LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 11, 2020) – A quiet weekend of racing resulted in a static set of results for the latest National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) polls as unbeaten Grade 1-winner Nadal and champion Midnight Bisou maintained their advantages in the Top 3-Year-Old Poll and Top Thoroughbred Poll, respectively.

With no graded stakes taking place last week as more tracks work to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic, movement was at a premium in both rankings. The top 10 in the sophomore poll featured no positional changes with Nadal holding serve for a second straight week after earning 19 first-place votes and 375 points. The son of Blame captured the second division of the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on May 2, his fourth win in as many career starts.

Sitting solidly in second position again is Grade 1 Florida Derby winner Tiz the Law, who still garnered big respect with 18 first-place votes and 362 points. Stablemates Charlatan (2 first-place votes, 327 points) and Authentic (1 first-place vote, 286 points) maintain the third and fourth spots with King Guillermo (187 points) in fifth.

The John Shirreffs-trained Honor A. P. (152 points) is sixth followed by Patrick Biancone-conditioned stablemates Sole Volante (112), and Ete Indien (105). Grade 1-winner Maxfield (71 points) and Basin (58) round out the top ten.

Reigning champion older dirt female Midnight Bisou, second in the $20 million Saudi Cup in her seasonal bow on February 29, continues to lead the Top Thoroughbred Poll with 29 first-place votes and 385 points. Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational winner Mucho Gusto is second with 313 points with By My Standards (2 first-place votes, 290 points) in third.

Zulu Alpha (1 first-place vote, 200 points) remains fourth followed by fellow Grade 1-winner Ce Ce (187 points) and Tom’s d’Etat (1 first-place vote, 144 points). Eclipse Award-winner Maximum Security (7 first-place votes, 119 points) is seventh with Whitmore (91 points) and Mr Freeze (85) in the next two slots. The only bit of change from the previous week came in the form of a tie for the tenth spot as both Warrior’s Charge and Code of Honor earned 49 points.

The NTRA Top Thoroughbred polls are the sport’s most comprehensive surveys of experts. Every week eligible journalists and broadcasters cast votes for their top 10 horses, with points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. All horses that have raced in the U.S., are in training in the U.S., or are known to be pointing to a major event in the U.S. are eligible for the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll. Voting in both the Top 3-Year-Old Poll and the Top Thoroughbred Poll is scheduled to be conducted through the conclusion of the Breeders’ Cup in November.

The full results for the NTRA Thoroughbred Poll can be found on the NTRA website at:

https://www.ntra.com/ntra-top-thoroughbred-poll-may-11-2020/

Full accounting of top 10 votes by voter can be found at:

https://mk0ntrauj6jy9vera.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/Polls-week11-by_voter-2020.pdf

 

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