Gulfstream Park will be strongly represented at the 43rd Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Keeneland on October 30 and 31, with five horses connected to the Florida track among the 11 pre-entries for the $7 million Classic (G1). The championship meeting will feature contenders from Gulfstream across several major divisions, including the Dirt Mile, Turf, Distaff and sprint events.
A record 255 pre-entries representing 222 individual horses will form the initial line-up for the two-day championships, with the Classic set to provide one of the meeting’s principal contests. The pre-entries will include established Grade 1 performers, previous Breeders’ Cup winners and horses arriving after successful campaigns at Gulfstream and other leading American tracks.
Gulfstream Park Breeders’ Cup Challenge Led by Classic Contenders
Defending champion Forever Young will lead the Classic pre-entries, with Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott’s stablemates Knightsbridge and Sovereignty among the horses with Gulfstream connections.
Knightsbridge will enter following a productive campaign that will include victories in the Mr. Prospector (G3), Fred Hooper (G3) and Gulfstream Park Mile (G3) during the 2025-26 Championship Meet. He will also bring two subsequent stakes victories into the race, including his latest success in the Pacific Classic (G1) on August 22.
Sovereignty will bring an accomplished record into the championship after winning the Fountain of Youth (G2) and finishing second in the Florida Derby (G1), results that helped launch his 2025 Horse of the Year campaign.
Saffie Joseph Jr. will have Forged Steel entered in both the Classic and the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1). The horse will arrive with extensive Gulfstream experience, having made eight of his first 10 career starts at the track, including five on turf. He will also carry an automatic place in the Classic field following his victory in the Goodwood (G1) at Santa Anita on September 26, when he was ridden by Gulfstream-based jockey Edwin Gonzalez.
Napoleon Solo and The Puma will add further Gulfstream connections to the Classic entries. Napoleon Solo will arrive after finishing fifth in the Fountain of Youth at the start of his three-year-old campaign before winning the Preakness (G1) at Laurel Park on May 16. The Puma will bring victories in the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) and Tampa Bay Derby (G3), having finished second in both his Gulfstream debut on January 10 and the Florida Derby on March 28.
Both horses will also be entered in the Dirt Mile. The division will additionally feature Full Serrano, who will arrive after finishing third in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) on January 24.
Turf and Distaff Fields Strengthen Gulfstream Park Breeders’ Cup Representation
Burnham Square and Test Score will represent Gulfstream interests in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1).
Trained by Ian Wilkes, Burnham Square will enter following four consecutive stakes victories after finishing second in an optional claiming allowance on the Fountain of Youth undercard on February 28. Three of those subsequent wins will have come at graded level, including the Arlington Million (G1) on August 1.
Test Score will arrive after opening his four-year-old campaign with victory in the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) on January 24, defeating Graham Motion-trained stablemate One Stripe.
The $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) will include Nitrogen and Eunomia among its pre-entries. Nitrogen, trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, will bring a record that will include nine career stakes victories, eight at graded level. Her campaign will have begun with a victory in Gulfstream’s Ginger Brew over a mile on turf, followed by Grade 1 successes on both turf and dirt.
Joseph-trained Eunomia will enter after opening her 2026 campaign with a third-place finish behind stablemate Claret Beret in Gulfstream’s Royal Delta (G3) on February 14. She will also bring a victory in the Clement Hirsch (G1) at Del Mar on August 1.
Classic Q, another Casse-trained four-year-old filly, will be pre-entered in both the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) and the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf. After finishing 12th in the Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf (G2) on January 24, she will have recovered with a close second in the Honey Fox (G3) and three subsequent graded-stakes victories. Those wins will include the Just a Game (G1) and the First Lady (G1) at Keeneland on October 3.
The Mile pre-entries will also include Cabo Spirit and Formidable Man, both of whom will bring experience from the Pegasus World Cup Turf. Brendan Walsh will have two contenders in the Filly & Mare Turf through Expensive Queen and Lush Lips.
Expensive Queen will enter after winning an optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream on January 18 before capturing Keeneland’s Jenny Wiley (G1) two starts later. Lush Lips, winner of the 2026 Honey Fox, will arrive unbeaten in three career starts at Gulfstream.
Joseph’s Sprint Contenders Add to Gulfstream Park Breeders’ Cup Challenge
Joseph, who trained Soul of an Angel to victory in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) in 2024, will have two contenders in this year’s edition: Kerry’s Kiss and R Disaster.
Kerry’s Kiss will enter on a three-race winning streak following a private purchase, with all three victories coming in Gulfstream stakes. Her latest success in the Princess Rooney (G3) on September 12 will have secured an automatic berth in the championship.
R Disaster will bring victories in the Hurricane Bertie (G3) on March 7, the Derby City Distaff (G1) in Kentucky and the Gallant Bloom (G2) in New York.
Ways and Means will also feature among the Filly & Mare Sprint pre-entries. The two-time Grade 1 winner will bring previous Gulfstream experience, having finished second in the 2024 Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) in her third career start and first appearance as a three-year-old.
Joseph’s fifth and final pre-entry will be In Our Time in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1). She will arrive after winning the Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf Sprint (G1) on August 29, following earlier appearances in the Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf in 2025 and 2026.
Shisospicy, trained by Gulfstream-based Jose D’Angelo, will seek to defend her title from last autumn at Del Mar. Possiblemente will also feature among the pre-entries after winning the 2024 Sabal Palm overnight handicap on Gulfstream’s all-weather Tapeta course.
The $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) will include Listenupshance, winner of the Bing Crosby (G1) on July 26. He will return to the national championship stage with a connection to Gulfstream, where he finished fourth in a maiden claiming race in June 2025 under his original trainer, Luis Gonzalez.
Roll On Big Joe will also bring previous Gulfstream experience, having made his debut there in January 2023 and won an optional claiming allowance in March 2024. Multiple graded-stakes winner Mad House will be second on the Sprint’s also-eligible list after training primarily at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County, since mid-May.
Gulfstream Park will have a strong presence across the 2026 Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Keeneland on October 30 and 31. Five Gulfstream-connected horses will feature among the Classic’s 11 pre-entries, while additional contenders will strengthen the track’s representation in the Turf, Distaff, Mile and sprint divisions.
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