Race favorite Baeza, under Hector Berrios, defeats nine others in the September 20 Pennsylvania Derby (G1) at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. The son of McKinzie, owned by C R K Stable and trained by John Shireffs, is the half-brother of Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mage and Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Dornoch. Photo credit: Ryan Denver/EQUI-PHOTO
NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll – September 22, 2025
Week 35 of the 2025 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 September 21. Voting is conducted by national media.
The Top Thoroughbred poll represents horses competing for Horse of the Year. The Top Thoroughbred Poll concludes on Tuesday, November 4 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, 2025 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) | 3-C | 6-5-1-0 | 286 | 1 |
| 2 | FIERCENESS | 4-C | 4-2-1-0 | 245 | 2 |
| 3 | MINDFRAME (1) | 4-C | 4-3-0-0 | 205 | 3 |
| 4 | SIERRA LEONE | 4-C | 4-1-2-1 | 188 | 4 |
| 5 | THORPEDO ANNA (1) | 4-F | 5-4-0-0 | 172 | 5 |
| 6 | JOURNALISM | 3-C | 7-4-3-0 | 145 | 6 |
| 7 | BOOK'EM DANNO | 4-G | 5-4-0-0 | 109 | 7 |
| 8 | BAEZA | 3-C | 7-2-3-2 | 49 | 23 |
| 9 | DETERMINISTIC | 4-C | 4-3-1-0 | 41 | 9 |
| 10 | NYSOS | 4-C | 3-2-1-0 | 38 | 8 |
Other horses receiving votes: ANTIQUARIAN (34), SHE FEELS PRETTY (21), NITROGEN (19), PATCH ADAMS (8), FORMIDABLE MAN (6), AG BULLET (5), WHITE ABARRIO (5), RAGING TORRENT (4), FOREVER YOUNG (4), EL CORDOBES (3), HIGHLAND FALLS (2), LAURELIN (2), DORTH VADER (1), TED NOFFEY (1), NOTABLE EXCEPTION (1), HIT SHOW (1)