Breeders’ Cup Juvenile 2026
Will we be looking at the stars of tomorrow or just this year’s most promising prospects? The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile is the headline race of Friday’s Keeneland Race Course card, as seven of the nation’s top 2-year-olds run for the biggest wins of their careers. This 1 1/16-mile race over the Lexington, KY dirt is worth a lot of points on the 2027 Road to the Kentucky Derby and also worth a lot of money, with a prize purse of $2 million up for grabs. Post time for Race 9 is set for 4:55 p.m. ET on Friday, October 30.
We’ve got all kinds of horse racing coverage this week from myself, Ed Sehon, and Dave Tuley, plus more handicaps from our friends at Daily Racing Form. See it all here.
Here are the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile post positions, horses, jockeys, trainers, and odds.
| Post | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Odds |
| 1 | Damavand | L. Saez | T. Pletcher | 20-1 |
| 2 | Gaudreau | M. Franco | C. Brown | SCR |
| 3 | Salahudin | T. Gaffalione | B. Baffert | 6-1 |
| 4 | Earth Song | J. Alvarado | J. Delgado | 20-1 |
| 5 | Hughes | F. Prat | B. Baffert | 1-1 |
| 6 | American History | J. Velazquez | T. Pletcher | 9-2 |
| 7 | Coach Pope | J. Ortiz | K. McPeek | 4-1 |
| 8 | He Is No Lie | J. Rosario | D. O’Neill | 15-1 |
Hughes was installed as the even-money morning line favorite for Bob Baffert, who has two horses in this race as he looks for his seventh career win in the BC Juvenile. Todd Pletcher has two entries as well, including American History, who many believe will wind up going off as the second favorite. Pletcher has won this race five times himself. Gaudreau was scratched early in the week, so his absence isn’t a surprise and the horses just slide over one spot in the starting gate.
Here are some thoughts on the horses in the BC Juvenile field:
1. Damavand (20-1; Saez/Pletcher): Amo Racing is hoping that their $1 million investment pays off quickly, as the son of Not This Time and Tempers Rising heads out for his third career start. He’s won on this dirt and at this distance, breaking his maiden back on Oct. 4 after a rough first race, finishing fourth over just six furlongs. Luis Saez gets the ride here after John Velazquez had that win earlier this month. Damavand started really slow in that 13-horse field, but was the best closer. With Gaudreau scratched, maybe Damavand won’t get as far behind here.
2. Gaudreau (SCR; Franco/Brown): Gaudreau, who was 8-1 on the morning line, was scratched on Wednesday with a fever.
3. Salahudin (6-1; Gaffalione/Baffert): Salahudin runs at Keeneland for the first time after winning the Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs on Sept. 12. He’s 3-for-3 under two different riders and now Tyler Gaffalione gets the mount with Jose Ortiz on Coach Pope and Florent Geroux recovering from broken ribs. The son of Uncle Mo and Smart Strike has gotten better in each race and has gone a longer distance in each one. He won the Iroquois by a half-length of He Is No Lie, who is a much longer shot at 15-1. Take that for what it’s worth.
4. Earth Song (20-1; Alvarado/Delgado): The son of Justify broke his maiden in his debut on Sept. 7 and then really leveled up in class, finishing fourth at Belmont in the G1 Champagne over one mile. Nobody had a chance against U. S. S. Valor, who won running away, with Gaudreau second. Ricardo Santana Jr. had that ride and seemed to pull him back on the straightaway after he made contact with the eventual winner. Recent works, and that data point, suggest that maybe he’s not quite ready for this caliber of field. But, it will be interesting to see if it was the rider or the horse who peeled back in the Champagne.
5. Hughes (1-1; Prat/Baffert): There is a lot of money behind this Into Mischief colt, as numerous ownership groups are included among the connections. So far, so good, as Hughes has entered four races and won them all, including two G1 wins – the American Pharaoh last time out at Santa Anita on Oct. 3 and the Del Mar Futurity on Sept. 6. Obviously there are some questions with the Baffert barn shipping him about 80% of the way across the country to Lexington. It will also not be Juan Hernandez, Baffert’s big-money rider in California, in the mount. It will be Flavien Prat. He’s a deserving favorite, but there may not be a ton of interested parties at that price.
6. American History (9/2; Velazquez/Pletcher): This is an apropos name for a horse with such a rich bloodline, as sire Constitution and dam Bloody Point made a lot of history themselves and there are siblings and cousins of those two all over the place that have racked up earnings as well. Johnny Velazquez has a closer here with a win on this track and at this distance, a win that came over Coach Pope, whose price is similar in this event. American History was the third favorite in the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity, so was he underestimated going into that race or could that last effort have been something of a fluke?
7. Coach Pope (4-1; J. Ortiz/McPeek): Jose Ortiz gets a shot at revenge on the Keeneland dirt here, as he had the favorite in that Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity, but couldn’t hold off American History. The son of Tapit and Gamble’s Ghost by way of Ghostzapper has only won once in three tries. His other second-place finish came against Gaudreau, but he did beat U. S. S. Valor for second. Ortiz may have learned some valuable information last time out that could be used to his advantage here and the morning line with slight priority towards him over American History could be an intriguing context clue.
8. He Is No Lie (15-1; Rosario/O’Neill): The outside post belongs to He Is No Lie, whose best outcome was second in the Iroquois Stakes to Salahudin. The son of Early Voting and Truth In The Lies, two pretty ideal names with Election Day coming up on Nov. 3, won his maiden back in May at Santa Anita and is 0-for-3 since, bouncing back-and-forth between California and Kentucky.
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Picks
Gaudreau’s absence is fascinating here. He probably wouldn’t have won the race, but he probably would have set the early pace. There are always questions with two turns for 2-year-olds, and some have already answered those questions, but now the ride philosophy may shift for some of the jocks with what should be a slower pace at the outset. Closers may be able to conserve energy, but so will pressers that would have wanted to stay within a couple lengths.
I’ll go with 6 American History over 5 Hughes, 1 Damavand, and 3 Salahudin. Kenny McPeek only has two graded stakes winners this year and those have come in G2 and G3 races. Maybe Coach Pope has it in him here, but I like others more. Damavand has the chance to be a really deep closer with the distance here, and I think he will pass tiring rivals. But, it’ll be American History and Hughes head-for-head and I’ll take the horse tested outside of California, with a win at Keeneland.
6 American History
5 Hughes
1 Damavand
3 Salahudin
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