Reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty and jockey Junior Alvarado pull away for an authoritative 4 ¾-length win over 2025 Eclipse Award Champion Three-Year-Old Filly Nitrogen in the G1 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. The victory was Sovereignty’s first in three 2026 starts and first since last year’s G1 Travers Stakes. Bill Mott trains the Godolphin color bearer. Janet Napolitano/Coglianese Photo
NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll – August 10, 2026
Week 29 of the 2026 NTRA Top Three-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll and the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll conducted by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), covering racing performances through August 9. Voting is conducted by national media.
The 3-Year-Old poll represents horses competing up and through the Triple Crown.
The Top Thoroughbred poll represents horses competing for Horse of the Year. The Top Thoroughbred Poll concludes on Tuesday, November 3 following the Breeders’ Cup World Championships.
Rankings on both polls are on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-1 basis with first place votes in parentheses, 2026 record and total points. A-S: Age-Sex, Sex: C-colt, G-gelding, H-horse, F-filly, M-mare, R-ridgling.
TOP THOROUGHBRED POLL
| PLACE | HORSE | A-S | STATS | POINTS | PVS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SOVEREIGNTY (27) | 4-C | 3-1-1-1 | 301 | 5 |
| 2 | NITROGEN | 4-F | 5-2-2-1 | 220 | 9 |
| 3 | DETERMINISTIC (2) | 5-H | 3-3-0-0 | 188 | 12 |
| 4 | MAGNITUDE (2) | 4-C | 4-3-0-0 | 183 | 1 |
| 5 | GOLDEN TEMPO | 3-C | 5-3-0-2 | 165 | 3 |
| 6 | FOREVER YOUNG (JPN) | 5-H | 2-1-1-0 | 163 | 4 |
| 7 | BURNHAM SQUARE | 4-G | 5-4-1-0 | 122 | 6 |
| 8 | BOOK 'EM DANNO | 5-G | 3-2-1-0 | 84 | 10 |
| 9 | KNIGHTSBRIDGE | 5-H | 5-3-1-0 | 59 | 11 |
| 10 | SPLENDORA | 5-M | 5-4-0-0 | 32 | 13 |
Other horses receiving votes: BAEZA (30), NYSOS (29), RENEGADE (27), COUNTING STARS (22), ENGLISHMAN (22), EXPLORA (18), WHITE ABARRIO (12), ANTIQUARIAN (8), T O ELVIS (6), JOURNALISM (5), LAGYNOS (3), NAPOLEON SOLO (3), HUGHES (1), IMMERSIVE (1), COMMANDMENT (1)