Knicks Go Emerges as New Leader in BC Classic Rankings

Korea Racing Authority's Knicks Go , dominant winner of the Aug. 7 Whitney Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course, has vaulted to No. 1 in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, a weekly poll of the top 10 horses in contention for the $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). This year's Longines Breeders' Cup Classic will be run at Del Mar in Del Mar, California, on Nov. 6 as the final race of the 38th Breeders' Cup World Championships.

Knicks Go, trained by Brad Cox, rose from fourth place to the top of the Classic Rankings, receiving 314 votes. Knicks Go led the Whitney from start to finish, winning by 4 1/2 lengths over Maxfield , who had been the top-rated horse in the poll for the first six weeks. Knicks Go has won three of five starts this year, which includes the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) at Gulfstream Park in January and the Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap (G3) in July. Last year, Knicks Go won the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Keeneland. Godolphin's 3-year-old Essential Quality , also trained by Cox, stayed in second place this week with 276 votes. Essential Quality, last year's TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner, won the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) at Saratoga and the Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets (G1) in his last two starts. Godolphin's Maxfield dropped from first to third place this week with 269 votes. Trained by Brendan Walsh, Maxfield has won three races in 2021, including the Stephen Foster Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs, in which he earned an automatic berth into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic. Boat Racing, Gainesway Stable, Roadrunner Racing, and William Strauss's 3-year-old Hot Rod Charlie , trained by Doug O'Neill, dropped one position to fourth place with 202 votes.

Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings – August 10, 2021*

*Note: The Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings have no bearing on qualification or selection into the Breeders' Cup Classic. The 2021 Breeders' Cup Classic, which will be run at 1 1/4 miles on the main track, is limited to 14 starters. The race will be broadcast live on NBC.