Sovereignty scoring a sloppy Kentucky Derby victory. (Jenny Doyle/Past The Wire)
Belmont Stakes Winner Stays on Top of Weekly International Poll Tracking Leading Contenders for $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar
Breeders’ Cup Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. ― Godolphin’s 3-year-old Sovereignty remains atop the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings after a quiet week as the standings are unchanged.
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. 1 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, California, during the 42nd Breeders’ Cup World Championships.
Sovereignty, winner of the Kentucky Derby (G1), Belmont Stakes (G1), and Travers Stakes (G1), earned 422 votes, which included 37 first place votes. He is followed in second by the Todd Pletcher-trained Pacific Classic (G1) winner Fierceness (365 votes) for owners Repole Stable, Derrick Smith, Michael B. Tabor, and Mrs. John Magnier.
Peter Brant, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, and Brook T. Smith’s Sierra Leone, last year’s Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, is in third place with 332 votes for trainer Chad Brown.
Stephen Foster Stakes (G1) winner Mindframe is fourth with 280 votes for owners Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables LLC and trainer Todd Pletcher.
Journalism,winner of the Preakness (G1) and Haskell Stakes (G1),holds ontofifth place with 238 votes for trainer Michael McCarthy and owners Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, Robert LaPenta, Elayne Stables Five, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor, and Derrick Smith.
Saudi Cup (G1) winner Forever Young (JPN) is in sixth place with 204 votes for owner Susumu Fujita and trainer Yoshito Yahagi.
Centennial Farms’ 4-year-old Antiquarian, who captured the Aug. 31 Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), is in seventh place with 141 votes. Baoma Corp’sSan Diego Handicap (G2) winner Nysos, trained by Bob Baffert, is in eighth place with 123 votes.
C R K Stables and Grandview Equine’s Baeza, who is entered in Saturday’s Pennsylvania Derby (G1), is ninth with 100 votes.
Godolphin’s 5-year-old homebred Highland Falls, runner-up in the Whitney Stakes (G1), is in 10th place with 74 votes for trainer Brad Cox.
Fierceness (Pacific Classic), Sierra Leone (Whitney), Mindframe (Stephen Foster), Journalism (Haskell), Forever Young (Saudi Cup), and Antiquarian (Jockey Club Gold Cup) have each earned automatic starting positions, and fees paid, into this year’s Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic through the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win and You’re In. The final automatic qualifier for this year’s Classic will be the Sept. 27 Goodwood Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park.
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. 7. A list of voting members can be found here.
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.
Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings – Sept. 16, 2025*
| Rank | Horse | Votes | First Place Votes | Previous Week |
| 1 | Sovereignty | 422 | 37 | 1 |
| 2 | Fierceness | 365 | 3 | 2 |
| 3 | Sierra Leone | 332 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | Mindframe | 280 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | Journalism | 238 | 0 | 5 |
| 6 | Forever Young (JPN) | 204 | 1 | 6 |
| 7 | Antiquarian | 141 | 0 | 7 |
| 8 | Nysos | 123 | 0 | 8 |
| 9 | Baeza | 100 | 0 | 9 |
| 10 | Highland Falls | 74 | 0 | 10 |
*Note – The Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings have no bearing on qualification or selection into the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
The 2025 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.
