Breeders’ Cup pre-entries fuel hope for Classic showdown

After three memorable years in Southern California, the Breeders’ Cup returns to Kentucky next week for two days of world-class racing at Keeneland, with season championships, $30 million purses and well over $100 million in parimutuel payoffs on the line in 14 Grade I stakes.

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The last time the Breeders’ Cup was held at Keeneland, it shaped up as a one-horse show and Flightline lived up to the hype, outshining six opponents in the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Classic by a race-record 8¼ lengths to complete a perfect career.

This time the hope is for something different, a Classic duel matching Japan-based star Forever Young, the 2025 winner at Del Mar and the world’s top-ranked dirt-track horse, against Sovereignty, the 2025 North American Horse of the Year.

Wednesday, those two horses took a formal step toward a showdown when the Breeders’ Cup announced they’re among 11 pre-entries for the Classic and a record 222 for the event in total Oct. 30 and 31.

Thirty-three of the pre-entered horses were kept eligible for more than one race. Their owners and trainers must settle on one race by Monday, when final entries will be set along with jockey assignments, post positions and morning-line odds.

As always, most of the pre-Breeders’ Cup attention will be on the $7 million Classic, the richest thoroughbred race in North America each year. Contention will go beyond the two heavyweights.

Also pre-entered with the clear intent to go in the Classic are Golden Tempo, the Kentucky Derby winner; Magnitude, a two-time winner at the Grade I level; and The Puma and Phileas Fogg. Entered in the Classic – with the Dirt Mile shown as second preference – are Knightsbridge, the Pacific Classic winner at Del Mar; Napoleon Solo, the Preakness winner; and Further Ado. On the Classic list – but with the Dirt Mile as first preference – are Forged Steel, the Hollywood Gold Cup and Goodwood Stakes winner at Santa Anita, and Japan’s TO Password.

Sovereignty, the 2025 Kentucky Derby winner, missed facing Forever Young in the 2025 Classic after developing a fever the week of the race. This year, Sovereignty has battled a left-hind-foot abscess since his Whitney Stakes victory at Saratoga in August. But he has returned to regular workouts while wearing a stabilizing bar shoe.

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If Sovereignty makes the Classic, it’s probable Knightsbridge would switch to the Dirt Mile. Both horses are owned by Godolphin and trained by Bill Mott.

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