LEXINGTON, Ky. ― Hronis Racing LLC, Siena Farm LLC, Summer Wind Equine LLC, West Point Thoroughbreds, and Woodford Racing LLC’s undefeated Flightline continued to lead the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings for the fourth consecutive week, as the first six placings in the poll remained unchanged. The Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings is a weekly rating of the top 10 horses in contention for the $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky, on Nov. 5.
Flightline (248 votes), winner of the Hill ‘N’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap (G1), has a 37-vote advantage over second place Olympiad. Owned by Grandview Equine, Cheyenne Stable LLC, and LNJ Foxwoods, the 4-year-old Olympiad, undefeated in five starts this year, has 211 votes. CHC, Inc. and WinStar Farm LLC’s 4-year-old Life Is Good, winner of the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) and the John A. Nerud Stakes (G2), is in third place with 198 votes.
Dubai World Cup (G1) winner Country Grammer, owned by Commonwealth Thoroughbreds, LLC, WinStar Farm LLC, and Zedan Racing Stables, Inc., is in fourth place with 163 votes. Boat Racing, LLC, Gainesway Stable, Roadrunner Racing, and William Strauss’ 4-year-old Hot Rod Charlie, second in the Dubai World Cup, remains in fifth place with 123 votes.
Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC’s Epicenter, who finished second in both the Kentucky Derby (G1) and the Preakness Stakes (G1), is in sixth place with 94 votes. Jack Christopher is the second undefeated horse in the top 10. Owned by Jim Bakke, Gerald Isbister, Coolmore Stud, and Peter Brant, Jack Christopher, winner of the Pat Day Mile (G2) and the Woody Stephens Stakes (G1), moves from eighth place to seventh this week with 71 votes. Jack Christopher is expected to start in this Saturday’s TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1) at Monmouth Park for an automatic berth into the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic. The Haskell Stakes will be televised live on CNBC (5 p.m. ET) as a part of the “Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win and You’re In – presented by America’s Best Racing.”
Jack Christopher is followed in the rankings by Klaravich Stables Inc.’s Preakness Stakes winner Early Voting (69 votes), who drops from seventh to eighth place.
CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm LLC’s 4-year-old Americanrevolution (51 votes), second in the Stephen Foster Stakes (G2), improved from 10th to ninth place. Jeff Drown’s 3-year-old Zandon, winner of the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at Keeneland, moved into 10th place with 40 votes.
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. 11. 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 – July 19, 2022*
| Rank | Horse | Votes | FIrst-place Votes | Previous Week |
| 1 | Flightline | 248 | 22 | 1 |
| 2 | Olympiad | 211 | 4 | 2 |
| 3 | Life Is Good | 198 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | Country Grammer | 163 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | Hot Rod Charlie | 123 | 0 | 5 |
| 6 | Epicenter | 94 | 0 | 6 |
| 7 | Jack Christopher | 71 | 0 | 8 |
| 8 | Early Voting | 69 | 0 | 7 |
| 9 | Americanrevolution | 51 | 0 | 10 |
| 10 | Zandon | 40 | 0 | 12 |
*Note – The Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings have no bearing on qualification or selection into the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic.
The 2022 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, which will be run at 1 ¼ miles on the main track at Keeneland, is limited to 14 starters. The race will be broadcast live on NBC.
Breeders’ Cup Press Release
Photo: BC Classic Ranking Week 4 Graphic (Breeders’ Cup)
