The reverberations from Derby favorite Nadal’s disheartening career-ending injury continue to be felt across the industry. Futures bettors have already weighed in with their take on how the 3-year-old field shakes out, and we now have some additional confirmation on that.
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association released its latest poll on horses in that group. Just like in the futures market, Tiz the Law and Charlatan are at the top of the list, but a pair of promising runners are within striking distance.
Here’s the latest tally from the NTRA with first place points in parentheses, followed by total poll points.
1- Tiz The Law (27) 349
2- Charlatan 286
3- Authentic (2) 275
4- Maxfield 270
5- King Guillermo (1) 166
6- Honor A.P. 145
7- Nadal (5) 140
8- Sole Volante 103
9- Ete Indien 86
10- Basin 60
While the horses up above are at the head of the class for the time being, there are many more youngsters to keep on the radar. Here are the other horses that received votes in the poll with total points in parentheses.
Other Horses Receiving Votes: Wells Bayou (44), Mischievious Alex (21), Ny Traffic (15), Gouverneur Morris (11), Thousand Words (11), Mr. Big News (9), Modernist (8), Dr. Post (6), Finnick The Fierce (6), Swiss Skydiver (5), Enforceable (4), Mr. Monomoy (4), Pneumatic (3), Rushie (2), Tonalist’s Shape (2), Cezanne (1), Shivaree (1), Shedaresthedevil (1), Bonny South (1)
Tiz The Law also has the top spot on Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 122 points, and has racked up $902,400 in non-restricted stakes earnings along the way. Signature victories include taking down the Curlin Florida Derby and the Holy Bull Stakes.
Wells Bayou, Charlatan, King Guillermo, and Ete Indien round out the top five on the Derby board. Modernist, Ny Traffic, Maxfield, Authentic, and Basin hold down spots 6-10.
As you would expect, many of the names on both the INTRA and Derby lists are expected to be in the field for this year’s running of the Belmont Stakes, which takes place on Saturday, June 20 and is in the unconventional position of kicking off the Triple Crown season.
The NTRA has also unveiled its latest Top Thoroughbred Poll which is chock full of names familiar to racing fans. Here’s the Top 10 with first-place points in parentheses, followed by total points and others who received votes.
1- Midnight Bisou (27) 354
2- Mucho Gusto 283
3- By My Standards (2) 264
4- Zulu Alpha 161
5- Tom’s D’Etat (1) 137
6- Maximum Security (5) 116
7- Monomoy Girl 104
8- Raging Bull 83
9- Ce Ce 69
10- Mr. Freeze 56
Other Horses Receiving Votes: Whitmore (55), Code Of Honor (35), United (34), Tiz The Law-2 (32), Owendale (30), Mckinzie (26), Warrior’s Charge (24), Starship Jubilee (24), Uni (20), Mind Control (19), Hard Not To Love (17), Keeper Ofthe Stars (15), Fighting Mad (14), Dunbar Road (14), Sistercharlie (9), Vekoma (7), Mr. Monomoy (6), Charlatan (6), Zulu (6), Serengeti Empress (5), Sharing (5), Higher Power (3), Combatant (1), Bell’s The One (1)
It has been an unusual year for the racing industry – to say the least – but encouraging signs continue to emerge. A number of tracks have remained operational in the current climate, and many more have joined the party in recent weeks.
The list will continue to grow as we head towards the summer. In other positive news, we still have a number of stellar races to look forward to. By this point in time in a normal year, the Triple Crown would already be winding down.
This time around, we are still weeks away from the opening race. You can safely count us in the camp of those who are very much looking forward to it.
