Maximum Security, unbeaten in three starts this year, maintained his top rating in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, while Stephen Foster Stakes (G2) winner Tom's d'Etat jumped into second place over Kentucky Derby (G1) runner-up Tiz the Law.
The 2020 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings is a weekly poll of the top 10 horses in contention for the $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). The 1 ¼-mile Classic, scheduled to be run on Nov. 7 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., is the climactic race of the Breeders' Cup World Championships.
Gary and Mary West, Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier and Derrick Smith's Maximum Security (282 votes) has a 52-vote margin over GMB Racing's 7-year-old Tom's d'Etat (230 votes). Maximum Security, trained by Bob Baffert, worked 6 furlongs in 1:11.40 on Monday at Santa Anita Park. Maximum Security earned a free berth into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic by capturing the “Win and You're In” TVG Pacific Classic (G1) at Del Mar on Aug. 22. He is scheduled to start next in the “Win and You're In” Awesome Again Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita on Sept. 26.
Tom's d'Etat, trained by Al Stall Jr., appeared on the work tab on Monday for the first time since his troubled third-place finish in the Whitney (G1) at Saratoga on Aug. 1. The bay son of Smart Strike breezed 4 furlongs in 50.80 at Churchill Downs.
Tiz the Law (205 votes), who won the Belmont Stakes (G1) and the Runhappy Travers (G1) before losing his first race of the year in the Derby, drops to third place with 205 votes. Trained by Barclay Tagg, Tiz the Law could start next in the “Win and You're In” Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico on Oct. 3 or be trained up to the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic.
Baffert's two other runners in the top five – Improbable and Authentic – flipped positions in the standings this week. The 4-year-old Improbable (200 votes), owned by WinStar Farm, CHC Inc. and SF Racing, and winner of Saratoga's Whitney, worked 5 furlongs in 59.40 Monday at Santa Anita. He is also a candidate for the Awesome Again.
The 3-year-old Authentic (185 votes), owned by Spendthrift Farm, MyRaceHorse Stable, Madaket Stables and Starlight Racing, gave Baffert a record-tying sixth Kentucky Derby win. Authentic is slated to run next in the Preakness.
Baffert saddled three consecutive winners (2014-2016) of the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic with Bayern, American Pharoah, and Arrogate, and all were 3-year-olds. Authentic earned a Breeders' Cup Challenge automatic berth into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic when he won the TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1) at Monmouth Park on July 18.
Allied Racing Stable's By My Standards (156 votes), winner of the Alysheba (G2) at Churchill Downs for trainer Bret Calhoun, stays in sixth place, while W.S. Farish's Code of Honor (79 votes) remains in seventh.
Sagamore Farm and WinStar Farm's 4-year-old Woodward (G1) winner Global Campaign (71 votes) rises from ninth to eighth place, switching positions with Bruce Lunsford's Blue Grass Stakes (G2) winner Art Collector (64 votes).
Juddmonte Farms' Suburban Stakes (G1) winner and Woodward runner-up Tacitus (47 votes), remains in 10th place.
Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings – Sept. 15, 2020*
| RANK | HORSE | TOTAL VOTES | FIRST-PLACE VOTES |
| 1 | Maximum Security | 282 | 20 |
| 2 | Tom's d'Etat | 230 | 7 |
| 3 | Tiz the Law | 205 | 3 |
| 4 | Improbable | 200 | 0 |
| 5 | Authentic | 185 | 0 |
| 6 | By My Standards | 156 | 0 |
| 7 | Code of Honor | 79 | 0 |
| 8 | Global Campaign | 71 | 0 |
| 9 | Art Collector | 64 | 0 |
| 10 | Tacitus | 47 | 0 |
*Note – The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings have no bearing on qualification or selection into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic.
The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings are determined by a panel of leading Thoroughbred racing media, horseplayers and members of the Breeders' Cup Racing Directors/Secretaries Panel. Rankings will be announced each week through Oct. 13. A list of voting members can be found here.
In the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, each voter rates horses on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 system in descending order.
The 2020 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic will be televised live on NBC.
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