Meet 12 top horses to watch during 2026 Breeders' Cup at Keeneland

Jason Frakes, Louisville Courier JournalWed, October 28, 2026 at 9:13 AM UTC

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Perhaps the most notable storyline for this week’s Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Keeneland is that Saturday’s $7 million Classic will feature two former Kentucky Derby winners.

It’s the first time since 1991 — when Unbridled and Strike the Gold battled at Churchill Downs — such a scenario exists.

Reigning Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo and 2025 winner Sovereignty are among the eight horses entered in the Classic on Saturday, Oct. 31.

“I think it’s great,” Golden Tempo trainer Cherie DeVaux said. “The world knows about Sovereignty and Golden Tempo. To have those out there, I think it’s great for our sport and our industry, and growing our fan base”

There are 14 races on the Breeders’ Cup slate, with five scheduled for Friday (all for 2-year-olds) and nine more on Saturday.

Horse racing fans may know all about the past two Kentucky Derby winners, but what about the other top horses who will be competing this weekend?

Here’s a look at them and 10 more top horses entered in this weekend’s races, listed alphabetically:

Blue Bolt

Race: Filly & Mare Turf (3:04 p.m. Saturday).

Trainer/jockey: Andrew Balding/Colin Keane.

What to know: The Irish-bred enters with a six-race winning streak, including four straight Group 1s in England, Ireland and France. The question is the distance of Saturday’s race, as Blue Bolt never has competed at 1 3/16 miles.

Coach Pope

Race: Juvenile (4:55 p.m. Friday).

Trainer/jockey: Kenny McPeek/Jose Ortiz.

What to know: He’ll be the favorite of the Lexington locals, as he’s named after University of Kentucky men’s basketball coach Mark Pope. Son of Tapit was second — a length behind American History — in the Grade 1 Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity on Oct. 3 at Keeneland.

Emphatic

Race: Juvenile Fillies (3:35 p.m. Friday).

Trainer/jockey: Brendan Walsh/Tyler Gaffalione.

What to know: Daughter of 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist is undefeated in three career starts, including a score in the Grade 1 Alcibiades on Oct. 2 at Keeneland. Could we see this Pennsylvania-bred next spring at Churchill Downs in the Kentucky Oaks?

Englishman

Race: Sprint (3:42 p.m. Saturday).

Trainer/jockey: Cherie DeVaux/Jose Ortiz.

What to know: Golden Tempo has the recognition, but Englishman is DeVaux’s best horse. The son of Maxfield is 4-1-0 in five career starts and most recently won the Grade 1 Allen Jerkens on Aug. 29 at Saratoga by 3 3/4 lengths. This will be his first time racing older horses.

Forever Young

Race: Classic (6:16 p.m. Saturday).

Trainer/jockey: Yoshito Yahagi/Ryusei Sakai.

What to know: Defending champion is looking to join Tiznow (2000-01) as the only two-time winners of the Classic. Japan-bred made his United States racing debut in the 2024 Kentucky Derby, finishing third.

Golden Tempo

Race: Classic (6:16 p.m. Saturday)

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Trainer/jockey: Cherie DeVaux/Jose Ortiz.

What to know: Golden Tempo will look to become the fifth horse to win the Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic in the same year. The others were Authentic (2020), American Pharoah (2015), Unbridled (1990) and Sunday Silence (1989). While this will be Golden Tempo’s first race at Keeneland, the horse is based at the Lexington track and has posted weekly breezes there since Sept. 18.

Hughes

Race: Juvenile (4:55 p.m. Friday).

Trainer/jockey: Bob Baffert/Flavien Prat.

What to know: No surprise to see Baffert with the favorite in the Juvenile, a race the Hall of Fame trainer has won six times. (It’s worth noting none of those six went on to win the Kentucky Derby.) Hughes, a son of Into Mischief, is 4 for 4 in his young career with a pair of Grade 1 victories.

Nitrogen

Race: Distaff (4:58 p.m. Saturday).

Trainer/jockey: Mark Casse/Jose Ortiz.

What to know: One of the top mares in the game, Nitrogen was the runner-up to Scylla in last year’s Distaff. Nitrogen is 3-2-1 in six starts this year and owns a victory at Keeneland — the Grade 2 Appalachian in 2025.

Notable Speech

Race: Mile (4:20 p.m. Saturday).

Trainer/jockey: Charlie Appleby/William Buick.

What to know: Back to defend his title after winning as the favorite last year at Del Mar. He has three Group 1 victories this year but was fourth in the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile at Keeneland in April. Appleby and Buick have teamed to win four of the past five runnings of the Mile, starting with Space Blues in 2021.

Sovereignty

Race: Classic (6:16 p.m. Saturday).

Trainer/jockey: Bill Mott/Junior Alvarado.

What to know: Sovereignty won the Kentucky Derby, Belmont, Jim Dandy and Travers in 2025 but skipped the Breeders’ Cup Classic after spiking a fever just days before the race. He had been scheduled to run in the Jockey Club Gold Cup on Sept. 18 at Belmont but missed the race with a foot abscess.

Sun Goddess

Race: Juvenile Fillies Turf (4:15 p.m. Friday).

Trainer/jockey: Aidan O’Brien/Ryan Moore.

What to know: She’s the 6-5 morning-line favorite for the Juvenile Fillies Turf and has plenty of experience, having raced eight times this year and winning six of them. Her victory in the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes on Sept. 13 at the Curragh earned her a Timeform rating of 120, making her the highest-rated 2-year-old filly since Lady Aurelia in 2016.

Ways and Means

Race: Filly & Mare Sprint (1:10 p.m. Saturday).

Trainer/jockey: Chad Brown/Flavien Prat.

What to know: She finished fifth in this same race in 2024 at Del Mar and then took nearly a year off from racing. Now 5, Ways and Means is 2-0-1 in three starts this year and enters off a 5 1/2-length romp in the Grade 1 Ballerina on Aug. 29 at Saratoga.

Jason Frakes: (502) 582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com. Follow on X @KentuckyDerbyCJ.

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