Breeders' Cup Classic: Magnitude scratched with left foreleg injury
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LEXINGTON, Ky. − Magnitude, the multiple stakes-winning 4-year-old who was listed as the 6-1 fifth choice on the morning line, was scratched from Saturday’s $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic due to an issue with his left foreleg, trainer Steve Asmussen said Thursday afternoon.
“A PET scan revealed some disruption in the suspensory fibers of his left foreleg, after discussions with [Winchell Thoroughbreds’s] Ron Winchell and David Fiske, err on the side of caution and not take any risk with a tremendous horse,” said Asmussen, who said the PET scan was done on Thursday. “Nothing short of heartbroken because of how well we expected him to run.”
The scratch of Magnitude reduces the Classic field to seven and takes a major pace player out of the race. Magnitude was scheduled to be ridden by Flavien Prat from post 6. Now Knightsbridge and Napoleon Solo, who look to be the speed horses of the race, move in one slot from posts 7 and 8.
Magnitude, a son of Not This Time who sold for $450,000 at the 2023 Keeneland yearling sale, retires to Coolmore for the 2027 breeding season. He retires with a record of 8-2-1 from 15 starts with earnings of $8,626,365.
Magnitude was a multiple Grade 2 stakes winner at age 3, but was having a breakout 4-year-old campaign that included wins over Forever Young in the Group 1 Dubai World Cup and Sovereignty in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster. He hit a speed bump when he finished sixth in the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga, a track over which he had previously run poorly in the 2025 Travers.
Magnitude had drawn rave reviews for his training since he arrived at Keeneland, whether it was his morning gallops or his workouts.
“As talented a horse as anybody’s ever had their hands on and on his day, he has proven capable of beating anybody,” Asmussen said.
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