Fierceness winning the Travers. (Janet Napolitano)
Travers Stakes Winner is First Choice Among Top 10 Contenders for $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar
Breeders’ Cup Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. ― Repole Stable’s Travers Stakes (G1) winner Fierceness continues to hold the No. 1 rating in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings, leading a group of five 3-year-old competitors after the ninth week of voting.
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.
Fierceness, trained by Todd Pletcher, has topped the rankings for the fifth consecutive week since capturing the Aug. 24 Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. Last year’s FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) winner and champion 2-year-old male earned 327 votes and stayed ahead of fellow 3-year-olds City of Troy, Forever Young (JPN), Sierra Leone, and Dornoch.
Mrs. John Magner, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith’s Betfred Derby (G1) and Juddmonte International Stakes (G1) winner City of Troy, trained by Aidan O’Brien, is in second place (236 votes), followed by 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), in third place (180 votes).
The only change from last week’s rankings is Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, Rocket Ship Racing, LLC, and Peter Brant’s Sierra Leone,reversing positions with West Paces Racing LLC, R. A. Hill Stable, Belmar Racing and Breeding, LLC, Two Eight Racing, LLC, and Pine Racing Stables’ Dornoch.
Trained by Chad Brown, Sierre Leone, who was second in the Kentucky Derby, takes over fourth place with 142 votes, while Dornoch,winner of the Haskell Stakes (G1) and the Belmont Stakes (G1), dropped to fifth with 135 votes.
Godolphin’s 4-year-old Highland Falls, winner of Saratoga’s Sept. 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), is in sixth place (127 votes) for trainer Brad Cox.
Ryotokuji Kenji Holdings Co. Ltd.’s 7-year-old Ushba Tesoro (JPN), second in the Saudi Cup (G1) and in the Dubai World Cup (G1) sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1), is in seventh with 100 votes for trainer Noboru Takagi. Glassman Racing’s 4-year-old Arthur’s Ride, winner of the Aug. 3 Whitney (G1) at Saratoga, remainseighth with 82 votes for trainer Bill Mott.
Hiroyuki Asanuma’s 4-year-old Derma Sotogake (JPN), who finished second in last year’s Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, is ninth with 76 votes. Rounding out the top 10 is Peacock Family Racing Stable, LLC’s 6-year-old Saudi Cup (G1) winner Senor Buscador (65 votes) for trainer Todd Fincher.
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. 24, 2024*
| Rank | Horse | Votes | First-Place Votes | Previous Week |
| 1 | Fierceness | 267 | 16 | 1 |
| 2 | City of Troy | 236 | 9 | 2 |
| 3 | Forever Young (JPN) | 180 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | Sierra Leone | 142 | 0 | 5 |
| 5 | Dornoch | 135 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 | Highland Falls | 127 | 0 | 6 |
| 7 | Ushba Tesoro (JPN) | 100 | 1 | 7 |
| 8 | Arthur’s Ride | 82 | 0 | 8 |
| 9 | Derma Sotogake (JPN) | 76 | 1 | 9 |
| 10 | Senor Buscador | 65 | 0 | 10 |
*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.
