Oaks News

The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) may not have the best record as a Kentucky Derby predictor. But it’s always a key date in assessing where the Derby contenders stand.

Ted Noffey capped an undefeated season and undoubtedly clinched championship honors as the country's top two-year-old colt of 2025, with a one-length tally in the $1.76 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Del Mar on Friday.

The contenders in Friday’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) have pedigree connections to past editions of the championships.

The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) typically determines the champion two-year-old filly of the year, and 10 Juvenile Fillies participants have gone on to win the following year’s Kentucky Oaks (G1).

If you’d been watching juvenile racing this weekend last year, you would have seen the winner of both the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks.

The Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) will have a strong favorite, while the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) will have less of one when the marquee races in their respective divisions are run Friday at Del Mar.

With the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) and Juvenile Fillies (G1) on Oct. 31, the focus for the best 2026 Classic contenders, a few of the big guns have already been racing.

Every week, we will assess what we think are the leading contenders for the 2026 Kentucky Derby on the First Saturday in May, and for the Kentucky Oaks the day beforehand.

Every week, we will assess what we think are the leading contenders for the 2026 Kentucky Derby on the First Saturday in May, and for the Kentucky Oaks the day beforehand.

A pair of Road to the Kentucky Oaks qualifiers worth 10-5-3-2-1 points to the top five finishers took place on a busy Saturday seven months out from the 2026 Kentucky Oaks (G1).