Thoroughbred Daily News and Paulick Report reported that Magnitude has been scratched from the 2026 Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland, cutting the field for the $7,000,000 race on 31 October to seven runners. The Classic is the 12th race on the card, due off at 6:16 p.m. ET over 1 1/4 miles on dirt.
Paulick Report reported that the scratch came on veterinary advice and that Magnitude races for Winchell Thoroughbreds. The scratch removes the 6/1 fifth choice from the market. Magnitude was drawn in post 6 and was due to carry 126 pounds with Flavien Prat aboard. Prat won the 2022 Classic on Flightline and the 2024 running on Sierra Leone. The scratch was announced on Thursday.
Magnitude had no Breeders' Cup starts and no series earnings, so the Classic would have been his first appearance. His 2026 campaign included wins in the Dubai World Cup and the Stephen Foster Stakes, both Grade 1, Thoroughbred Daily News reported. Steven Asmussen, Magnitude's trainer, has no other runner in the race. He won the 2017 Classic with Gun Runner.
William Mott is the only trainer with two runners left. Sovereignty, the 5/2 second choice, breaks from post 2 under Junior Alvarado; Knightsbridge, third choice at 9/2, breaks from post 7 under Luis Saez. Sovereignty, Knightsbridge and Golden Tempo have no Breeders' Cup starts. The seven runners represent six trainers: Mott with two, and DeVaux, Delgado, Yahagi, Takayanagi and Summers with one each.
Forever Young (JPN) remains the 2/1 favourite from post 5 for Ryusei Sakai and Yoshito Yahagi. The pair won the 2025 Classic at Del Mar by half a length in 2:00.19; Forever Young was third in 2024 at 4.10, with the same rider and trainer. Forever Young's 2025 win was worth $3,640,000; his 2024 third was worth $630,000. Tiznow won the Classic in consecutive years, 2000 and 2001.
Golden Tempo at 5/1 and The Puma at 10/1 break from posts 3 and 4, both on 122 pounds. Golden Tempo has Jose Ortiz for Cherie DeVaux; The Puma has Javier Castellano for Gustavo Delgado. Both are drawn inside the favourite, and Golden Tempo is the shortest price outside the top three.
The scratch leaves four runners on 126 pounds — Forever Young, Sovereignty, Knightsbridge and T O Password — and three on 122: Golden Tempo, The Puma and Napoleon Solo. Post 6 is the only empty stall; the remaining runners break from posts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8.
T O Password (JPN) is the longest price at 30/1 from post 1 under Kazushi Kimura for Daisuke Takayanagi. Napoleon Solo is 15/1 from post 8 with John Velazquez and Chad Summers. T O Password is the second Japan-bred runner in the field after Forever Young; he is by Copano Rickey out of T O Rachel, while Forever Young is by Real Steel out of Forever Darling.
The last six Classic winners are Forever Young, Sierra Leone, White Abarrio, Flightline, Knicks Go and Authentic. Forever Young is the only one entered.