The Nov. 1 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Del Mar looms not only as a $7 million shootout at 1 1/4 miles but also a battleground on which Horse of the Year and other year-end titles may pivot. Four 3-year-olds—led by Sovereignty and complemented by grade 1 winners Journalism, Baeza, and Nevada Beach— take on a six-horse older brigade headed by Fierceness , Mindframe , Sierra Leone, and Forever Young.
Many believe it is one of the most talented Classics in years. Nine of the 10 entries are grade 1 winners, having captured 22 top-level stakes victories and earned more than $42 million in career earnings. Additionally, they are in top form. Some pundits even go so far as to say this is the best Classic since Awesome Again's triumph in the legendary 1998 race.
"It certainly appears as though it's a particularly strong renewal," said Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, who runs Fierceness, Mindframe, and Antiquarian.
Now it's up to the full cast to produce a thriller worthy of that billing.
Standout 3-year-old Sovereignty can sew up Horse of the Year if he adds a Classic to go along with his other top-level triumphs in the Kentucky Derby (G1), Belmont Stakes (G1), and Travers Stakes (G1). But if he loses—particularly to one of the existing grade/group 1-winning 4-year-olds in the lineup, the most prestigious championship honor in Thoroughbred racing could go to one of those rivals.
The Breeders' Cup Classic winner has been later honored with an Eclipse Award as Horse of the Year 16 times since the Classic's first running in 1984.
Though he has yet to face older horses or race in the West, few pundits see weakness in Sovereignty, trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott. He is 5-1-0 in six starts this year, with his only loss coming in the Florida Derby (G1) when jockey Manny Franco subbed for his regular rider, Junior Alvarado, who was sidelined due to a shoulder injury. Sovereignty closed for second in that defeat.
Alvarado, pleased by what he has seen of Sovereignty's training since the Travers, said he feels "now is the time to go against older horses."
"I would never trade a horse for what I have underneath me," he added. "I think I have the best horse and hopefully he'll show that."
Since the Florida Derby this spring, Godolphin's homebred son of Into Mischief has been unbeatable, handling everything from a sloppy track at Churchill Downs in the Kentucky Derby to challenging conditions related to pace, notably in capturing the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) at Saratoga Race Course in between his victories in the Belmont Stakes and Travers. Without much pace in the Jim Dandy, Alvarado was able to keep him closer to early leaders—though the rider credits Sovereignty for that positioning.
The versatility to keep the leaders closer to him may serve Sovereignty well in the Classic, as Del Mar has a shorter stretch (919 feet) than those at Saratoga (1,144 feet) and Churchill Downs (1,234.5 feet). He will have less chance to make up ground over a straightaway.
"Coming into the Breeders' Cup Classic, I'd love to win the race for him so he can get Horse of the Year because he's very well deserving," Alvarado said. "He did a lot for me throughout the year, and I think for me, now is the right time to do the best I can do to get him to the winner's circle."
Kentucky Derby winners are 6-for-22 in the Breeders' Cup Classic, taking the race four times as 3-year-olds and twice as 4-year-olds.
Saturday's race features the 1-2-3 finishers from last year's Classic, all three of whom were sophomores of 2024 and now 4-year-olds. A hard-charging Sierra Leone won over Fierceness and Forever Young in a race that unfolded with furious fractions.
Tiznow—who captured the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2000-01—is the only horse to have repeated in the race. Twelve others failed in the attempt, including Hall of Famers Arrogate, Curlin , and Zenyatta.
Sierra Leone, who edged Fierceness for the 3-year-old male championship last year and was runner-up to Thorpedo Anna in 2024 Horse of the Year voting, is 1-2-1 in four starts this year with earnings of $998,200. This summer, he won the Aug. 2 Whitney Stakes (G1), his only victory in five attempts over the Saratoga main track. He followed that race with a runner-up finish behind Antiquarian in the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (G1) there.
He needed to alter course in the early going of the latter race to avoid jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., who had been unseated aboard Mindframe in a rough contest that had an early scramble for positioning by front-runners Contrary Thinking and Phileas Fogg.
Fellow Chad Brown trainee Contrary Thinking served as Sierra Leone's "rabbit"—a horse racing term for a horse entered to improve a stablemate's chances by creating a quick pace—in each of those Saratoga races. Rabbits are controversial, as the expectation is not that they will win; rather, they are used to set the stage for their stablemate. As simply a first-level allowance winner, he stands in stark contrast to the nine grade 1-winning horses in the field.
Uncoupled in the wagering and sure to be the longest shot in the Classic, Contrary Thinking races for Peter Brant, one of the owners in Sierra Leone. Brant co-owns Sierra Leone with Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Westerberg, and Brook Smith.
Smith, Magnier, and Tabor—all affiliated with Coolmore—are also part-owners in Fierceness and Journalism. Both Sierra Leone and Fierceness are set to join the stallion roster at Coolmore's Ashford Stud in 2026, with a decision on Journalism's start date on a stud career pending after the Classic.
Smith, Magnier, and Tabor co-own Fierceness with Repole Stable. Mike Repole of Repole Stable has been critical of Contrary Thinking's presence in the race, citing the Jockey Club Gold Cup as an example where he believes a rabbit contributed to a safety issue. He has another reason not to want Contrary Thinking to compete: the naturally quick Fierceness may have a tactical advantage of being able to control the pace if Contrary Thinking is withdrawn.
Repole believes Fierceness and Mindframe—who he co-owns with St. Elias Stable—are fully capable of rating off a hard-hustled Contrary Thinking. Both have won grade 1 races this year by rating just off the pace.
Fierceness has a win over the Del Mar track, having defeated Journalism in the Aug. 30 Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) over a 1 1/4-mile trip.
As in the Pacific Classic, Fierceness drew the inside post, a position from which he broke inwardly toward the temporary rail in a troubled start to the Pacific Classic.
Mindframe captured the 1 1/8-mile Stephen Foster Stakes (G1) in late June at Churchill Downs, pouncing in the stretch after prompting a moderate early pace in second.
The future Claiborne Farm stallion has not raced since the Jockey Club Gold Cup, his only loss in four starts this year.
As in 2024, there is a foreign flair to the Breeders' Cup Classic thanks to the presence of Japanese star Forever Young, who was beaten by 2 3/4 lengths in last fall's running after starting from the rail, a tactical position considered detrimental by many.
Winner of the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) Feb. 22 and later a tired third when staying in the Middle East for the Dubai World Cup (G1) April 5, he was freshened over the summer months in Japan to gear up for the Breeders' Cup. He romped Oct. 1 in Japan against outclassed foes when prepping for Saturday's race.
He seeks his first win in the United States for owner Susumu Fujita and trainer Yoshito Yahagi after two frustrating domestic losses, the other being a third-place finish in the 2024 Kentucky Derby (G1) when he was beaten two noses after bumping with runner-up Sierra Leone, who had drifted inward.
The Classic, positioned before three other Breeders' Cup races as the ninth race on the 12-race Saturday program to accommodate NBC's main-network television coverage, is scheduled for 3:25 p.m. PT/6:25 p.m. ET. It anchors a 3 1/2-hour broadcast window on NBC from 12:30 p.m.-4 p.m. PT.
Sunny skies and high temperatures in the 70s are expected through the week, including on Saturday. A fast track is all but certain.
Del Mar, Saturday, November 1, 2025, Race 9Entries: Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Fierceness (KY) John R. Velazquez 126 Todd A. Pletcher 4/1 2 2Baeza (KY) Hector Isaac Berrios 122 John A. Shirreffs 15/1 3 3Nevada Beach (KY) Mike E. Smith 122 Bob Baffert 20/1 4 4Contrary Thinking (KY) Florent Geroux 126 Chad C. Brown 50/1 5 5Forever Young (JPN) Ryusei Sakai 126 Yoshito Yahagi 6/1 6 6Sovereignty (KY) Junior Alvarado 122 William I. Mott 6/5 7 7Sierra Leone (KY) Flavien Prat 126 Chad C. Brown 8/1 8 8Mindframe (MD) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 126 Todd A. Pletcher 10/1 9 9Journalism (KY) Jose L. Ortiz 122 Michael W. McCarthy 10/1 10 10Antiquarian (KY) Luis Saez 126 Todd A. Pletcher 15/1
