thirds

Last race: 2^nd, Jim Dandy Stakes presented by Mohegan Sun, July 26 at Saratoga Race Course

Next race: Pennsylvania Derby, Sept. 20 at Parx Racing

Highland Falls. (Eclipse Sportswire)

10. Highland Falls

Owner: Godolphin

Trainer: Brad Cox

Jockey: Luis Saez

2025 record: 3 starts – 1 win – 1 second – 1 third

Last race: 3^rd, Jockey Club Gold Cup, Aug. 31 at Saratoga Race Course

Next race: TBD, possibly the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, Nov. 1 at Del Mar