Jockey Club Gold Cup ‘26: Can Baeza Get Past Forever Young’s Big Run?

Despite the fact that the morning line strongly suggests that defending Breeders’ Classic champion Forever Young (3-5) will breezily put away all rivals in the 2026 The Jockey Club Gold Cup, it’s race day, and the fun will be found in laying hard-earned ducats down on very different sections of the New York Racing Association barrelhead than that. That Sovereignty and Journalism are not in this afternoon’s order of battle against Forever Young is a given. Yesterday, we’ve weighed the various talents and shortcomings of Forever Young’s most dangerous rivals, the hilariously named Phileas Fogg and the gritty 2025 Kentucky Derby show horse Baeza. Of them, Baeza clearly appears to be the more dangerous.

Pictured top is a reminder of just how tough, wet and mucky the going was for Baeza – on the left, neck-and-neck with Journalism in place, far right, behind Sovereignty in victory, in the center of the frame – just moments before Baeza hit the 2025 Kentucky Derby wire and passed them both instantly on the gallop out. But before we spelunk the Jockey Club Gold Cup talents anew, here’s the obligatory refresher on the 2026 field and its morning line.

(Post Position, Horse, Jockey, Trainer, Morning Line)

1. Baeza, Junior Alvarado, Bill Mott, 9-2
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2. Stars and Stripes, John Velazquez, Bill Mott, 15-1

3. Chunk of Gold, Jaime Torres, Ethan West, 12-1

4. Phileas Fogg, Kendrick Carmouche, Gustavo Rodriguez, 4-1

5. Banishing, Joel Rosario, David Jacobson, 12-1

6. Render Judgment, Manny Franco, Kenny McPeek, 20-1

7. Forever Young, Ryusei Sakai, Yoshito Yahagi, 3-5

(Source: NYRA, 9/18/2026)

This article was originally published on Forbes.com