Eleven horses were pre-entered for the $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic, and five of them have raced their way through Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach. The 43rd Breeders' Cup World Championships run Friday and Saturday, Oct. 30 and 31, at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky, and the Hallandale Beach track has a long list of horses, trainers and jockeys in the mix. Back in Hallandale Beach, Gulfstream is turning its Ten Palms restaurant into a two-day viewing room while its own fall meet races on outside.

The overall field is the largest yet. Breeders' Cup organizers announced 255 pre-entries covering 222 individual horses, and Gulfstream says both numbers are event records. Pre-entries are the first step, and final fields are drawn closer to race day, so some names can still change.

The Classic's Gulfstream Five

The Classic, at a mile and a quarter, is led by defending champion Forever Young. Among the horses lined up against him:

Knightsbridge, trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, swept three Grade 3 stakes during Gulfstream's 2025-26 Championship Meet (the Mr. Prospector, the Fred Hooper and the Gulfstream Park Mile) and has added two more stakes wins since, most recently the Pacific Classic on Aug. 22. His stablemate Sovereignty started his 2025 Horse of the Year campaign at Gulfstream, winning the Fountain of Youth and finishing second in the Florida Derby.

Forged Steel comes from the barn of Saffie Joseph Jr., Gulfstream's perennial leading trainer. Eight of his first 10 starts came at Gulfstream, and he earned his automatic spot by winning the Goodwood at Santa Anita on Sept. 26 under Gulfstream-based jockey Edwin Gonzalez. He is also pre-entered in the $1 million Dirt Mile.

Napoleon Solo opened his 3-year-old season with a fifth in the Fountain of Youth on Feb. 28, then went on to win the Preakness on May 16. The Puma ran second in his debut at Gulfstream on Jan. 10 and again in the Florida Derby on March 28 before winning the Pennsylvania Derby. Both are pre-entered in the Dirt Mile too.

Hallandale Barns Across the Card

Joseph has five Breeders' Cup pre-entries in all, and two of them are in the $1 million Filly and Mare Sprint, a race he won in 2024 with Soul of an Angel, who went on to be named champion female sprinter. Kerry's Kiss has won four races in a row, her last three in Gulfstream sprint stakes, including the Princess Rooney on Sept. 12, which earned her an automatic berth. It was Joseph's fourth straight win in that race. R Disaster opened her year by winning Gulfstream's Hurricane Bertie on March 7. His other two are Eunomia in the $2 million Distaff and In Our Time in the $1 million Turf Sprint.

Another Gulfstream-based trainer, Jose D'Angelo, sends Shisospicy back to the Turf Sprint to defend the title she won last fall at Del Mar.

The Gulfstream thread runs through the turf races as well. Test Score, pre-entered in the $5 million Turf, opened his 4-year-old season by winning the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf at Gulfstream on Jan. 24. Burnham Square, also in the Turf, ran second in an allowance on the Fountain of Youth undercard before winning four straight stakes, capped by the Arlington Million. In the Distaff, Nitrogen started her championship 2025 season with a win in Gulfstream's Ginger Brew. And Classic Q, pre-entered in both the Mile and the Filly and Mare Turf, raced in the Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf and the Honey Fox before a run of three graded stakes wins. Lush Lips, the 2026 Honey Fox winner, is undefeated in three Gulfstream starts and is pre-entered in the Filly and Mare Turf.

Watching From Ten Palms

On both Breeders' Cup days, Gulfstream's Ten Palms restaurant hosts a viewing event with reserved seating and a premium buffet, priced at $85 per person plus tax and gratuity. It runs from 12:20 p.m., first post for Gulfstream's own live racing, through the last race of the day. RSVPs are taken through the Gulfstream Park events page.

Live racing continues at Gulfstream through the weekend as part of its fall Sunshine Meet, with four $100,000 turf stakes on the local card. Friday, Oct. 30, brings the Cellars Shiraz for 3-year-old fillies and the Our Dear Peggy for 2-year-old fillies. Saturday, Oct. 31, brings the Armed Forces for 2-year-olds and the Showing Up for 3-year-olds.

How to Go

Gulfstream Park is at 901 S. Federal Highway in Hallandale Beach. Live racing runs Friday through Sunday during the Sunshine Meet, with first post at 12:20 p.m. The Breeders' Cup viewing at Ten Palms is Friday, Oct. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 31, at $85 plus tax and gratuity, including seating and buffet. Tickets and RSVPs are available on the Gulfstream Park website or from the box office at 954-457-6201.

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