Is Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law going to run in the Grade I, $1 million Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on Oct. 3? Or will he bypass the final leg of this year’s coronavirus-related revamped Triple Crown series and start next in the Grade I, $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland on Nov. 7?
Owned by Sackatoga Stable and trained by Barclay Tagg, Tiz the Law had his four-race winning streak snapped when he finished second as a 7-10 favorite in the Grade I Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on Sept. 5.
After winning the Grade I Belmont by 3 3/4 lengths at 1 1/8 miles on June 20, Tiz the Law registered a 5 1/2-length victory in Saratoga’s Grade I Travers Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on Aug. 8. When the New York-bred Constitution colt did not get the job done in the Kentucky Derby, it meant there is not going to be a Triple Crown winner in 2020.
Tiz the Law had four weeks between the Travers and Kentucky Derby. He’d previously had more time between his races. With that mind, it would seem to make sense not to run him back in the Preakness, which would be four weeks after the Kentucky Derby.
The way I see it, if running Tiz the Law back in four weeks didn’t work in the Kentucky Derby, then why do it in the Preakness? Why not run him next in the BC Classic, which would afford him nine weeks between races?
Nevertheless, Jack Knowlton, Sackatoga’s operating manager, said last Saturday that the Preakness “is still an option” for Tiz the Law.
Knowlton said that Tiz the Law will “be doing his regular gallops as long as everything continues along well.” Tiz the Law then will have a workout this weekend “to assess where we are,” Knowlton added.
“We want to make sure he comes out of the race well and acts like he did after the Travers,” Knowlton said. “That’s what we’d like to see moving forward.”
The vibe as to Tiz the Law’s Preakness status was not encouraging in a Daily Racing Form story written by Mike Welsch.
“He’s come out of most of his other races better than he came out of this one,” Tagg said with regard to the Kentucky Derby. “It’s pretty obvious he doesn’t really care for that track. He’s also never had to come back in four weeks before.”
Tagg said that “this time we had no choice” but to come back in four weeks.
“And give the winner his due, he ran a great race,” Tagg continued. “But you always question if [Tiz the Law] came back in four weeks at Belmont or Saratoga, tracks he’s really shown a fondness for, things would have been different.”
Assistant trainer and exercise rider Robin Smullen also did not paint the rosiest of pictures of how Tiz the Law has been doing since the Kentucky Derby.
“He’s very stiff galloping right now,” Smullen said. “It’s nothing to worry about. He came out of his previous race in Kentucky [the 2019 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes] the same way, and I think that racetrack has a lot to do with it. He’s an easy horse to train because either he takes a hold and drags you around there or he doesn’t. And when he doesn’t, it’s because he’s feeling a little stiff. It’s not a big deal. He’ll tell us when he’s ready to do more than canter around there like he has the last few mornings. And right now, he’s not telling us he’s ready to do more.”
If Tiz the Law does run in the Preakness, it would add pizzazz to the race in being a rematch between the first two finishers in the 1 1/4-mile Kentucky Derby.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert is targeting the Preakness with Authentic, who won the Kentucky Derby by 1 1/4 lengths. The Kentucky-bred son of Into Mischief now has four wins and a second from six career starts.
Tiz the Law has six wins, a second and a third from eight lifetime starts.
I will continue to keep Tiz the Law on my Preakness Top 10 until it’s announced that he definitely will not be running.
Baffert intends to also run Thousand Words in the 145th Preakness. The trainer said Sunday that both Authentic and Thousand Words are on course for the race.
According to Baffert, Authentic came out of the Kentucky Derby “very, very well,” adding that the colt “would have been ready to go in two weeks” after the Run for the Roses.
Baffert has never lost the Preakness with a Kentucky Derby winner, having done so with Silver Charm (1997), Real Quiet (1998), War Emblem (2002), American Pharoah (2015) and Justify (2018). American Pharoah and Justify were Triple Crown winners.
In the five times that Baffert has pulled off the Kentucky Derby-Preakness double, there was two weeks between the two races. It will be four weeks this time.
As for Thousand Words, he became irked in the paddock prior to the Kentucky Derby when the saddling process took longer than he would have preferred. He reared, lost his balance and fell on his side. He knocked Jimmy Barnes, Baffert’s longtime assistant, to the ground hard.
Because of what Thousand Words did, he became an automatic scratch as a precaution. But Baffert said Sunday that the Kentucky-bred Pioneerof the Nile colt “was okay and was checked out. He’s doing well.”
Baffert said that Barnes required nine screws and a plate to repair his right wrist.
Art Collector is scheduled to run in the Preakness. He was not entered in the Kentucky Derby after nicking the bulb of his left front heel with a hind hoof while galloping at Churchill Downs five days before the race.
According to trainer Tommy Drury Jr., the heel issue was not major, just bad timing. The Kentucky-bred Bernardini colt worked four furlongs in :48.10 last Saturday at the Skylight Training Center in Kentucky.
Art Collector won the Grade II Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on July 11 and Ellis Park Derby on Aug. 9.
SWISS SKYDIVER A PREAKNESS POSSIBILITY
The filly Swiss Skydiver finished second in the Blue Grass. The Kentucky-bred Daredevil filly then won Saratoga’s Grade I Alabama Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 15 before finishing second to another Daredevil filly, Shedaresthedevil, in the Grade I Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on Sept. 4.
Daily Racing Form’s Marty McKee reported Wednesday that Swiss Skydiver is “under serious consideration” for the Preakness. The filly’s trainer, Ken McPeek, told McGee that she is “maybe 50-50 at this point.”
McPeek indicated that there is a better chance of Swiss Skydiver running in the Preakness if Tiz the Law skips the race.
If Swiss Skydiver does not run in the Preakness, other possibilities for her are a pair of Grade I races at Keeneland, the Spinster on dirt Oct. 4 or Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup on turf Oct. 10, according to McPeek.
With Swiss Skydiver now listed as possible, she moves onto my Preakness Top 10 this week at No. 4.
Ny Traffic also moves onto my Preakness Top 10 this week at No. 5 after word came from Florida that he is possible for the race.
In the Kentucky Derby, Ny Traffic raced forwardly early, but then he faltered and finished eighth.
Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. reported that Ny Traffic “got a couple of cuts” and lost his right front shoe.
“He has a staple in his [left front] ankle from a cut he got,” Joseph said. “It looks like he should be okay…The main thing is the staple and when it gets taken out, how he’s going to be.
“Would I say he ran his best race [in the Kentucky Derby]? No,” said Joseph. “I don’t know when he lost his shoe. When you’re at that level, you need everything to go right. He wasn’t the best horse in the race to begin with. So he can’t afford to give away advantages.”
Ny Traffic had finished third or better in all five 2020 starts prior to the Kentucky Derby. The New York-bred Cross Traffic colt lost Monmouth Park’s Grade I, 1 1/8-mile Haskell Invitational by a scant nose when he finished second to Authentic.
Exiting my Preakness Top 10 this week is the one-eyed gelding Finnick the Fierce, who races for Arnaldo Monge and trainer Rey Hernandez. The Kentucky-bred Dialed In colt was withdrawn from the Kentucky Derby because of what was said to be an abundance of caution.
Monge had been quoted as saying that Hernandez felt Finnick the Fierce “was fine,” but that the official “vets had been keeping an eye on the horse.” Monge went on to say that if Finnick the Fierce checked out physically, the Preakness “could be a consideration.”
In a press release from Monge last Monday, the co-owner disclosed that Finnick the Fierce was found to have a minor suspensory strain that is not career-threatening. The diagnosis of “a slightly enlarged proximal suspensory ligament with no fiber disruption” was made by the highly respected Dr. Larry Bramlage at the Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky. Finnick the Fierce was said to have undergone complete diagnostics at the medical facility.
Monge is a veterinarian. He’s a member of the practice at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, also in Lexington.
“In layman’s terms, it’s a strain, not a tear, and his prognosis is good for a full recovery,” Monge said.
This seems to be an example of the system in which horses now are under increased scrutiny works. Inasmuch as it turned out that Finnick the Fierce did have an issue, it’s a good thing that he did not start in the Kentucky Derby.
Finnick the Fierce has won once in nine career starts. In his most recent race, he finished seventh in Keeneland’s Grade II Blue Grass Stakes on July 11. He finished third in a division of the Grade I Arkansas Derby won by Nadal at Oaklawn Park on May 2.
Here is my current Preakness Top 10:
1. Authentic
2. Tiz the Law
3. Art Collector
4. Swiss Skydiver
5. Shirl’s Speight
6. Ny Traffic
7. Thousand Words
8. Pneumatic
9. Mystic Guide
10. King Guillermo
SANTA ANITA DERBY WINNER HONOR A.P. RETIRED
There will be no Preakness Stakes for Grade I Santa Anita Derby winner Honor A.P. after he finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby. Not only that, there will not by any more races for the Kentucky-bred Honor Code ridgling trained by John Shirreffs.
It was announced Monday that Honor A.P.’s racing days are over.
Daily Racing Form’s Steve Andersen reported that Shirreffs said Honor A.P. has been retired because of a tendon injury.
“He strained his left front tendon and it would take too long to heal and bring him back,” Shirreffs told Andersen. “It’s very minor. With his size, it would take a long time. We had hoped to have a 4-year-old year with him.”
Earlier this year, Honor A.P. finished second to Authentic in Santa Anita’s Grade II San Felipe Stakes on March 7. When Honor A.P. won the Santa Anita Derby by 2 3/4 lengths, Authentic finished second. That has been Authentic’s only defeat.
Honor A.P. and Authentic had their rubber match in the Kentucky Derby. Authentic won, while Honor A.P. ran fourth in the field of 15. Honor A.P. broke half a step slow and was slammed in the opening strides by Ny Traffic. At one point, Honor A.P. was 13 1/4 lengths off the lead. Prior to that, he had never been farther back early than 2 1/2 lengths in his four starts in races around two turns.
With four furlongs left to run, Honor A.P. was dead last in the Kentucky Derby. It actually was to his credit that despite being so far back in the early stages and racing wide throughout, he came on to finish fourth and lose by five lengths.
How wide was Honor A.P.’s trip? He lost by five lengths. According to Trakus data, he traveled 49 feet, or approximately 5.4 lengths, farther than Authentic.
An $850,000 yearling purchase, Honor A.P. retires with two wins and three seconds from six lifetime starts and earnings of $532,200 for Lee and Susan Searning’s CRK Stable.
Honor A.P., whose dam is the multiple Grade I winner Hollywood Story, already is at Lane’s End Farm in Kentucky. His sire also resides there.
According to BloodHorse’s Eric Mitchell, Honor A.P.’s new home at Lane’s End is the former stall of his paternal grandsire, A.P. Indy, the 1992 Horse of the Year and one of the all-time great sires.
A.P. Indy died at Lane’s End on Feb. 21 due to the infirmities of old age. That stall had remained empty following A.P. Indy’s death until Honor A.P. began occupying it this week.
ANOTHERTWISTAFATE TAKES LONGACRES MILE
Despite not having raced in 16 months, Anothertwistafate powered away from his foes in the stretch last Thursday to win the most important race in the Pacific Northwest, the 85th running of the Grade III Longacres Mile at Emerald Downs.
The Longacres Mile was first run in 1935. This was the first time that the Longacres Mile was run under the lights at night. It also was the first time the race was held without general public spectators.
According to Emerald Downs television commentator Joe Withee, Anotherwtwistafate became the first-ever winner of the Longacres Mile who had not previously started in the calendar year.
To have Anothertwistafate ready for such a stellar performance off such a long layoff was an outstanding training job by 46-year-old trainer Blaine Wright. The 4-year-old Kentucky-bred Scat Daddy colt had recorded a number of excellent workouts on Golden Gate Fields’ synthetic Tapeta surface, most notably a sizzling six furlongs in 1:10.40 on Aug. 16.
According to Daily Racing Form’s George Cottrell, that 1:10.40 drill by Anothertwistafate was equal to the fastest time at the distance since Golden Gate switched to a Tapeta surface in 2007.
Anothertwistafate won last year’s El Camino Real Derby by seven lengths at Golden Gate on Feb. 16. He then ran second in both the Grade III Sunland Derby at Sunland Park and Grade III Lexington Stakes at Keeneland. After finishing 10th in the Grade I Preakness, he did not start again until the Longacres Mile.
Anothertwistafate’s class and works were why I said on an Emerald Downs podcast that I liked him to win the Longacres Mile as much as I had loved Point Piper in the 2016 renewal. I similarly had felt that Point Piper was by far the class of that field.
In the 2016 Longacres Mile, Point Piper won by 4 3/4 lengths when he completed one mile in 1:32.90 to break the track record. He paid $12.20 for each $2 win wager, compared to $4.40 for Anothertwistafate, who was sent away as the favorite.
Fourth in the early going under jockey Juan Gutierrez, Anothertwistafate took command coming into the stretch and kicked away from his eight rivals. His final time was 1:34.10. Anothertwistafate was credited with a 92 Beyer Speed Figure.
The Longacres Mile was run at Longacres from 1935-1992, then at Yakima Meadows from 1993-95. It has been run at Emerald Downs from 1996 to this year. Below are the Beyer Speed Figures recorded by Longacres Mile winners going back to 1992 (the figures prior to 2020 are listed in the American Racing Manual, which is now digital only):
2020 Anothertwistafate (92)
2019 Law Abidin Citizen (96)
2018 Barkley (94)
2017 Gold Rush Dancer (97)
2016 Point Piper (103)
2015 Stryker Phd (99)
2014 Stryker Phd (97)
2013 Herbie D (100)
2012 Taylor Said (98)
2011 Awesome Gem (96)
2010 Noosa Beach (99)
2009 Assessment (94)
2008 Wasserman (90)
2007 The Great Face (91)
2006 Flamethrowintexan (101)
2005 No Giveaway (93)
2004 Adreamisborn (99)
2003 Sky Jack (105)
2002 Sabertooth (96)
2001 Irisheyesareflying (100)
2000 Edneator (104)
1999 Budroyale (106)
1998 Wild Wonder (111)
1997 Kid Katabatic (105)
1996 Isitingood (105)
1995 L.J. Express (94)
1994 Want a Winner (87)
1993 Adventuresome Love (93)
1992 Bolulight (106)
“The Mile,” as it’s affectionately referred to by folks in the Northwest, is the race everyone involved in the sport in that part of the country wants to win. Wright is no different. He finally got his first Longacres Mile victory with Anothertwistafate, a race that had eluded his father, Richard Wright, both as a jockey and trainer.
What made the win last Thursday extra sweet for Blaine Wright and owner Peter Redekop was they had finished in the Longacres Mile the last two years. Alert Bay, the 9-5 favorite, ran second to Barkley in 2018. Anyportinastorm, the 7-10 favorite, came in second to Law Abidin Citizen in 2019.
This also was Redekop’s first Longacres Mile victory.
For Gutierrez, it was his third win in the Mile, following No Giveaway in 2005 and The Great Face in 2007.
EQUIBASE’S LONGACRES MILE CHART INNACURATE?
I was a chart-caller for the Daily Racing Form from 1974-80 and from 1986-93. I called charts at the 1986 Breeders’ Cup held at Santa Anita and the 1987 Breeders’ Cup held at Hollywood Park. This includes the official chart for the 1987 BC Classic in which Ferdinand nosed out Alysheba, a clash between two Kentucky Derby winners, with the 1987 Horse of the Year title on the line.
Those are my bona fides to question the accuracy of the Equibase chart for this year’s Longacres Mile. The chart shows Papa’s Golden Boy in front by 2 1/2 lengths at the three-quarter call. This is the call at the quarter pole, three-quarters of a mile after the start.
In watching the replay, it appears Papa’s Golden Boy is in front at the quarter pole, with Anothertwistafate second. It looks to me that the chart does have that right.
But is Papa’s Golden Boy leading by 2 1/2 lengths at the quarter pole? I don’t think so. It looks like Papa’s Golden Boy and Anothertwistafate were racing side-by-side at that point. So how can the chart say they were separated by 2 1/2 lengths? It should be a smaller margin, something less than one length.
Additionally, I question the chart’s comments (or footnotes). It states that Anothertwistafate “reached the fore with a quarter to run and drew off with complete authority.”
I agree with the “drew off with complete authority,” but not with the “reach the fore with a quarter to run.”
A quarter to run means the quarter pole. Thus, there is a conflict. While the chart shows Papa’s Golden Boy leading by 2 1/2 lengths at the quarter pole, it says in the comments that Anothertwistafate had “reached the fore” at that point.
Such a problematic Equibase chart for the biggest race in the Pacific Northwest is a disservice to the umpteen horseplayers who rely on this information being accurate.
RETIRED TRAINER BEN HARRIS PASSES AWAY
It was with much sadness that I learned that Ben Harris, one of the most successful trainers in the history of racing in the Pacific Northwest, passed away on Sept. 2 in Selah, Wash. He was 82.
Inducted into the Washington Racing Hall of Fame in 2014, Harris won training titles at Longacres in 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992. In the history of that track from 1933-92, he was the only trainer to win four straight titles. He won a record 92 races at the 1991 Longacres meet. All told, he won 31 stakes races at that picturesque track.
I first got to know Harris at Yakima Meadows in 1975. It was my first full year as a chart-caller and writer for the Daily Racing Form.
Harris’ obituary that appeared in the Washington Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association newsletter said that he “was known for his easy-going and likeable personality and strong work ethic.”
I can attest to that, especially in terms of how friendly he was. At the aforementioned 1975 Yakima meet, I had many conversations with Harris. When he would pop into the racing office, I’d say “good morning” to him. And without fail, he would always say, “Good morning, chief.”
It did not take me long to realize that he did not know my name. I thought it was rather clever on his part that since he did not know my name, he would call me “chief.”
As time went on, Harris did learn my name. In fact, when I formed an ownership partnership called Media Madness Stable in 1977, he became one of our trainers.
Media Madness Stable consisted of eight people, all who were members of the media. The other members of the partnership were Jim Price, Playfair’s track announcer and director of publicity; Dick Cottam, who worked at KHQ-TV; Bruce Brown, a columnist for the Spokane Daily Chronicle (and total horse racing nut); and four people who worked at KREM-TV — Terry Mauer, Richard Soss, Wes Lynch and anchorwoman Jane Crawford.
Harris was one of three trainers for Media Madness Stable along the way. The other two were A.J. “Dutch” Branenburg and Dan McCanna.
Branenburg trained Media Madness Stable’s first horse, Political Pull. We claimed him at Longacres for $3,200 on July 22, 1977. We took Political Pull to Playfair. He won his first start for us, a $4,000 claiming race. He then won again for $5,000. Next, he ran second for $5,000 and was claimed off us. It was a terrific beginning for our stable.
One of my all-time favorite horse racing memories occurred when Harris trained a horse by the name of Pat’s Commander for Media Madness Stable in 1978.
We claimed Pat’s Commander off trainer Kathy Walsh for $4,000 at Longacres on May 11 of that year. We then ran Pat’s Commander in the sixth race at Longacres on May 24 for a $6,250 claiming tag.
While I was growing up, Longacres was my favorite place on earth. For me to be part owner of a horse running there was a dream come true for me.
One of Pat’s Commander’s opponents in that May 24 race was Golden Norm, owned by Media Stable, a large group of Seattle-area media people. Media Stable had been the inspiration for me to form Media Madness on the other side of the state in Spokane.
“The flak will be flying in this race,” Daily Racing Form handicapper Dennis Dodge wrote regarding the clash between Pat’s Commander and Golden Norm.
For Seattle’s Media Madness and Spokane’s Media Stable to go against each other in the same race was somewhat akin to the Apple Cup football rivalry game between Western Washington’s University of Washington Huskies and Eastern Washington’s Washington State Cougars.
Mike James rode Pat’s Commander. James had won the riding title at Longacres the year before. Ten-pound apprentice Ralph Pauline was Golden Norm’s pilot. I considered this a huge advantage for Pat’s Commander, who was the 4-1 third choice in the wagering. Golden Norm started at 10-1.
I made a modest across-the-board wager on Pat’s Commander. I also had some personal wagers with several of Golden Norm’s owners. These bets were head-to-head. I would win those wagers as long as Pat’s Comannder beat Golden Norm, even if they finished next-to-last and last.
I was in the paddock to watch Harris saddle Pat’s Commander. When the riders came out to the paddock, I saw Golden Norm’s trainer, T.D. McLaughlin, put his arm around Ralph Pauline.
“Son, I want you to let this horse just relax early, then make your move at the quarter pole,” McLaughlin said to the young apprentice.
Pauline had a puzzled expression as he looked up at the trainer.
“The quarter pole? Where’s that?” Pauline asked.
McLaughlin couldn’t believe what he had just heard.
“You’re riding races and you don’t know where the quarter pole is?” the trainer asked.
“No, sir,” Pauline said. “I’d been riding Quarter Horses at Los Alamitos before I came here.”
McLaughlin then asked his assistant to get him a piece of paper, on which the trainer drew a diagram of a racetrack.
“Here is the finish line,” the trainer said. “Here’s the sixteenth pole. Here’s the eighth pole. Here’s the three-sixteenths pole. And here is the quarter pole. You can’t miss it. It’s red and white.”
“Thank you,” Pauline said sincerely. “But will they let me take this map with me?”
By then McLaughlin was starting to lose his patience.
“Okay, look,” he said. “You’re going to go around two turns. Just let this horse relax early and ask him when you get on the second turn. Can you do that?”
“Yes, sir,” Pauline said.
Meanwhile, I was thinking to myself, “How great is this? I have all these head-to-head bets, at even-money, on a horse who is 4-1 against a 10-1 shot whose rider doesn’t even know where the quarter pole is.”
Pat’s Commander had drawn the rail. He was the first horse loaded into the starting gate. When the final horse, Daunt Do It, was put into the gate, Pat’s Commander became very fractious. Track announcer Gary Henson, a member of Seattle’s Media Stable and one of those I had a personal wager with, really played it up, announcing to the crowd of 7,104, “That is Pat’s Commander delaying the start…Pat’s Commander is continuing to delay the start…We are STILL waiting for Pat’s Commander to settle down!”
As I watched Pat’s Commander throw a fit in the starting gate, it was like a nightmare. Because of his bad behavior in the gate, I didn’t see any way that he could win. But I still had hopes that he could beat Golden Norm and save all of my head-to-head wagers.
But much to my dismay, Golden Norm beat Pat’s Commander. Not only that, Golden Norm won the race. Pat’s Commander finished ninth.
Golden Norm paid $23.90 to win. I had to pay off all those head-to-head bets that I had made. If that wasn’t bad enough, there was all the ribbing I received from various members of Media Stable.
I must say that it is humbling experiences like getting beat by a jockey who did not even know where the quarter pole was that teaches us that anything can happen in racing.
RAMS WIN ON FORMER HOLLYWOOD PARK SITE
Woodmans Luck achieved a measure of notoriety when he won the 11th race at Hollywood Park on Dec. 22, 2014. That was the final race ever run at that track. On that site now is SoFi Stadium, home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers.
Last Sunday night, the Rams beat the Dallas Cowboys in a 20-17 season-opening game to christen spectacular SoFi Stadium, which cost $5 billion (up from the estimated $2.8 billion price tag early in 2018).
During the NBC Sunday Night Football telecast, Al Michaels talked about how his mother would sneak him out of high school and take him to Hollywood Park for the daily double.
“The mother of the century,” Michaels said with a chuckle.
“She trained you well,” said fellow broadcaster Cris Collingsworth.
Michaels then told viewers that the other member of the Sunday Night Football broadcast team, sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, said Sunday on her way into SoFi Stadium that as a youngster, her mother took her to Hollywood Park and won a pick six “in the four to five figures.”
Hollywood Park certainly will always hold a special place in my heart. That’s because when I was there as a Daily Racing Form writer and saw John Henry win the Grade I Hollywood Turf Invitational on May 17, 1981, I met my future wife, Tracy Gantz.
SoFi Stadium is scheduled to host the Super Bowl in 2022, the college football championship game in 2023 and the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2028 Olympics.
But for me personally, there will never, ever be an event on that site more important than what happened on May 17, 1981.
BAFFERT RUNNERS TOP NTRA POLLS
The Baffert-trained Maximum Security, winner of Del Mar’s Grade I Pacific Classic in his most recent start on Aug. 22, again sits atop this week’s NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll, while the Baffert-trained Kentucky Derby winner Authentic again holds the top spot in this week’s NTRA Top Three-Year-Old Poll.
The Top 10 in this week’s NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll is below:
Rank Points Horse (First-Place Votes)
1. 347 Maximum Security (27)
2. 263 Vekoma (7)
3. 227 Tom’s d’Etat (3)
4. 211 Monomoy Girl
5. 197 Improbable
6. 180 By My Standards
7. 156 Midnight Bisou
8. 131 Tiz the Law
9. 116 Authentic
10. 85 Rushing Fall
The Top 10 in this week’s NTRA Top Three-Year-Old Poll is below:
Rank Points Horse (First-Place Votes)
1. 356 Authentic (23)
2. 347 Tiz the Law (14)
3. 263 Art Collector
4. 262 Honor A.P.
5. 140 Swiss Skydiver
6. 139 Thousand Words
7. 97 Shedaresthedevil
8. 86 Gamine
9. 78 King Guillermo
10. 77 Max Player
End
