Forever Young targets Jockey Club Gold Cup, Breeders' Cup Classic

Forever Young has put the older dirt division on notice. The reigning Breeders’ Cup Classic winner will return to the United States for the Sept. 18 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park, then point to a title defense in the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Oct. 31 at Keeneland Race Course, a route that instantly makes every major fall prep feel more important.

Trainer Yoshito Yahagi confirmed the plan on June 21, saying the Real Steel colt’s next two starts would come in New York and Kentucky. The decision comes after extended conversations with owner Susumu Fujita and a close look at the horse’s condition, and it closes the door on other possibilities, including turf options in Europe that had been under consideration. Forever Young’s connections also weighed offers from France Galop and Leopardstown Racecourse before settling on the American dirt path.

The move gives the Jockey Club Gold Cup a special edge on Belmont Park’s opening day. NYRA says racing returns to the rebuilt Belmont on Sept. 18, with the Gold Cup anchoring the card and Fox carrying the race to a national audience. That matters beyond one afternoon: the Gold Cup is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series race that carries a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Classic, and it has long been one of the defining tests for older horses, with winners that include Man o’ War, Forego and Cigar.

Forever Young arrives with the kind of form and reputation that can center an entire season. He won the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar, then reinforced his international standing with a runner-up finish to Magnitude in the March 28 Dubai World Cup. By choosing the Belmont-Keeneland route, Yahagi and Fujita have made a clear statement that the horse’s campaign belongs in the deepest part of North America’s dirt championship picture, not on a side road.

The timing also raises the profile of Belmont’s relaunch. NYRA has said the new Belmont Park will reopen in fall 2026, while the 2026 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will be held at Saratoga Race Course during construction and Aqueduct Racetrack will serve as the downstate base in the meantime. Forever Young’s arrival gives the new facility a marquee international headliner the moment it reenters the sport, and it puts the Gold Cup back where it belongs, as one of the races that shapes the road to the Classic.