Fierceness scoring the coveted Travers Stakes. (Susie Raisher)
Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings
Jockey Club Gold Cup Winner Highland Falls Joins Top 10 Among Contenders for $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar
Breeders’ Cup Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. ― Repole Stable’s Fierceness, winner of the Aug. 24 Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course, has maintained his overall lead in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings, while Godolphin’s Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) winner Highland Falls, jumped into the top 10 for the first time.
Fierceness, winner of the 2023 FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) and the champion 2-year-old male of 2023 for trainer Todd Pletcher, earned 343 votes and leads a contingent of 3-year-olds occupying the first five positions in the sixth week of the rankings.
The Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings are a weekly rating of the top 10 horses in contention for the $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), which will be run Nov. 2 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, California.
Mrs. John Magner, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith’s City of Troy is now in second place with 295 votes. Trained by Aidan O’Brien, the son of Justify earned an automatic berth in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic when he won the Aug. 21 Juddmonte International Stakes (G1) at York.
Susumu Fujita’s Forever Young (JPN),winner of the UAE Derby sponsored by Atlantis the Royal (G2) and third in the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), is in third place with 241 votes for trainer Yoshito Yahagi.
Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, Rocket Ship Racing, LLC, and Peter Brant’s Sierra Leone,whofinished third in the Travers, moved up one spot to fourth place with 185 votes. Dornoch, winner of the Belmont Stakes (G1), is in fifth place with 153 votes for trainer Danny Gargan and owners West Paces Racing LLC, R. A. Hill Stable, Belmar Racing and Breeding, LLC, Two Eight Racing, LLC, and Pine Racing Stables.
Highland Falls roared into the rankings this week with a powerful 4-length victory in the Sept. 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga Race Course and earned an automatic starting position in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic. Trained by Brad Cox, the 4-year-old son of Curlin is in sixth place with 134 votes.
Glassman Racing’s 4-year-old Whitney (G1) winner Arthur’s Ride finished fifth in the Jockey Club Gold Cup and dropped from second place to seventh with 130 votes for trainer Bill Mott.
Ryotokuji Kenji Holdings Co. Ltd.’s 7-year-old Ushba Tesoro (JPN), second in the Saudi Cup and the Dubai World Cup (G1) sponsored by Emirates Airlines (G1), rose to eighth place with 199 votes for trainer Noboru Takagi.
Hiroyuki Asanuma’s 4-year-old Derma Sotogake (JPN), who finished second in last year’s Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, is in ninth place with 96 votes.
The 6-year-old Saudi Cup (G1) winner Senor Buscador dropped from seventh to 10th place with 94 votes for trainer Todd Fincher and owner Peacock Family Racing Stable, LLC.
In the Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings, each voter rates horses on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 system in descending order.
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 announced each week through Oct. 8. A list of voting members can be found here.
Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings – Sept. 3, 2024*
| Rank | Horse | Votes | First-Place Votes | Previous Week |
| 1 | Fierceness | 343 | 22 | 1 |
| 2 | City of Troy | 295 | 10 | 3 |
| 3 | Forever Young (JPN) | 241 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | Sierra Leone | 185 | 0 | 5 |
| 5 | Dornoch | 153 | 0 | 6 |
| 6 | Highland Falls | 134 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Arthur’s Ride | 130 | 1 | 2 |
| 8 | Ushba Tesoro (JPN) | 119 | 1 | 9 |
| 9 | Derma Sotogake (JPN) | 96 | 1 | 10 |
| 10 | Senor Buscador | 94 | 1 | 7 |
*Note – The Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings have no bearing on qualification or selection into the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
The 2024 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, which will be run at 1 1/4 miles on the main track at Del Mar, is limited to 14 starters. The race will be broadcast live on NBC.
