(Forever Young / Photos by Holly M. Smith)

From the Breeders’ Cup Media Team / Jim Gluckson & Claire Crosby:

FOREVER YOUNG SECURES OVERALL LEAD IN LONGINES BREEDERS’ CUP CLASSIC RANKINGS

International Globetrotter Tops Poll Tracking Leading Contenders for $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland Race Course

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 22, 2026) – Fresh off a win in the Sept. 18 Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (G1) at the new Belmont Park, Susumu Fujita’s 2025 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner Forever Young (JPN) has secured the overall lead in the latest Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings. The Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings rate the top 10 horses in consideration for the $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, which will be run Oct. 31 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., during the 43rd edition of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships.

Forever Young, trained by Yoshito Yahagi, earned 364 votes, including 24 first-place votes, and took over the lead from Godolphin LLC’s Whitney Stakes (G1) and 2025 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Sovereignty, who ranks second with 355 votes, including 12 first-place votes. Sovereignty is trained by Bill Mott.

Also racing for Godolphin, Knightsbridge, winner of the Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) and also trained by Mott, is in third place with 296 votes. Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC’s Magnitude, winner of the Dubai World Cup (G1) and the Stephen Foster Stakes (G1), ranks fourth with 270 votes. Magnitude is trained by Steve Asmussen. Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable’s Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Golden Tempo, trained by Cherie DeVaux, is in fifth place with 245 votes.

The 4-year-old filly Nitrogen, who finished second in the Whitney, ranks sixth with 129 votes for owner D.J. Stable LLC and trainer Mark Casse. OGMA Investments LLC, High Step Racing, TCC Stables LLC, YNG Stables LLC, and JR Ranch’s The Puma, trained by Gustavo Delgado, jumps into the rankings following his victory in the Pennsylvania Derby (G1), and is in seventh place with 103 votes.

Espoir USA Inc.’s Napoleon Solo, who won the Preakness Stakes (G1) and finished second in the Travers Stakes (G1) for trainer Chad Summers, is in eighth place with 102 votes. He is followed by Robert and Lawana Low and Repole Stable’sRenegade, runner-up in the Kentucky Derby and winner of the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2). Trained by Todd Pletcher, Renegade ranks ninth with 95 votes.

Mott’s third runner in the top 10 is CRK Stable LLC and Grandview Equine’s Baeza, who finished third in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. Baeza is in 10th place with 40 votes.

Sovereignty (Whitney), Forever Young (Saudi Cup and Jockey Club Gold Cup), Magnitude (Dubai World Cup and Stephen Foster), and Knightsbridge (Pacific Classic) have all earned automatic starting positions into the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic through the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win and You’re In.

The Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings are determined by a panel of leading Thoroughbred racing media, horseplayers, and members of the Breeders’ Cup Racing Directors/Secretaries Panel. Rankings will be published next on Sept. 29 before concluding Oct. 6. A list of voting members can be found here.

In the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings, each voter rates horses on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 system in descending order.

Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings – Sept. 22, 2026*

Rank Horse Votes First-Place Votes Previous Week
1 Forever Young (JPN) 364 24 2
2 Sovereignty 355 12 1
3 Knightsbridge 296 1 3
4 Magnitude 270 2 4
5 Golden Tempo 245 0 5
6 Nitrogen 129 0 8
7 The Puma 103 0 0
8 Napoleon Solo 102 0 9
9 Renegade   95 0 10
10 Baeza   40 0 7

*Note – The Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings have no bearing on qualification or selection into the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic.

The 2026 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, which will be run at 1 1/4 miles on the main track at Keeneland, is limited to 14 starters. The race will be broadcast live on NBC.

ABOUT BREEDERS’ CUP

Breeders’ Cup Limited administers the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, Thoroughbred racing’s year-end Championships, as well as the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win and You’re In, which provides automatic starting positions into the Championships races through partnerships with host countries around the globe, and the U.S.-based Dirt Dozen Bonus Series.

The 2026 Breeders’ Cup World Championships, featuring 14 Grade 1 Championship races run during a two-day festival worth more than $34 million in purses and awards, will be held Oct. 30-31 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., and the 2027 World Championships will be held Oct. 29-30 at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. The Championships will be televised live by NBC Sports and FanDuel TV. Press releases appear on the Breeders’ Cup website, BreedersCup.com. You can also follow the Breeders’ Cup on social media.