The road to the 2024 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic makes a second and final stop at Saratoga Race Course on Sunday, Sept. 1, when the 106^th running of the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes will be held. The $1 million, Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup is part of the “Win and You’re In” Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series of races that offer automatic berths to designated World Championships contests – in this case, the aforementioned $7 million Longines Classic, which will be held at Del Mar on Nov. 2.

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The 1 ¼-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup is one of the sport’s most prestigious route races for horses age 3 and older racing on dirt. It’s been held at various tracks and distances over the past century-plus, and has found a home on the closing weekend of Saratoga’s meet since 2021. Among its past winners are legends including Man o’ War, Gallant Fox, War Admiral, Whirlaway, Citation, Hill Prince, Nashua (twice), Sword Dancer, Kelso (five times), Buckpasser, Damascus, Arts and Letters, Shuvee (twice), Forego, Exceller, Affirmed, John Henry, Slew o’ Gold (twice), Easy Goer, Cigar, Skip Away (twice), Mineshaft, Funny Cide, and Curlin (twice).

This year’s race features a seven-horse field headlined by Arthur’s Ride, a rising star in the older male division who in his stakes debut emphatically won the $1 million Whitney Stakes, a Longines Classic “Win and You’re In” race held Aug. 3 at Saratoga. The Jockey Club Gold Cup will be broadcast live on FS1 as part of NYRA’s “Saratoga Live” show, with a post time scheduled for 6:15 p.m. ET.

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Read on for information about the Jockey Club Gold Cup contenders:

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1. Tapit Trice (4-1 morning-line odds)

Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Owners: Whisper Hill Farm and Gainesway Stable

Career record: 10 starts – 5 wins – 0 seconds – 3 thirds

Career earnings: $1,453,650

Earnings per start: $145,365

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 106

Pedigree: Tapit – Danzatrice, by Dunkirk

Age: 4

Color: Gray or roan

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Based on a sharp comeback win last month to kick off his 4-year-old campaign, Tapit Trice arguably stands the best chance to upset Arthur’s Ride in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. After a very good 3-year-old campaign highlighted by a win in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes and third-place finishes in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets and the Travers Stakes, this well-bred colt returned from a break of more than 10 ½ months in the 1 1/8-mile, Grade 3 Monmouth Cup Stakes July 20 and romped by 5 ¼ lengths over odds-on favorite and JCGC foe Highland Falls. Tapit Trice displayed plenty of talent in his races at age 3 and showed in the Monmouth Cup that he just might be better at age 4, earning a career-best 106 Equibase Speed Figure. On the other hand, aside from Highland Falls the field for that race at Monmouth was pedestrian, and Tapit Trice’s 106 figure is still around 7-12 points below the recent standard for JCGC winners. It’s reasonable to expect Tapit Trice to improve off of that return effort, and he’s already shown that he can compete at the mile-and-a-quarter distance. Irad Ortiz Jr. rode Tapit Trice for the first time in the Monmouth Cup, and expect him to be aggressive in positioning his mount within touch of Arthur’s Ride (and possibly stablemate Bright Future) in the early and middle stages of the JCGC before asking for his rally in the far turn. Ortiz won this race in 2017 on Diversify and in 2020 on Happy Saver, the latter for Todd Pletcher. Pletcher will be seeking a repeat win in the Jockey Club Gold Cup with either this colt or 2023 victor Bright Future. 

Bet Tapit Trice in the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes

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2. Kuchar (30-1)

Jockey: Luis Saez

Trainer: Rudy Rodriguez

Owner: LSU Stables

Career record: 16 starts – 4 wins – 3 seconds – 3 thirds

Career earnings: $388,340

Earnings per start: $24,271

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 107

Pedigree: Uncle Mo - Street Girl, by Street Hero

Age: 5

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Kuchar has enjoyed success against allowance-level competition and placed three times in his career in stakes races, but winning this race appears to be a tall order for a 5-year-old who has run fifth in each of his three previous starts in graded stakes. He posted a pair of victories earlier in the season in allowance/optional claiming races at Aqueduct and finished third in the 1 1/8-mile Exclesior Stakes at Aqueduct in between. Trainer Rudy Rodriguez then tested him in the 1 ¼-mile, Grade 2 Suburban Stakes June 8 and he faded to fifth after setting the early pace, 2 ¼ lengths behind winner Crupi. Kuchar enters this race off a distant fifth, 10 lengths behind Jockey Club Gold Cup entrant Tapit Trice, in the Grade 3 Monmouth Cup Stakes on July 20. There is a very good chance Kuchar will leave the starting gate as the longest shot in the seven-horse field for the Jockey Club Gold Cup. While he’s not completely outclassed on paper in terms of Equibase Speed Figures, snagging anything more than a minor award would be a surprise from Kuchar.

Bet Kuchar in the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes

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3. Bright Future (10-1)

Jockey: Javier Castellano

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Owners: Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable

Career record: 10 starts – 5 wins – 0 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $932,940

Earnings per start: $93,294

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 112

Pedigree: Curlin – Sophia’s Song, by Bellamy Road

Age: 5

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Last year’s Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Bright Future heads into a repeat bid as a bit of a wild card based on his two races this year. The son of two-time JCGC winner Curlin had come back from a layoff of more than seven months to win his 5-year-old debut, the Grade 3 Salvator Mile Stakes, by 1 ¾ lengths June 15 at Monmouth Park. He then made no impression whatsoever as the 6.80-1 second betting choice in the Aug. 3 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga and finished eighth of 10 horses behind a romping Arthur’s Ride. Trainer Todd Pletcher said afterward that Bright Future did not handle the muddy track in the Whitney, and now he’ll attempt to make up over 22 lengths on Arthur’s Ride on what will hopefully be a dry track and at a distance he’s already proven he can handle. Last year, Bright Future won the Jockey Club Gold Cup by a nose over Proxy after he pressed the early pace, earning a 112 Equibase Speed Figure. He followed that breakthrough win with a decent sixth-place finish in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park before taking the aforementioned break over the winter and spring. Bright Future is certainly eligible to rebound after that puzzling no-show effort in the Whitney, and if he can cycle back to his Jockey Club Gold Cup-winning form of last summer, he’s got an upset chance against a field that, Arthur’s Ride aside, is not that formidable. Look for jockey Javier Castellano, who won this race last year and in 2006 on Bernardini, to keep Bright Future in touch with Arthur’s Ride early on and possibly challenge that foe for the lead in the backstretch. In addition to teaming up with Castellano and Repole/St. Elias Stable in 2023, Todd Pletcher won the JCGC in 2020 with Happy Saver.

Bet Bright Future in the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes

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4. Disarm (8-1)

Jockey: Joel Rosario

Trainer: Steve Asmussen

Owner: Winchell Thoroughbreds

Career record: 12 starts – 3 wins – 3 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $1,146,790

Earnings per start: $95,566

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 107

Pedigree: Gun Runner – Easy Tap, by Tapit

Age: 4

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Well-bred Disarm will have to run the race of his career Saturday to have any shot at posting the upset in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, and based on his prior form this year profiles as a late-running trifecta or superfecta filler at best. After a good 3-year-old campaign in 2023 that included a second-place finish in the Travers Stakes and a fourth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, Disarm came back at age 4 and won a 1 1/16-mile allowance/optional claiming race easily against only three opponents May 18 at Churchill Downs and then finished sixth in the Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill in late June and fourth in the Aug. 3 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga, where he made up some ground in late stretch but was no threat to Arthur’s Ride. Disarm won his season debut in the aforementioned allowance race at Churchill in gate-to-wire fashion, but in his prior top-level races he’s usually positioned in midpack, and that’s where he should be in Saturday’s JCGC under jockey Joel Rosario, who’s ridden him in seven of his past nine races. Look for him to be running late, but even with a well-timed rally Disarm doesn’t appear fast enough to win this race – although it’s worth noting that arguably his best two career efforts came in the Travers and Kentucky Derby, both held at 1 ¼ miles. New Hall of Fame member Rosario has two prior Travers victories on his résumé, aboard Flat Out in 2012 and Tonalist in 2014, and he nearly won a third last year as his mount Proxy lost to Bright Future by a nose after rallying in the stretch. Fellow Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen has four JCGC wins: back-to-back in 2007 and 2008 with the mighty Curlin, with Haynesfield in 2010, and with Max Player in 2021.

Bet Disarm in the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes

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5. Pyrenees (8-1)

Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr.

Trainer: Cherie DeVaux

Owner: Blue Heaven Farm

Career record: 9 starts – 4 wins – 2 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $516,316

Earnings per start: $57,368

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 108

Pedigree: Into Mischief – Our Khrysty, by Newfoundland

Age: 4

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: After successfully stepping up and proving himself a graded-stakes caliber racehorse this spring and summer, Pyrenees faces a tough task as he attempts to secure a Grade 1 victory in his second attempt Saturday. Last December, the son of top sire Into Mischief returned after a break of nearly a year and subsequently racked up three consecutive wins – back-to-back at the distance of 1 1/16 miles at Fair Grounds and then going 1 1/8 miles at Keeneland – before making his stakes debut in a solid edition of the Grade 3 Pimlico Special Stakes May 17. Pyrenees rallied from a stalking spot to post a game three-quarter-length win in that 1 3/16-mile event over odds-on favorite Kingsbarns, and then faced off against that foe plus several other quality runners in the June 19, Grade 1 Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs held at 1 1/8 miles. Pyrenees ran well in the Foster in his Grade 1 debut but settled for second behind impressive 2 ½-length winner Kingsbarns, who unfortunately was retired weeks later due to injury. Two runners Pyrenees outfinished in the Foster, third-place Skippylongstocking and fourth-place and odds-on favorite First Mission, came back to finish a distant fifth and seventh, respectively, to Arthur’s Ride in the Aug. 3 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga, so it’s safe to say he’ll have to show a new dimension in Saturday’s Jockey Club Gold Cup if he’s to post an upset win. He’s definitely a must-use horse in exacta and trifecta tickets under regular rider Brian Hernandez Jr., who nearly won the DraftKings Travers Stakes last week at this track and distance with super filly Thorpedo Anna.

Bet Pyrenees in the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes

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6. Highland Falls (5-1)

Jockey: Flavien Prat

Trainer: Brad Cox

Owner: Godolphin                                                                                                      

Career record: 8 starts – 4 wins – 2 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $642,060

Earnings per start: $80,258

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 111

Pedigree: Curlin – Round Pond, by Awesome Again

Age: 4

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: This Godolphin homebred has assembled a good career record through eight starts and has successfully stepped up to hold his own at the graded stakes level this year at age 4 while still in search of a career-defining win. A son of two-time Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Curlin out of 2006 Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner Round Pond, Highland Falls made his graded stakes debut back in March in the 1 ¼-mile Santa Anita Handicap Presented by Yaamava’ Resort and Casino. He finished fourth of seven in that race, but Highland Falls improved thereafter, running second to Skippylongstocking in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap in April, winning the Grade 3 Blame Stakes by a length over subsequent stakes winner Cagliostro in June at Churchill Downs, and then finishing second behind comebacking Tapit Trice in the Grade 3 Monmouth Cup Stakes July 20. All three of those stakes were held at 1 1/8 miles, which appears to be this colt’s best distance despite a pedigree that suggests he could handle more ground. He finished 5 ¼ lengths behind Tapit Trice as the 7-10 favorite in the Monmouth Cup, which isn’t encouraging for his chances as he faces that foe again plus Arthur’s Ride in Saturday’s JCGC, but Highland Falls certainly has a shot to hit the board with his best effort. Jockey Flavien Prat and trainer Brad Cox have won their share of big races in recent years but neither has yet to add this one to his portfolio. Godolphin’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum won the 2006 JCGC with Bernardini under his Darley Stable banner.

Bet Highland Falls in the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes

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7. Arthur’s Ride (4-5)

Jockey: Junior Alvarado

Trainer: Bill Mott

Owner: Glassman Racing

Career record: 7 starts – 4 wins – 2 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $764,955

Earnings per start: $109,279

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 115

Pedigree: Tapit – Points of Grace, by Point Given

Age: 4

Color: Gray or roan

Running style: Pacesetter

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Arthur’s Ride emerged as one of the leading contenders for this fall’s Breeders’ Cup Classic four weeks ago with a dominant 2 ¼-length win in the prestigious Whitney Stakes at Saratoga. The Tapit colt, who had only made three total starts at age 2 and 3 while taking time to heal from a tendon strain, was patiently handled by Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott before returning earlier this year. He made three consecutive starts in allowance/optional claiming races and won two of them in impressive fashion prior to his start in a stacked edition of the Whitney Stakes held at 1 1/8 miles Aug. 3 at the Spa. Jockey Junior Alvarado sent Arthur’s Ride straight to the front from the ninth post position in a 10-horse field, and the colt set solid fractions while unhurried on the lead before powering clear from the field at the top of the stretch. He earned a 115 Equibase Speed Figure in the Whitney, and that equaled the figure earned in his prior allowance win at Saratoga in June, which was held at the same mile-and-a-quarter distance as Saturday’s Jockey Club Gold Cup. If he can stay at that level, Arthur’s Ride will be very tough to run down as he projects to be the controlling speed in the race – and what’s more, there’s a good chance we haven’t seen the best of this lightly raced colt yet. Junior Alvarado and Bill Mott teamed up to win the 2022 Jockey Club Gold Cup with Olympiad, and Mott also won this race three other times: with the legendary Cigar in 1995 and in back-to-back years with Flat Out (2012) and Ron the Greek (2013).

Bet Arthur’s Ride in the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes