Each week a panel of media members, horseplayers, and Breeders’ Cup World Championships officials release a poll tabulating their votes on the nation’s top contenders for the 2025 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic. The rankings are a weekly rating of the top 10 horses in contention and are determined by each voter ranking their top 10 horses with points assigned on a descending 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
Week two of the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Classic rankings are led by Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve and Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets winner Sovereignty, who is targeting the DraftKings Travers Stakes Aug. 23 at Saratoga Race Course for his next start.
The rankings will be updated each week. The results of the latest poll are below.
Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings for Aug. 12, 2025
1. Sovereignty (24 first-place votes)
Owner: Godolphin
Trainer: Bill Mott
Jockey: Junior Alvarado
2025 record: 5 starts – 4 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds
Last race: 1st, Jim Dandy Stakes presented by Mohegan Sun, July 26 at Saratoga Race Course
Next race: DraftKings Travers Stakes, Aug. 23 at Saratoga Race Course
2. Sierra Leone (16 first-place votes)
Owners: Peter Brant, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, and Brooke Smith
Trainer: Chad Brown
Jockey: Flavien Prat
2025 record: 3 starts – 1 win – 1 second – 1 third
Last race: 1st, Whitney Stakes, Aug. 2 at Saratoga Race Course
Next race: Jockey Club Gold Cup, Aug. 31 at Saratoga Race Course
3. Mindframe (1 first-place vote)
Owners: Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
2025 record: 3 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds
Last race: 1st, Stephen Foster Stakes, June 28 at Churchill Downs
Next race: Jockey Club Gold Cup, Aug. 31 at Saratoga Race Course
4. Journalism
Trainer: Michael McCarthy
Jockey: Umberto Rispoli
2025 record: 6 starts – 4 wins – 2 seconds – 0 thirds
Last race: 1st, NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes, July 19 at Monmouth Park
Next race: TBD, DraftKings Travers Stakes, Aug. 23 at Saratoga Race Course or FanDuel Pacific Classic Stakes, Aug. 30 at Del Mar
5. Nysos (1 first-place vote)
Owner: Baoma Corporation
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Jockey: Flavien Prat
2025 record: 3 starts – 2 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds
Last race: 1st, San Diego Handicap, July 26 at Del Mar
Next race: FanDuel Pacific Classic Stakes, Aug. 30 at Del Mar
6. Forever Young (2 first-place votes)
Owner: Susumo Fujita
Trainer: Yoshito Yahagi
Jockey: Ryusei Sakai
2025 record: 2 starts – 1 win – 0 seconds – 1 third
Last race: 3rd, Dubai World Cup sponsored by Emirates Airline, April 5 at Meydan Racecourse
Next race: TBD, possibly the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, Nov. 1 at Del Mar
7. Fierceness
Owner: Repole Stable, Derrick Smith, Michael Tabor, and Susan Magnier
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Jockey: John Velazquez
2025 record: 3 starts – 1 win – 1 second – 0 thirds
Last race: 5th, Whitney Stakes, Aug. 2 at Saratoga Race Course
Next race: TBD, Woodward Stakes, Sept. 27 at Belmont at the Big A or Lukas Classic Stakes, Sept. 27 at Churchill Downs
8. Baeza
Owners: C R K Stable LLC and Grandview Equine
Trainer: John Shirreffs
Jockey: Hector Isaac Berrios
2025 record: 6 starts – 1 win – 3 seconds – 2 thirds
Last race: 2nd, Jim Dandy Stakes presented by Mohegan Sun, July 26 at Saratoga Race Course
Next race: FanDuel Pacific Classic Stakes, Aug. 30 at Del Mar
Owner: Godolphin
Trainer: Brad Cox
Jockey: Luis Saez
2025 record: 2 starts – 1 win – 1 second – 0 thirds
Last race: 2nd, Whitney Stakes, Aug. 2 at Saratoga Race Course
Next race: Jockey Club Gold Cup, Aug. 31 at Saratoga Race Course
10. White Abarrio
Owners: C2 Racing Stable, Barber, Gary and La Milagrosa Stable
Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr.
Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
2025 record: 4 starts – 2 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds
Last race: 4th, Whitney Stakes, Aug. 2 at Saratoga Race Course
Next race: FanDuel Pacific Classic Stakes, Aug. 30 at Del Mar