After a two-month layoff, Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner Golden Tempo returns to the dirt later this week.
Golden Tempo will step into the gate in the 2026 Breeders’ Cup Classic, set for Oct. 31 at Keeneland.
The last time Golden Tempo raced was Aug. 29 in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga. Golden Tempo placed third in the 10-horse field, with Leading Change crossing the line first.
Here's what you need to know to follow Golden Tempo in the 2026 Breeders' Cup from home:
When does Golden Tempo run in 2026 Breeders' Cup Classic?
Golden Tempo will compete in the 2026 Breeders' Cup Classic on Oct. 31 at Keeneland. The race is slated to begin at 6:16 p.m. Oct. 31. Golden Tempo will set off from Post 3.
What channel is 2026 Breeders' Cup Classic on?
The 2026 Breeders' Cup Classic will air nationally on NBC. Streaming options include Peacock, NBC's subscription streaming service, and FUBO, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.
What to know about Golden Tempo's racing career
Golden Tempo won both Triple Crown events he ran this year: the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes. His connections did not enter him in the Preakness Stakes, the third Triple Crown race.
He has finished in the money in all seven races (4-0-3) of his career. He ran just once as a 2-year-old, winning a maiden special weight race at Fair Grounds Race Course in Louisiana on Dec. 20, 2025. Golden Tempo's other victory was the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes — also at Fair Grounds — on Jan. 17.
Golden Tempo is based at Keeneland, but the Breeders' Cup Classic will mark his first career start at the track.
If Golden Tempo adds the Breeders' Cup Classic title to his tally, he'll become the fifth thoroughbred to win it and the Derby same year. The others: Authentic (2020), American Pharoah (2015), Unbridled (1990) and Sunday Silence (1989).
Who is Golden Tempo's trainer?
Cherie DeVaux is Golden Tempo's trainer. With Golden Tempo's triumph in the Run for the Roses, DeVaux became the first female to train a Derby champion. And Golden Tempo's Belmont victory made DeVaux the first female trainer with multiple Triple Crown wins. (Jena Antonucci, who trained 2023 Belmont champion Arcangelo, is the only other female trainer with a Triple Crown win to her name.)
DeVaux aims to become the second female trainer to place first in the Breeders' Cup Classic; Kathy Ritvo was the first (Mucho Macho Man, 2013).
DeVaux has just shy of $10 million in earnings this year, with a win-place-show rate of 41.1% (45-36-27 in 263 starts), as of Oct. 26.
She's won more than $40 million during her training career, winning at a clip of 16.6% (321 victories in 1,936 starts).
Who is Golden Tempo's owner?
Phipps Stable (Daisy Phipps Pulito) and St. Elias Stable (Vincent Viola) co-own Golden Tempo.
Read more about the ownership duo here.
Who is Golden Tempo's jockey?
Jose Ortiz will be aboard Golden Tempo for the Breeders' Cup Classic.
He was the winning jockey in this year's Kentucky Derby and Belmont. Ortiz has won all three legs of the Triple Crown; along with the Derby and Belmont triumphs this year, he also captured the 2022 Preakness Stakes (with Early Voting) and the 2017 Belmont (with Tapwrit).
Ortiz is No. 2 in winnings among North American jockeys in 2026; as of Oct. 26, he's earned $38,624,869. That narrowly trails Flavien Prat, who's won $38,725,170.
Ortiz has won 22% of his starts this year (272 of 1,212), with a win-place-show rate of 54% (272-204-175).
He's sixth all-time in winnings, earning more than $336 million during his career.
What is Golden Tempo's pedigree?
Golden Tempo is the son of Curlin, a Hall of Fame thoroughbred that won the Preakness Stakes and Breeders' Cup Classic in 2007 and was a two-time American Horse of the Year winner (2007 and 2008), and Carrumba, his dam.
His grandsire (on Carrumba’s side) is Bernardini, who won the 2006 Preakness Stakes. Bernardini was the U.S. champion 3-year-old in 2006. Golden Tempo claims as ancestors two of the best racehorses of all time: Secretariat (Triple Crown winner in 1973) and Seattle Slew (Triple Crown winner in 1977).
Read more about Golden Tempo's bloodline here.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: How to watch Golden Tempo in Breeders' Cup Classic 2026
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