Contact: Joan Lawrence, NTRA Communications, (646) 335-6833, jlawrence@ntra.com
CALIFORNIA CHROME RETAINS FIRST PLACE ON NTRA TOP THOROUGHBRED POLL
Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Monday, July 25, 2016) – California Chrome the leading Thoroughbred in North America remains in first-place after his half-length victory over Dortmund who broke into the top-ten from twenty-second and climbed into the tenth slot after finishing a game second to California Chrome in the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap this past Saturday at Del Mar in this week’s NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll. The all-time leading money earner in the U.S., California Chrome has led the poll for all 21 weeks of 2016 voting, clinching this week’s tally with 31 first-place votes and 355 points overall
The NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll is the sport’s most comprehensive survey of experts ranking active North American-based Thoroughbreds. Every week 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. The NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll concludes Monday, November 7, following the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, which will be held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California.
Tepin (4 first-place votes; 304 points) held second in the rankings, ahead of three-time Eclipse Award champion Beholder (236) who is preparing to run in the Grade 2 Clement L. Hirsch at Del Mar on July 30. Four-year-old Frosted (1 first-place vote; 221 points) remains in fourth.
Songbird,(191) the undefeated 3-year-old filly and ranked fifth, crushed her competition in the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks by 5 ¼ lengths on Sunday at Saratoga Race Course with her regular rider Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith in the irons. It is anticipated that the Eclipse Award champion will make a return trip to the Spa for the Grade 1 Alabama Stakes on August 20.
The top 10 is rounded out by: Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist (161) who is expected to run in the Grade I Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on July 31; Melatonin (124); Flintshire (108); Catch A Glimpse (88) and Dortmund (77).