The 2026 Breeders' Cup Classic boasts a small but star-studded field ahead of Saturday's race at Keeneland. The seven thoroughbreds competing have combined for five Triple Crown race victories, with a pair of Derby-Belmont double winners in Sovereignty (2025) and Golden Tempo (2026). Napoleon Solo has the other Triple Crown race win, courtesy of claiming the Preakness earlier this year.
However, none of those three horses enter the Breeders' Cup Classic 2026 as the reigning champion as Forever Young has that honor and looks to join Tiznow (2000-01) as the only multi-time winner. Bet the Breeders' Cup Classic with the TwinSpires promo code CBSSPORTS and get an exclusive $400 bonus: The Breeders' Cup Classic is scheduled to post at 6:16 p.m. ET, with Forever Young the 2-1 favorite.
Sovereignty, who was the morning line favorite a year ago but was a late scratch, is at 5-2, with Pacific Classic winner Knightsbridge at 9-2. Despite a Preakness victory under his belt, Napoleon Solo (15-1) is the second-biggest horse racing longshot in the field. Before making any 2026 Breeders' Cup Classic picks, you'll want to see the horse racing predictions from SportsLine's Jeff Hochman.
Hochman delivered exceptional handicapping results during the summer 2025 racing season at two of the country's premier tracks, Saratoga and Del Mar. His combined 65.7% win rate across the two tracks represents elite-level performance that significantly exceeds industry benchmarks for professional handicappers. Anyone who has followed him on horse racing betting sites could be way up.
Now, with the 2026 Breeders' Cup Classic post positions set and odds on the board, Hochman is sharing his picks and predictions over at SportsLine. You can head here to see them. One surprise: Hochman isn't high on Knightsbridge at 9-2 odds, despite the horse coming off back-to-back graded stakes victories.
The horse will have Luis Saez aboard him, and even though the jockey's likely headed to the Racing Hall of Fame, he's struggled to find success at the Breeders' Cup Classic. He's 0 for 6 at this race, and across the Breeders' Cup World Championships as a whole, Saez has just one victory over 75 starters. "Knightsbridge made a big impression switching to two-turn routes this summer, winning the Grade 3 Monmouth Cup by 10¼ lengths and leading all the way in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at 1¼ miles by 6¼ lengths," Hochman told SportsLine.
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