Every two weeks through Oct. 20, 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 2026 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.

The third poll of 2026 Breeders' Cup Classic contenders is led by Sovereignty , who earned the first win of his 4-year-old season Aug. 8 in the Whitney Stakes, and defending 2025 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic winner Forever Young, who together have garnered nearly all of the first-place votes. The big mover in the latest poll is Leading Change at  No. 6 following his upset win in the DraftKings Travers Stakes, Aug. 29 at Saratoga.

The rankings will be updated every two weeks. The results of the latest poll are below.

Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings for Sept. 8, 2026

Sovereignty. (Gary Johnson/Eclipse Sportswire)

1. Sovereignty (24 first-place votes)

Owner: Godolphin

Trainer: Bill Mott

Jockey: Junior Alvarado

2026 record: 3 starts – 1 win – 1 second – 1 third

Last race: 1^st, Whitney Stakes, Aug. 8 at Saratoga Race Course

Next race: Possibly Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes, Sept. 18 at Belmont Park

Forever Young. (Kat Turnbull/Eclipse Sportswire)

2. Forever Young (12 first-place votes)

Owner: Susumo Fujita

Trainer: Yoshito Yahagi

Jockey: Ryusei Sakai

2026 record: 2 starts – 1 win – 1 second – 0 thirds

Last race: 2^nd, Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline, March 28 at Meydan Racecourse

Next race: Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes, Sept. 18 at Belmont Park

Knightsbridge. (BENOIT photo)

3. Knightsbridge (3 first-place votes)

Owner: Godolphin

Trainer: Bill Mott

Jockey: Junior Alvarado

2026 record: 6 starts – 4 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Last race: 1^st, Pacific Classic Stakes, Aug. 22 at Del Mar

Next race: Longines Breeders' Cup Classic or Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, Oct. 31 at Keeneland

Magnitude. (Coady Media)

4. Magnitude (2 first-place votes)

Owners: Winchell Thoroughbreds

Trainer: Steve Asmussen

Jockey: Jose Ortiz

2026 record: 4 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds

Last race: 6^th, Whitney Stakes, Aug. 8 at Saratoga Race Course

Next race: Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, Oct. 31 at Keeneland

Golden Tempo. (Coady Media)

5. Golden Tempo 

Owners: Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable

Trainer: Cherie DeVaux

Jockey: Jose Ortiz

2026 record: 6 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 3 thirds

Last race: 3^rd, DraftKings Travers Stakes, Aug. 29 at Saratoga

Next race: Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, Oct. 31 at Keeneland

Leading Change. (Gary Johnson/Eclipse Sportswire)

6. Leading Change

Owners: Wathnan Racing

Trainer: Brad Cox

Jockey: Manny Franco

2026 record: 3 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds

Last race: 1^st, DraftKings Travers Stakes, Aug. 29 at Saratoga

Next race: Possibly Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, Oct. 31 at Keeneland

Baeza. (Tim Sudduth/Eclipse Sportswire)

7. Baeza

Owners: C R K Stable LLC and Grandview Equine

Trainer: Bill Mott

Jockey: Flavien Prat

2026 record: 3 starts – 0 wins – 1 second – 1 third

Last race: 4^th, Whitney Stakes, Aug. 8 at Saratoga Race Course

Next race: Goodwood Stakes, Sept. 26 at Santa Anita Park

Nitrogen. (Coady Media)

8. Nitrogen

Owner: D J Stable

Trainer: Mark Casse

Jockey: John Velazquez

2026 record: 5 starts – 2 wins – 2 seconds – 1 third

Last race: 2^nd, Whitney Stakes, Aug. 8 at Saratoga Race Course

Next race: Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes, Sept. 18 at Belmont Park or Beldame Stakes, Sept. 25 at Belmont Park or Juddmonte Spinster Stakes, Oct. 4 at Keeneland

Napoleon Solo. (Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club)

9. Napoleon Solo

Owner: ESPOIR USA

Trainer: Chad Summers

Jockey: John Velazquez

2026 record: 5 starts– 1 win – 2 seconds – 0 thirds

Last race: 2^nd, DraftKings Travers Stakes, Aug. 29 at Saratoga

Next race: Longines Breeders' Cup Classic or Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, Oct. 31 at Keeneland

Renegade. (Coady Media)

10. Renegade 

Owners: Robert Low, Lawana Low, and Repole Stable

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.

2026 record: 6 starts – 3 wins – 1 second – 1 third

Last race: 8^th, DraftKings Travers Stakes, Aug. 29 at Saratoga

Next race: TBD