Baffert vs. O'Brien: the race to 22 Breeders' Cup wins

Key takeaways

• Bob Baffert and Aidan O'Brien enter the 2026 Breeders' Cup tied at 21 wins apiece, the most of any trainers in the event's history. The next one to win a race takes the record outright.
• Baffert brings six runners, led by unbeaten Hughes, the 1-1 morning-line favorite in the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.
• O'Brien brings 10, including two of the weekend's biggest European favorites: Sun Goddess (6-5) in the John Deere Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and Diamond Necklace (3-1) in the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf.
• The record could fall within 40 minutes on Friday, with Sun Goddess at 4:15 PM ET and Hughes at 4:55 PM ET.

Bob Baffert and Aidan O'Brien enter the 2026 Breeders' Cup at Keeneland tied at 21 career wins, the most of any trainers in the event's history. Whoever wins next on Friday, October 30th or Saturday, October 31st becomes the winningest trainer in Breeders' Cup history.

Baffert brings six runners, all on dirt. O'Brien brings 10, all on turf. Here's every runner each trainer is sending out, when they run, and how the race within the races could unfold.

Naturally, you can bet which horses will win their Breeders’ Cup races at FanDuel Racing. Also, discover 2026 Breeders’ Cup odds and bet the Breeders’ Cup with exclusive bonuses and promos.

All-time Breeders' Cup wins by a trainer

How they got to 21

The tie was set over two days at Del Mar last year. O'Brien arrived at the 2025 Breeders' Cup tied with the late D. Wayne Lukas at 20 wins, and Gstaad's victory in the Brown Advisory Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf on Friday made him the outright leader at 21. It was his eighth win in that race and his fourth in a row.

Baffert answered the next day. He began the weekend with 19 wins, picked up No. 20 when Splendora took the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, and drew level when Nysos won the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile by a head over Citizen Bull, another Baffert trainee. "It should have been a dead heat! I knew I was going to win," Baffert joked afterward.

Their 21 wins could hardly look more different:

• Baffert, the dirt specialist: four Longines Breeders' Cup Classic wins (Bayern, American Pharoah, Arrogate and Authentic), six Juvenile wins, five Cygames Breeders' Cup Sprint wins, plus Juvenile Fillies, Filly & Mare Sprint, Dirt Mile and Juvenile Sprint wins. This is his 34th Breeders' Cup.
• O'Brien, the turf specialist: eight Juvenile Turf wins, seven Longines Breeders' Cup Turf wins (including High Chaparral twice), two Juvenile Fillies Turf wins and one apiece in the Juvenile, Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, Mile and Marathon. He has never won the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, but he has won at least one race at every Breeders' Cup held at Keeneland (2015, 2020 and 2022).

They don't share a single race this weekend. Baffert's runners are all on dirt, and O'Brien's are all on turf. It's a head-to-head contest without a head-to-head matchup.

Bob Baffert's 2026 Breeders' Cup runners

Hughes (Juvenile, 1-1)

Baffert's best shot at No. 22 is also the shortest-priced horse on Friday. Hughes is 4-for-4, including the Del Mar Futurity (G1) and a 6-length romp in the American Pharoah (G1). A win would be Baffert's seventh in the Juvenile. "We knew right there we had something special," Baffert told Horse Racing Nation. "He's easy to train. All systems are go." Stablemate Salahudin (6-1) is also unbeaten, 3-for-3 after the Iroquois (G3) at Churchill Downs.

Miss Monica (NetJets Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, 5-2)

Baffert's first chance at the record comes in the Juvenile Fillies at 3:35 PM ET on Friday. Miss Monica is 2-for-2, winning both by open lengths, including a 6 ¼-length Grade 1 score at Del Mar on September 5th. She's the second choice behind Emphatic (9-5).

Splendora, Explora and Nooni (Saturday)

Splendora, last year's Filly & Mare Sprint winner, stretches out to 1 1/8 miles in the Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff at 9-2 after winning the Beholder Mile (G1) and five of six starts this year. "Let's run her long," Baffert said. "She's done really well in her long races." In the Filly & Mare Sprint, Test Stakes (G1) winner Explora (4-1) is second choice behind Ways and Means (7-5), with Nooni (30-1) a longshot.

Aidan O'Brien's 2026 Breeders' Cup runners

Sun Goddess (John Deere Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, 6-5)

O'Brien's first runner of the weekend may be his best. Sun Goddess has won five in a row, most recently the Cheveley Park (G1), and O'Brien compared her to Johannesburg, his 2001 Juvenile winner: "He probably wasn't as scopey as this filly is." The one knock is post 9. "She is drawn out, which may be a slight disadvantage," he said, "but she is very exciting."

Four shots in the Juvenile Turf

No trainer owns a Breeders' Cup race like O'Brien owns this one: eight wins, including the last four in a row. He sends out four of the 14 Juvenile Turf runners. Great Barrier Reef (4-1) won his first three, including the Coventry (G2), but drew post 14 and is trying a mile for the first time. Haffner (8-1) is already proven at the trip. Note that 7-2 Folsom Blues is trained by Aidan's son Joseph, so a win by him wouldn't count toward the record.

Diamond Necklace and the Saturday turf team

Diamond Necklace (3-1) is the morning-line favorite for the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf after three straight Grade 1 wins, including the Nassau (G1), and a close third in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1). She drew post 12, and O'Brien was blunt about it: "I think you're really going to have to ride her to get the trip." Irish Derby (G1) winner Benvenuto Cellini (6-1) gives him a second shot from post 2, a race O'Brien says "was made for him." In the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile Presented by PDJF, 1,000 Guineas (G1) winner True Love (8-1) and Puerto Rico (10-1) both drew wide; see our FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile odds and picks for how they fit. Precise (7-2), a two-time Grade 1 winner this season, rounds out the team in the Filly & Mare Turf.

Who gets to 22 first?

Here's a quick way to size it up. Convert each runner's morning line into an implied probability, add them up, and O'Brien's 10 runners project to roughly 1.7 wins to Baffert's 1.3 across the weekend. Morning lines overstate everyone's chances a little, so treat that as a rough guide rather than a forecast. The point is the shape: O'Brien has volume, while Baffert is relying on a smaller, more concentrated group led by an even-money favorite.

The timing matters, too. Baffert gets the first swing with Miss Monica at 3:35 PM ET Friday. Then Sun Goddess (4:15 PM ET) and Hughes (4:55 PM ET) are the two shortest prices either trainer has all weekend, and they run 40 minutes apart. If both win, the tie holds into Saturday, when O'Brien's four turf runners take aim at the record alongside Baffert's two fillies in the Filly & Mare Sprint and Splendora in the Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff.

Example Ticket: The Friday Trainer Pick 3

The NetJets Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, John Deere Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and Juvenile run back-to-back on Friday, so a Pick 3 covers Baffert's and O'Brien's best chances in one ticket. Race numbers should be confirmed against the official Keeneland card.

$2 version: $1 Pick 3, Miss Monica / Sun Goddess / Hughes, Salahudin. 1 x 1 x 2 = 2 combinations.

$8 version: $1 Pick 3, Miss Monica, Emphatic / Sun Goddess, Amusingly / Hughes, Salahudin. 2 x 2 x 2 = 8 combinations, with protection against the favorites in the first two legs.

Example Ticket: Back a Trainer to Break the Tie

Team Baffert: $5 to win on Hughes and $5 to win on Splendora. $10 total. At morning-line odds, Hughes returns $10 and Splendora returns $27.50.

Team O'Brien: $5 to win on Sun Goddess and $5 to win on Diamond Necklace. $10 total. At morning-line odds, Sun Goddess returns $11 and Diamond Necklace returns $20.

Payouts above are based on morning-line odds; the actual pari-mutuel payout depends on the final odds at post time. Want more Saturday storylines? See Forever Young, Sovereignty, Golden Tempo: the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic storylines and how to bet them, and see the latest Breeders' Cup odds for updated prices.

For the full card, see the latest Breeders' Cup odds and every race at Keeneland on FanDuel Racing.

Odds are morning lines from the Oct. 26 draw and are subject to change.

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