Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., will host the Breeders' Cup World Championships for the fourth time on Friday and Saturday.
The stakes action begins on Friday with the one-mile Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes for 2-year-olds in the third race. The 5 ½-furlong Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint opens the World Championships in the sixth race, followed by the 1 1/16-mile Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies on the main track in the seventh race. The turf course will be back in the spotlight for the one-mile Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. Then Kentucky Derby points will be awarded in the 1 1/16-mile Breeders' Cup Juvenile, with the one-mile Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf ending the Future Stars Friday festivities.
The seven-furlong Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint kicks off the second and final day of the World Championships in race 4. Turf sprinters take to the track in the 5 ½-furlong Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint in race 5, and 11 runners go the distance in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile in race 6. The 1 3/16-mile Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf is next on the schedule, followed by the world's fastest main track sprinters in the six-furlong Breeders' Cup Sprint.
The Breeders' Cup Mile leads into the final four races on the card, followed by the 1 ⅛-mile Breeders' Cup Distaff for fillies and mares on the dirt. The 1 ½-mile Breeders' Cup Turf is the penultimate race, leading into the $7 million headliner, the 1 ¼-mile Breeders' Cup Classic.
Saturday
3:42 pm – G1 Breeders' Cup Sprint at Keeneland
Englishman, a two-time G1 winner against 3-year-olds, is the 4-5 morning line favorite in the six-furlong Breeders' Cup Sprint, his first start against older horses. The Cherie DeVaux trainee drew the outside post in the field of 13 and will again be ridden by Jose Ortiz.
Japan-based T O Elvis is the 7-2 second choice. The Daisuke Takayanagi trainee is unraced since a 3 ¼-length victory in the G1 Churchill Downs Stakes during Kentucky Derby week. He will try to win his sixth straight race in the Sprint from post 11 with Ryusei Sakai aboard.
G2 Alfred G. Vanderbilt winner Built leads the older American contingent. After taking down Saratoga's Vanderbilt by 2 ½ lengths over next-out G1 winner and Sprint contender Hymn, the Wayne Catalano trainee came back to win the Louisville Thoroughbred Society Stakes by 1 ½ lengths. The 6 ½-furlong stakes produced last year's Sprint winner, Bentornato.
4:58 pm – G1 Breeders' Cup Distaff at Keeneland
Last year's champion 3-year-old filly Nitrogen is in search of her first Breeders' Cup victory in her third attempt in the 1 ⅛-mile Distaff. The 4-year-old filly trained by Mark Casse is coming out of an easy 2 ¾-length score in the G2 Beldame, after she finished second to Sovereignty in the G1 Whitney. Nitrogen is the 6-5 morning line favorite from post 2 with Jose Ortiz in the irons.
Three starts ago, Nitrogen defeated Distaff contender Fully Subscribed by 12 ¾ lengths in the G1 Ogden Phipps at Saratoga. Fully Subscribed won her next three starts, including the G1 Personal Ensign by 9 ¾ lengths and the G1 Spinster by 3 ¼ lengths.
Immersive and Super Corredora each look to win their second Breeders' Cup race after taking the Juvenile Fillies during their 2-year-old seasons. Now a 4-year-old, the Brad Cox-trained Immersive has drawn the rail with Junior Alvarado in the irons for the first time. Sophomore Super Corredora ships to Kentucky from California, where she defeated older fillies and mares by 2 ¾ lengths in the G2 Zenyatta Stakes. Joel Rosario, aboard for the Zenyatta, will ride from post 7 of 9.
5:36 pm – G1 Breeders' Cup Turf at Keeneland
A maximum capacity field has signed on for the 1 ½-mile Turf, with the Aidan O'Brien-trained 3-year-old filly Diamond Necklace filling the favorite's role at 3-1. The three-time French G1 winner most recently finished third in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, a neck behind fellow Turf entrant Bay City Roller. Diamond Necklace is joined by her stablemate, the Irish Derby winner Benvenuto Cellini.
Other invaders include last year's Turf winner Ethical Diamond, 2025 G1 Sword Dancer winner El Cordobes, G1 Irish Champion winner Hotazhell, G1 Irish Oaks winner Johanna Walsh, G2 Kentucky Turf Cup winner Tiffany, G1 Clement Hirsch winner Survie, and the Japanese-bred Deep Monster, a multiple graded stakes winner.
Leading the U.S. contingent is the Ian Wilkes trainee Burnham Square. The 4-year-old Liam's Map gelding won the G2 Elkhorn Stakes going 1 ½ miles at Keeneland by 9 ¾ lengths in April. The remaining U.S.-based runners are G1 Joe Hirsch Classic winner Minaret Station, and multiple G1 winner Far Bridge.
6:16 pm – G1 Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland
The 43rd Breeders' Cup Classic features the first meeting between two Kentucky Derby winners since 1991. 2025 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner Sovereignty (Junior Alvarado up) will leave from post 2, with this year's Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner Golden Tempo (post 3, Jose Ortiz) right to his outside.
But will Japan's defending Breeders' Cup Classic winner Forever Young spoil the party? The 5-year-old Yoshito Yahagi trainee is the 2-1 morning line favorite from post 5 with regular jockey Ryusei Sakai.
The field for the 1 ¼-mile Classic also includes four more G1 winners. Magnitude (post 6, Flavien Prat) won both the G1 Dubai World Cup and the G1 Stephen Foster for trainer Steve Asmussen. Knightsbridge, stablemate to Sovereignty, heads to Keeneland off a 6 ¼-length victory in the G1 Pacific Classic. They are joined by Preakness winner Napoleon Solo (post 8, John Velazquez) and G1 Pennsylvania Derby winner The Puma (post 4, Javier Castellano).
Japan-based T O Password (post 1, Kazushi Kimura), fifth in the 2024 Kentucky Derby, rounds out the field.
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on Oct 29, 2026, where it first appeared in the Features section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
