The 2026 Breeders' Cup drew a record 255 pre-entries representing 222 individual horses, including 79 international contenders, for the World Championships at Keeneland on October 30-31. Within 48 hours of the pre-entries being released, the first defections arrived, and several also-eligibles are now moving into the starting fields.
Here is every change race by race, based on the official Breeders' Cup pre-entry list and reports through Friday, October 23. Post positions are drawn Monday, October 26, starting at 5:00 p.m. ET.
| Race | Out | In | Next In (AE) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Juvenile | Net Par | None | None |
| Juvenile Fillies | Dotsy | None | None |
| Juvenile Turf | Al Hudaiba | Liam's Law (expected) | Induction, Sale Shark |
| Juvenile Fillies Turf | Voyager, So Lovely | Go for Launch, Scommessa Sicura | Ballinea Star, Silent Beauty |
| Juvenile Turf Sprint | Nabati, Drazinda | Crownbreaker | Sale Shark, Ruiva |
| Classic | Phileas Fogg | None | None |
| Mile | Ten Bob Tony, Gstaad, Constitution River | Ask Ikigomi, Puerto Rico, Qirat | Lugal, Brilliant Berti |
| Turf | Ombudsman, Minnie Hauk, Lambourn (AE), Almaqam (AE) | Johanna Walsh, Far Bridge | El Cordobes, Map of Stars |
AE = also-eligible. Fields are capped at 14 starters (12 in the Dirt Mile and Juvenile Turf Sprint). Full fields and post positions will be confirmed at Monday's draw. See all Breeders' Cup 2026 contenders.
Out: Net Par (trainer Antonio Garcia). The Juvenile is down to eight pre-entries.
Out: Dotsy (trainer John Grabowski). The Frizette (G1) winner is fine, according to Grabowski, and is being pointed to a 3-year-old campaign. The Juvenile Fillies now has 12 pre-entries.
Out: Al Hudaiba (trainer Charlie Appleby).
In: Liam's Law (trainer Todd Pletcher), the first also-eligible, is expected to join the field.
Next in: Induction (Graham Motion) and Sale Shark (Hugo Palmer).
Out: Voyager (Mark Casse) and So Lovely (Aidan O'Brien).
In: Go for Launch (Kevin Attard) and Scommessa Sicura (Andrew Balding).
Next in: Ballinea Star (Robson De Aguiar) and Silent Beauty (Kevin Philippart De Foy).
Out: Nabati (Charlie Appleby) and also-eligible Drazinda (Francis-Henri Graffard).
In: Crownbreaker (Kevin Philippart De Foy).
Next in: Sale Shark (Hugo Palmer) and Ruiva (Wesley Ward).
Out: Phileas Fogg (trainer Gustavo Rodriguez). Rodriguez said the colt has had a foot issue since an October 11 work at Belmont Park and "looks okay, but he's not 100 percent." He will get two months off before pointing to 2027. The Classic is down to 10 pre-entries.
Still to be decided: Bill Mott has not settled on a race for Knightsbridge, who was pre-entered with the Classic as his first preference. Forged Steel and T O Password are pre-entered in the Classic but list the Dirt Mile as their first preference. Final race choices will be set at entry time, so the Classic and Dirt Mile fields could still shift before Monday.
Out: Ten Bob Tony (Ed Walker), plus Aidan O'Brien's Gstaad, the 2025 Juvenile Turf winner, and two-time Group 1 winner Constitution River.
In: Ask Ikigomi (Japan, Hideaki Fujiwara), runner-up in the NHK Mile (G1); Puerto Rico (Aidan O'Brien), a two-time Group 1 winner; and Qirat (Ralph Beckett).
Next in: Lugal (Japan, Haruki Sugiyama) and Brilliant Berti (Cherie DeVaux).
Out: Ombudsman (John Gosden) and Minnie Hauk (Aidan O'Brien). Also-eligibles Lambourn (Aidan O'Brien) and Almaqam are also out.
In: Johanna Walsh (Joseph O'Brien) and Far Bridge (Miguel Clement).
Next in: El Cordobes (Charlie Appleby) and Map of Stars (Francis-Henri Graffard).
Check the Breeders' Cup 2026 schedule for every post time, the Breeders' Cup odds page once the morning line is out, and our Breeders' Cup betting guide to plan your wagers. For past results, see the Breeders' Cup winners list and the Breeders' Cup Challenge series.
The post position draw is Monday, October 26, 2026, live starting at 5:00 p.m. ET. Morning line odds are released after the draw.
Phileas Fogg, trained by Gustavo Rodriguez, was withdrawn because of a foot issue. The Classic now has 10 pre-entries.
Each race is limited to 14 starters, except the Dirt Mile and Juvenile Turf Sprint, which are limited to 12. Up to four also-eligibles per race (six in the Dirt Mile and Juvenile Turf Sprint) can draw in if horses scratch.
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