Contact: Joan Lawrence, (646) 335-6833, jlawrence@ntra.com
CLASSIC EMPIRE MOVES BACK INTO FIRST PLACE, NTRA TOP 3-YEAR-OLD POLL;
ARROGATE REMAINS IN FIRST, NTRA TOP THOROUGHBRED POLL
(Receives all 44- first-place votes)
Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Monday, May 22, 2017) – Finishing second in the 142nd Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico Race Course this past Saturday in Baltimore, Maryland, Classic Empire (21 first-place-votes, 405 points) is ranked number one in week 17 of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top 3-Year-Old Poll, which results were released today.
John and Debby Oxley’s reigning two-year-old champion Classic Empire who lost by a head in the Preakness moved up from second after his defeat in the Kentucky Derby (G1) two-weeks ago takes back his position moving in first place in this week’s top-ten. The Pioneerof the Nile colt who is trained by Mark Casse reported will run in the Belmont Stakes (G1), on June 10 at Belmont Park unless a reason develops not to in the third and final jewel of the Triple Crown.
Always Dreaming (15 first-place votes; 378 points) the Kentucky Derby winner drops down from being ranked first to second after his eighth place finish in the Preakness Stakes for trainer Todd Pletcher and owners Brooklyn Boyz Stable, MeB Racing Stable, Teresa Viola Racing Stables, St. Elias Stables, West Point Thoroughbreds and Siena Farm. The Belmont Stakes is under consideration for the son of Bodemeister.
Preakness Stakes winner Cloud Computing (3 first-place votes; 357 points) leaps into the third slot for Klaravich Stables and William H. Lawrence after the colt tracked a hotly contested pace duel between Always Dreaming and Classic Empire into the far turn before launching a determined stretch run and giving his young trainer Chad Brown his first Triple Crown win. The Belmont Stakes is under consideration.
Lookin At Lee (228) fourth in the Preakness slips down a notch to fourth for trainer Steve Asmussen. The Lookin At Lucky colt is being pointed to the Belmont Stakes.
Sitting out the Preakness and taking the fifth and sixth berths respectively is Battle of Midway (157) and Irish War Cry (125).
Rounding out the field is: Unique Bella (1 first-place vote; 119 points); McCraken (102); Practical Joke (83) and Senior Investment (82).
The NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll is the sport’s most comprehensive survey of experts ranking the generation of Thoroughbreds that includes all Triple Crown contenders. 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. The Top 3-Year-Old Poll concludes June 12 after the Belmont Stakes.
The top ranked older horses on this week’s NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll for horses four and up shows slight movement in the bottom-half of the rankings.
The top six older horses on this week’s NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll remain unchanged, with Arrogate (44 first-place votes; 440 points) the unanimous top choice. The leading earner in North American racing history is trained by Bob Baffert for owner Juddmonte Farm. The Dubai World Cup winner and Eclipse Award winner is being pointed towards the G1 $1million TVG Pacific Classic on August 19 at Del Mar Race Course.
Joining the ranks for the first time is Whitmore (79) who sneaks into tenth slot after winning the Maryland Sprint (G3) at Pimlico for trainer Ron Moquett and Southern Springs Stables, Robert LaPenta and Head of Plains Partners.
The NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll concludes November 6 after the running of the Breeders’ Cup.
About the NTRA
The NTRA is a broad-based coalition of more than 100 horse racing interests and thousands of individual stakeholders consisting of horseplayers, racetrack operators, owners, breeders, trainers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with increasing the popularity, welfare and integrity of Thoroughbred racing through consensus-based leadership, legislative advocacy, safety and integrity initiatives, fan engagement and corporate partner development. The NTRA, Based in Lexington, Ky., owns and manages the NTRA Safety & Integrity Alliance; NTRA.com; the NTRA Top Thoroughbred and NTRA Top 3-Year-Old weekly media polls; the Eclipse Awards; the National Handicapping Championship; NTRA Advantage, a corporate partner sales and sponsorship program; and Horse PAC, a federal political action committee. NTRA press releases appear on NTRA.com, Twitter (@ntra) and Facebook (facebook.com/1NTRA).
-30-