Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings: Improbable Stays On Top, Swiss Skydiver Joins Top 10

Whitney (G1) and Awesome Again Stakes (G1) winner Improbable maintained his lead in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, while Tom's d'Etat rose to No. 2 and the filly Swiss Skydiver, who captured Saturday's 145th Preakness Stakes (G1), enters the top 10 at No. 7.

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.

Improbable (312 votes), owned by WinStar Farm, China Horse Club International and SF Racing, rose to No. 1 in the rankings following his dominant win in the Sept. 26 Awesome Again at Santa Anita Park. This week, GMB Racing's Tom's d'Etat, winner of the Stephen Foster (G2) at Churchill Downs, jumped over Gary and Mary West, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith's Maximum Security (258 votes), winner of the TVG Pacific Classic (G1), into second place.

Sackatoga Stable's Tiz the Law (233 votes), winner of both the Belmont (G1) and Travers Stakes (G1), remains in fourth place, followed by Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Authentic (202 votes), who finished second by a head to Swiss Skydiver in the Preakness. Allied Racing Stable's By My Standards (166 votes) stays in sixth place.

Swiss Skydiver (124 votes), owned by Peter Callahan and trained by Kenny McPeek, became just the sixth filly in history to win the Preakness Stakes, prevailing in a dramatic stretch drive by a head over Authentic. The Preakness win gave Swiss Skydiver an automatic berth into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic through the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series. Swiss Skydiver also has a “Win and You're In” berth in the $2 million Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1), which she earned by capturing the Alabama (G1) at Saratoga on Aug. 15.

Sagamore Farm and WinStar Farm's Woodward Stakes (G1) winner Global Campaign (84 votes) rises from ninth to eighth place, and Juddmonte Farms' Suburban Stakes (G2) winner Tacitus (76 votes) moves from 10th place to ninth.

W.S. Farish's Code of Honor (72 votes), who finished second in Saturday's Kelso Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park, drops from seventh to 10th place.

Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings – Oct. 7, 2020*

RANK HORSE TOTAL VOTES FIRST-PLACE VOTES
1 Improbable 312 16
2 Tom's d'Etat 261 7
3 Maximum Security 258 6
4 Tiz the Law 233 4
5 Authentic 202 1
6 By My Standards 166 0
7 Swiss Skydiver 124 0
8 Global Campaign   84 0
9 Tacitus   76 0
10 Code of Honor   72 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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Improbable Takes Over Top Spot In Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings

Improbable, a commanding 4 ½-length winner of Saturday's Awesome Again Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park, leaped from fourth to first place in Week #11 of the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, overtaking stablemate Maximum Security for the top spot.

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.

Improbable (308 votes), owned by WinStar Farm, CHC Inc. and SF Racing, and Maximum Security (274 votes), the Awesome Again runner-up, owned by Gary and Mary West, Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier and Derrick Smith, are both trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. The Awesome Again was a Breeders' Cup Challenge automatic qualifying race for the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic. Improbable had already earned a Classic berth when he won the Whitney (G1) at Saratoga on Aug. 1.

GMB Racing's Tom's d'Etat (268 votes), who captured the “Win and You're In” Stephen Foster Stakes (G2), drops from second to third place, and is now followed in fourth by Sackatoga Stable's Tiz the Law (223 votes), winner of both the Belmont (G1) and Travers Stakes (G1).

The next six places in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings remain unchanged.  Spendthrift Farm, MyRaceHorse Stable, Madaket Stables and Starlight Racing's Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Authentic (207 votes), the 9-5 favorite in Saturday's “Win and You're In” Preakness Stakes (G1), is in fifth place. Also trained by Baffert, Authentic earned a Classic berth when he won the TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1) at Monmouth Park on July 18. Authentic is followed by Allied Racing Stable's By My Standards (162 votes) and W.S. Farish's Code of Honor (92 votes) in sixth and seventh place, respectively.

Bruce Lunsford's Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G2) winner Art Collector (83 votes), the 5-2 second choice in the Preakness, is in eighth place, one spot ahead of Sagamore Farm and WinStar Farm's Woodward Stakes (G1) winner Global Campaign (74 votes). Juddmonte Farms' Suburban Stakes (G2) winner Tacitus (64 votes) is in 10th place.

Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings – Sept. 30, 2020*

RANK HORSE TOTAL VOTES FIRST-PLACE VOTES
1 Improbable 308 15
2 Maximum Security 274 7
3 Tom's d'Etat 268 8
4 Tiz the Law 223 4
5 Authentic 207 0
6 By My Standards 162 0
7 Code of Honor   92 0
8 Art Collector   83 0
9 Global Campaign   74 0
10 Tacitus   64 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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Ahead of Awesome Again, Maximum Security Remains Atop Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings

Maximum Security remained in first place in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings after a quiet week in which the first seven of the top 10 positions were unchanged.

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 (330 votes), unbeaten in three starts this year, is scheduled to make his final prep for the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic in this Saturday's 1 1/8-mile “Win and You're In” Awesome Again Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park. Maximum Security, trained by Bob Baffert, already secured an automatic berth into the Classic when he won the TVG Pacific Classic (G1) at Del Mar on Aug. 22.

GMB Racing's Tom's d'Etat (280 votes), Sackatoga Stable's Tiz the Law (243 votes), and two Bob Baffert-trained horses — WinStar Farm, CHC Inc. and SF Racing's Improbable (226 votes) and Spendthrift Farm, MyRaceHorse Stable, Madaket Stables and Starlight Racing's Authentic (218 votes) — complete the top five.

Allied Racing Stable's By My Standards (177 votes) and W.S. Farish's Code of Honor (97 votes) remain in sixth and seventh place, respectively.

Bruce Lunsford's Art Collector (84 votes) moves up from ninth to eighth place, switching positions with Sagamore Farm and WinStar Farm's Global Campaign (74 votes). Juddmonte Farms' Tacitus (58 votes) remains in 10th place.

Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings – Sept. 22, 2020*

RANK HORSE TOTAL VOTES FIRST-PLACE VOTES
1 Maximum Security 330 23
2 Tom's d'Etat 280 7
3 Tiz the Law 243 4
4 Improbable 226 1
5 Authentic 218 0
6 By My Standards 177 0
7 Code of Honor   97 0
8 Art Collector   84 0
9 Global Campaign   74 0
10 Tacitus   58 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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Maximum Security Retains Top Spot In Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings

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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