Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman’s 4-year-old McKinzie (243 votes) leads Thunder Snow (IRE), Vino Rosso and Preservationist in the latest Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings poll, and are all expected to start in Saturday’s $1 million Whitney (G1) from Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Trained by Bob Baffert, McKinzie will be making his first start since his runner-up finish in the Metropolitan Handicap (G1) at Belmont Park on June 8. McKinzie is followed in the rankings by Godolphin’s two-time Dubai World Cup winner, Thunder Snow (221 votes), who was third in the Met Mile.
Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable’s Vino Rosso (131 votes) moved up two spots this week to secure the No. 3 position. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Vino Rosso will be making his first start since winning the Gold Cup at Santa Anita (G1) on May 27. Centennial Farm’s 6-year-old Preservationist (129 votes), winner of the Suburban (G2) at Belmont Park, is next in fourth place.
The Whitney, will be televised live on NBCSN from 5-6 p.m. ET as a part of the “Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win and You’re In – Presented by America’s Best Racing.”
Charles Fipke’s 6-year-old homebred Seeking the Soul (119 votes), winner of the Stephen Foster (G2), is next in fifth place.
Gary and Mary West’s Maximum Security (111 votes), winner of the TVG.com Haskell Invitational (G1), is the top-rated 3-year-old in the rankings, moving up one spot to sixth place this week. Maximum Security is followed by Robert LaPenta, Madaket Stables, Siena Farm and Twin Creeks Racing Stables’ 4-year-old Catholic Boy (107 votes) in seventh.
Gary and Mary West have a second 3-year-old in the top 10 with Game Winner (68 votes), the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) champion, who captured the Los Alamitos Derby (G3) on July 13. Game Winner is rated eighth this week.
Following Game winner in ninth and 10th respectively are two runners from Hronis Racing and trainer John Sadler: the 5-year-old Catalina Cruiser (66 votes), who won San Diego Handicap (G2) at Del Mar, and the 6-year-old Santa Anita Handicap (G1) winner Gift Box (57 votes).
The Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings, a weekly rating of the top 10 horses in contention for the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita Park, Nov. 2, are determined by a panel of leading Thoroughbred racing media, horseplayers and members of the Breeders’ Cup Racing Directors/Secretaries Panel. Rankings are announced each week through Oct. 15 and can be found on the Breeders’ Cup website along with the list of voting members.
In the Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings, each voter ranks horses by assigning their allotted votes on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 system in descending order.
Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings Top 10 – July 30, 2019 *
| Rank | Horse | Total Votes | First Place Votes | Previous Week |
| 1 | McKinzie | 243 | 13 | 1 |
| 2 | Thunder Snow (IRE) | 221 | 8 | 2 |
| 3 | Vino Rosso | 131 | 2 | 5 |
| 4 | Preservationist | 129 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | Seeking the Soul | 119 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 | Maximum Security | 111 | 1 | 7 |
| 7 | Catholic Boy | 107 | 1 | 6 |
| 8 | Game Winner | 68 | 0 | 10 |
| 9 | Catalina Cruiser | 66 | 0 | 9 |
| 10 | Gift Box | 57 | 0 | 8 |
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