2026 Breeders' Cup Saturday Post Position Draw: Fields, Odds, and What We're Watching

The Championship Saturday fields are set. Monday's draw at the Keeneland sales pavilion locked in nine Grade 1 races for Saturday, October 31, worth $23 million in purses. Forever Young drew post 5 and was installed as the 2-1 morning-line favorite to win the Classic for the second straight year, with 2025 Horse of the Year Sovereignty next at 5-2 from post 2. The biggest change came before the draw: Ombudsman, who would have been favored in the Turf, was withdrawn after his Champion Stakes win on October 17, and that race now belongs to a 3-year-old filly. Here are all nine fields, the storylines that moved at the draw, and what we're watching before the first one goes at 1:10 p.m. ET.

Filly & Mare Sprint (Race 4, 1:10 p.m. ET, 7 furlongs, dirt)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	ML
1	Look Forward	Umberto Rispoli	Michael McCarthy	20-1
2	Ways and Means	Flavien Prat	Chad Brown	7-5
3	Praying	John Velazquez	Robert Medina	30-1
4	R Disaster	Tyler Gaffalione	Saffie Joseph Jr.	8-1
5	Foie Gras	Ricardo Santana Jr.	Mike Maker	20-1
6	Majestic Oops	Francisco Arrieta	Phil D'Amato	15-1
7	Evanescence	Luis Saez	Eddie Kenneally	15-1
8	Kerry's Kiss	Edwin Gonzalez	Saffie Joseph Jr.	20-1
9	Sweet Azteca	Juan Hernandez	Richard Baltas	8-1
10	Simply Joking	Manuel Franco	Michael McCarthy	30-1
11	Explora	Jose Ortiz	Bob Baffert	4-1
12	Kilwin	Javier Castellano	George Arnold II	8-1
13	Nooni	Mario Gutierrez	Bob Baffert	30-1

Ways and Means is the 7-5 favorite off a Ballerina win. Chad Brown's mare won the Grade 1 Ballerina at Saratoga in August at this distance. The filly she has to worry about drew two spots outside her: R Disaster beat Ways and Means in the Derby City Distaff in May and won the Gallant Bloom last out. Explora (4-1) won the Test at Saratoga and was second in last year's Juvenile Fillies.

Turf Sprint (Race 5, 1:48 p.m. ET, 5 1/2 furlongs, turf)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	ML
1	John the Beer Man	Kendrick Carmouche	Rob Atras	30-1
2	Shisospicy	Luis Saez	Jose Francisco D'Angelo	15-1
3	Bacio	Juan Hernandez	Wesley Ward	5-2
4	Roja	Manuel Franco	Graham Motion	30-1
5	Time to Dazzle	Oisin Murphy	Mark Casse	20-1
6	Yellow Card	Flavien Prat	Michael McCarthy	8-1
7	Comanche Brave	Billy Loughnane	Donnacha O'Brien	3-1
8	Possiblemente	Jose Ortiz	Joe Sharp	12-1
9	In Our Time	Micah Husbands	Saffie Joseph Jr.	20-1
10	Cy Fair	John Velazquez	George Weaver	8-1
11	Joe Shiesty	Fernando De La Cruz	Eric Foster	10-1
12	Sorrento Sky	Umberto Rispoli	Phil D'Amato	12-1
13	Starlust	Rossa Ryan	Ralph Beckett	20-1
14	Miss Yechance	Jack Nicholls	Karl Burke	15-1

Four also-eligibles are listed behind the field of 14.

Three Group 1 sprint winners shipped in from Europe. Bacio (5-2) won the Nunthorpe at York from the front for Wesley Ward. Comanche Brave (3-1) won both the July Cup and the Flying Five. Miss Yechance won the Prix de l'Abbaye at Longchamp, but she drew post 14.

Two defending champions, one coming off a long layoff. Shisospicy won this race at Del Mar last year, but she hasn't run since May 1. Cy Fair won last year's Juvenile Turf Sprint. Joe Shiesty won the Woodford over this course and distance on October 3 after leading early.

Dirt Mile (Race 6, 2:26 p.m. ET, 1 mile, dirt)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	ML
1	Further Ado	Flavien Prat	Brad Cox	2-1
2	T Kraft	Junior Alvarado	Bill Mott	15-1
3	Full Serrano	Joel Rosario	John Sadler	10-1
4	Chunk of Gold	Jaime Torres	Ethan West	8-1
5	Coal Battle	Juan Vargas	Lonnie Briley	6-1
6	Lord Fons	Kazuo Yokoyama	Shogo Yasuda	15-1
7	Bracket Buster	John Velazquez	Victoria Oliver	7-2
8	Moonlight	Manuel Franco	Peter Miller	15-1
9	Forged Steel	Edwin Gonzalez	Saffie Joseph Jr.	15-1
10	Owen Almighty	Luis Saez	Brian Lynch	10-1
11	Iron Man Cal	Tyler Gaffalione	Phil D'Amato	12-1

Further Ado drew the rail as the 2-1 favorite. Brad Cox's 3-year-old was second to The Puma in the Pennsylvania Derby and turns back to a one-turn mile. Iron Man Cal won the Pat O'Brien from the front and drew post 11, the far outside. Forged Steel comes in off a win in the Grade 1 Goodwood at 1 1/8 miles.

Filly & Mare Turf (Race 7, 3:04 p.m. ET, 1 3/16 miles, turf)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	ML
1	Gimme A Nother	John Velazquez	Graham Motion	10-1
2	Evershed	Mickael Barzalona	Arnaud Delacour	30-1
3	Classic Q	Javier Castellano	Mark Casse	20-1
4	Red Letter	Dylan Browne McMonagle	Ger Lyons	12-1
5	Kathynmarissa	Jose Ortiz	Chad Brown	5-1
6	Thought Process	Manuel Franco	Phil D'Amato	15-1
7	Bless the Broken	Oisin Murphy	Brad Cox	20-1
8	Jancis	Billy Lee	Willie McCreery	20-1
9	Eccentric	Walter Rodriguez	Wesley Ward	30-1
10	Expensive Queen	Luis Saez	Brendan Walsh	15-1
11	Precise	Ryan Moore	Aidan O'Brien	7-2
12	Blue Bolt	Colin Keane	Andrew Balding	5-2
13	Lush Lips	Tyler Gaffalione	Brendan Walsh	12-1
14	Stellify	Flavien Prat	Brad Cox	12-1

One also-eligible is listed behind the field of 14.

Blue Bolt has won four straight Group 1 races, all at a mile. The Falmouth, the Prix Rothschild, the Matron, and the Sun Chariot make her the 5-2 favorite, but this is 1 3/16 miles from post 12. Precise (7-2) was second in the Prix de l'Opera at Longchamp. The winner of that race, Miss Scott, was not entered.

The American side is deep. Kathynmarissa (5-1) won the Diana and the Flower Bowl for Chad Brown. Gimme A Nother drew the rail after winning the E.P. Taylor at Woodbine and the Beverly D. Classic Q won the First Lady over this course on October 3, beating Lush Lips and Bless the Broken.

Sprint (Race 8, 3:42 p.m. ET, 6 furlongs, dirt)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	ML
1	Mad House	Paco Lopez	David Van Winkle	30-1
2	Dark Saffron	Connor Beasley	Ahmad bin Harmash	20-1
3	Liam Smith	Manuel Franco	Peter Miller	20-1
4	Hymn	Ricardo Santana Jr.	Ron Moquett	15-1
5	Listenupshance	Emisael Jaramillo	Doug O'Neill	12-1
6	American Stage	Oisin Murphy	Yoshito Yahagi	30-1
7	Built	Luis Saez	Wayne Catalano	10-1
8	Little Thunder	John Velazquez	Tim Hamm	30-1
9	Nakatomi	Tyler Gaffalione	Wesley Ward	12-1
10	Roll On Big Joe	Julien Leparoux	Bob Hess Jr.	30-1
11	T O Elvis	Ryusei Sakai	Daisuke Takayanagi	7-2
12	Stradale	Flavien Prat	Steve Asmussen	20-1
13	Englishman	Jose Ortiz	Cherie DeVaux	4-5

Englishman is 4-5 from the far outside. He won the Woody Stephens and the H. Allen Jerkens at Saratoga for Cherie DeVaux, leading or second at the first call. Post 13 lets Jose Ortiz see the speed inside him before committing. He's the shortest-priced favorite on the two-day card.

Two challengers are coming off long layoffs. T O Elvis (7-2) won the Churchill Downs Stakes on May 2 and hasn't run since. Dark Saffron (20-1) won the Dubai Golden Shaheen on March 28 and hasn't run since either. Nakatomi won the Phoenix over this track on October 2 after being last of eight at the first call.

Mile (Race 9, 4:20 p.m. ET, 1 mile, turf)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	ML
1	Deterministic	Kendrick Carmouche	Miguel Clement	8-1
2	Lake Forest	Cieren Fallon	William Haggas	6-1
3	Facteur Cheval	Manuel Franco	Mark Casse	30-1
4	Cabo Spirit	Mike Smith	George Papaprodromou	30-1
5	Ask Ikigomi	Ryusei Sakai	Hideaki Fujiwara	20-1
6	Zulu Kingdom	Flavien Prat	Chad Brown	15-1
7	Qirat	Colin Keane	Ralph Beckett	30-1
8	Notable Speech	William Buick	Charlie Appleby	7-5
9	Rhetorical	Jose Ortiz	William Walden	8-1
10	Lugal	Oisin Murphy	Haruki Sugiyama	30-1
11	Formidable Man	John Velazquez	Michael McCarthy	15-1
12	True Love	Wayne Lordan	Aidan O'Brien	8-1
13	Brilliant Berti	Brian Hernandez Jr.	Cherie DeVaux	30-1
14	Puerto Rico	Ryan Moore	Aidan O'Brien	10-1

One also-eligible is listed behind the field of 14.

Notable Speech is back to defend his title. He won this race at Del Mar last year over Formidable Man, who is back again from post 11. This year Notable Speech won the Lockinge, the City of York, and the Woodbine Mile, beating Deterministic in the last of those.

Rhetorical already won here. He took the Turf Mile over this course on October 3 from the front, with Lake Forest second, Brilliant Berti fourth, and Zulu Kingdom fifth. All four are back. True Love won the Prix de la Foret at Longchamp in her last start.

Distaff (Race 10, 4:58 p.m. ET, 1 1/8 miles, dirt)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	ML
1	Immersive	Junior Alvarado	Brad Cox	30-1
2	Nitrogen	Jose Ortiz	Mark Casse	6-5
3	Regaled	Joseph Ramos	Whit Beckman	20-1
4	Fully Subscribed	Flavien Prat	Chad Brown	8-5
5	Scottish Lassie	Luis Saez	Jorge Abreu	15-1
6	Measure	Manuel Franco	Mark Casse	20-1
7	Super Corredora	Joel Rosario	John Sadler	15-1
8	Splendora	Tyler Gaffalione	Bob Baffert	9-2
9	Eunomia	Micah Husbands	Saffie Joseph Jr.	30-1

Nitrogen and Fully Subscribed make this a two-horse market. Nitrogen (6-5) was second in this race last year, won the Ogden Phipps and the Beldame this year, and ran second against males in the Whitney. Fully Subscribed (8-5) has won three straight Grade 1 or Grade 2 races at this distance: the Shuvee, the Personal Ensign, and the Spinster over this track on October 4.

Two of last year's champions are trying something new. Splendora won last year's Filly & Mare Sprint, and this year she has won three straight at 1 1/16 miles. Super Corredora won last year's Juvenile Fillies and came back from a six-month break to win the Zenyatta.

Turf (Race 11, 5:36 p.m. ET, 1 1/2 miles, turf)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	ML
1	Ethical Diamond	Dylan Browne McMonagle	Willie Mullins	10-1
2	Benvenuto Cellini	Ryan Moore	Aidan O'Brien	6-1
3	Minaret Station	Jose Ortiz	William Walden	15-1
4	Far Bridge	John Velazquez	Miguel Clement	20-1
5	El Cordobes	William Buick	Charlie Appleby	15-1
6	Burnham Square	Brian Hernandez Jr.	Ian Wilkes	8-1
7	Hotazhell	Shane Foley	Jessica Harrington	15-1
8	Test Score	Manuel Franco	Graham Motion	30-1
9	Johanna Walsh	Mickael Barzalona	Joseph O'Brien	12-1
10	Tiffany	Luke Morris	Sir Mark Prescott	10-1
11	Survie	Flavien Prat	George Boughey	15-1
12	Diamond Necklace	Christophe Soumillon	Aidan O'Brien	3-1
13	Bay City Roller	Oisin Murphy	George Scott	5-1
14	Deep Monster	Tom Marquand	Yasutoshi Ikee	30-1

Two also-eligibles are listed behind the field of 14.

Ombudsman's exit leaves a 3-year-old filly on top. Diamond Necklace (3-1) won the Prix de Diane and the Nassau, then ran third in the Arc. Bay City Roller (5-1) was second in that Arc and third behind Ombudsman in the Champion Stakes. The two Arc horses drew side by side in posts 12 and 13.

The defending champion is 10-1 on the rail. Ethical Diamond won this race at Del Mar last year for Willie Mullins and was second to Tiffany in the Kentucky Turf Cup in September. Hotazhell (15-1) won the Irish Champion Stakes, and Benvenuto Cellini (6-1) won the Irish Derby.

Classic (Race 12, 6:16 p.m. ET, 1 1/4 miles, dirt)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	ML
1	T O Password	Kazushi Kimura	Daisuke Takayanagi	30-1
2	Sovereignty	Junior Alvarado	Bill Mott	5-2
3	Golden Tempo	Jose Ortiz	Cherie DeVaux	5-1
4	The Puma	Javier Castellano	Gustavo Delgado	10-1
5	Forever Young	Ryusei Sakai	Yoshito Yahagi	2-1
6	Magnitude	Flavien Prat	Steve Asmussen	6-1
7	Knightsbridge	Luis Saez	Bill Mott	9-2
8	Napoleon Solo	John Velazquez	Chad Summers	15-1

Forever Young drew the same post he won from last year. He won the Classic from post 5 at Del Mar. This year he won the Saudi Cup, ran second in the Dubai World Cup, and won the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont in September.

Magnitude and Sovereignty both have wins over the field. Magnitude (6-1) beat Forever Young in the Dubai World Cup and won the Stephen Foster, where Sovereignty was third. Sovereignty won the Whitney, where Magnitude was sixth. Bill Mott sends two: Sovereignty and Knightsbridge (9-2), who won the Pacific Classic from the front.

Three 3-year-olds take on their elders. Golden Tempo (5-1) won the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont, then ran third in the Travers. Napoleon Solo won the Preakness and was second in both the Haskell and the Travers. The Puma won the Pennsylvania Derby.

What We're Watching

The Classic pace is outside. Knightsbridge (7), Napoleon Solo (8), and Magnitude (6) all like to be on or near the lead, and they drew next to each other on the outside. Forever Young usually sits second at the first call, and from post 5 he can follow them. Sovereignty and Golden Tempo come from behind. Golden Tempo was last at the first call in both his Derby and Belmont wins, and a fast pace up front is what he needs.

The Distaff pace is crowded. Nitrogen has been on the lead at the first call in her last three starts, and she has company: Splendora has been first or second early in her last four, Immersive led the Spinster early from the rail, and Super Corredora led early in the Zenyatta. Fully Subscribed sat second or third early in all three of her wins. If the speed horses push each other, she's in the right spot from post 4.

Speed inside Englishman. Mad House (1), Liam Smith (3), and Listenupshance (5) all go to the front. Englishman can let them go and still sit outside them with a clear run.

Wide posts in the turf routes. The favorites in both 14-horse turf routes drew wide: Blue Bolt in post 12 in the Filly & Mare Turf, and Diamond Necklace in post 12 in the Turf, with Bay City Roller right next to her. Ground lost on the first turn adds up at 1 3/16 and 1 1/2 miles.

Weather watch. We'll recheck the forecast and the turf rail setting on race morning. Four of Saturday's nine championship races are on the grass.

For more on these races, read Ed's first thoughts on Breeders' Cup Saturday and see our Breeders' Cup picks page. Get the E-Z Win® Form for Saturday's card for full tier rankings, speed figures, and PPs for every race at Keeneland.