Breeders' Cup: Stars and Upsets in Lexington

The 2026 Breeders' Cup opens Friday at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., with a 14-race program split over two days. For fans and bettors, the schedule offers a dense mix of returning champions and emerging talent. The event begins at 11:55 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time on Friday and continues at 10:10 a.m. on Saturday.

Nine horses returning from previous Breeders' Cup victories headline the field. Sovereignty, the reigning Horse of the Year, leads a group that includes eight 2024 and 2025 Eclipse Award winners. The lineup also contains two Kentucky Derby winners and more than two dozen horses ranked in the top 50 in North America and Europe. Over forty runners arrive with active winning streaks, while a similar number have earned more than $1 million this year.

Bob Baffert aims to extend his record of six Juvenile victories with either Hughes or Salahudin. Hughes is the favorite after going 4 for 4 at Los Alamitos, Del Mar, and Santa Anita. Salahudin offers a different profile, having won three straight at Churchill Downs despite slow starts. In the Juvenile Fillies, trainer Brendan Walsh brought Miss Monica to Kentucky after a strong debut at Del Mar, a decision he attributed to the horse's physical and mental growth.

Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien seeks to maintain his dominance in turf events. He has won the Juvenile Turf four times in a row, a record for any Breeders' Cup race. His son Joseph trains Folsom Blues, who could break the streak by defeating Aidan's Haffner and Great Barrier Reef. O'Brien also entered Sun Goddess in the Juvenile Fillies Turf after she beat Libertango in a Group 1 race at Newmarket.

Saturday’s program features the Classic, a $7 million race that pits Forever Young against Sovereignty. Forever Young is favored to become the first horse to repeat in the Classic since Tiznow in 2000 and 2001. Sovereignty’s preparation was complicated by a hind-foot abscess, though he remains the most accomplished active American horse. Knightsbridge, the Pacific Classic winner, is positioned as a strong contender for the second spot.

Jockey Flavien Prat and Jose Ortiz are battling for the national earnings lead. Prat rides Ways and Means in the Filly & Mare Sprint, a race that has never been won by a front-runner in its 19 editions. Juan Hernandez, who is 0 for 27 in Breeders' Cup races, rides Bacio in the Turf Sprint. The 3-year-old has previously raced in England for trainer Wesley Ward.

Splendora was scratched from the Distaff on Thursday following advice from a regulatory veterinarian. The withdrawal leaves Nitrogen as the 6-5 favorite. Last year at Del Mar, five of the 14 races were won by the betting favorites. Kevin Modesti’s top picks in this column won six of those races, with theoretical bets returning $33 on $28.

The races are listed in chronological order for viewers. The Juvenile Turf Sprint starts the Friday card, while the Classic concludes the Saturday program. The event serves as a major financial and reputational milestone for the horses, jockeys, and trainers involved.