Gun Runner Remains in First Position in NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll; receives 31 out of 36 first-place votes

By Joan Lawrence, NTRA —-

Gun Runner Remains in First Place in NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll
(receives 31 out of 36 first-place votes)

Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Monday, September 18, 2017) – Week 34 of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top Thoroughbred Poll shows little change in the top-ten for horses ofall ages, except for World Approval sliding in the tenth hole after winning the Richo Woodbine Mile (G1) at Woodbine, results of which were released today.
Continuing to be ranked first after winning the Grade I Woodward Stakes few weeks back at Saratoga, Gun Runner (31 first-place votes, 355 points) firmly holds the lead in the top-ten .Trained by Steve Asmussen for owners Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm the Candy Ride colt is expected to train up to the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 4 at Del Mar.
Arrogate (4 first-place votes, 310 points), who had dominated the poll the first 29 weeks this year for trainer Bob Baffert and Juddmonte Farms, remains in second after his runner-up finish behind stablemate Collected ranked third with (227) in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic, a “Win and You’re In” contest for a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic two weeks ago. Arrogate, the leading earner in North American racing history, remains on target for the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Lady Eli (219) remains in fourth position for Sheep Pond Partners followed by Stellar Wind (214) in fifth for trainer John Sadler.
The complete top-ten In descending order are: Gun Runner (31 first place votes,355 points ); Arrogate (4 first-place votes,310 points); Collected (277); Lady Eli (219); Stellar Wind (214); Mor Spirit (107); Drefong (102); West Coast (1 first-place vote; 90 points); Forever Unbridled (70)and World Approval (55).
The NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll concludes November 6 after the running of the Breeders’ Cup.

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

https://www.ntra.com/ntra-top-thoroughbred-poll-august-14-2017/https://www.ntra.com/ntra-top-thoroughbred-poll-september-11-2017/

Preview of vote by voters can be viewed at:

https://www.ntra.com/wp-content/uploads/Polls-week29-by_voter-2017.pdf https://www.ntra.com/wp-content/uploads/Polls-week33-by_voter-2017.pdf

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 onNTRA.com, Twitter http://e.ntra.com/t/l?ssid=22493&subscriber_id=aegrfrlvuqlspaezjqpofhmsskitbhg&delivery_id=bvjxymtonciqekrtdrezcnritvsabap&td=K-m5bPUA7apkQ7UIk0xrfQ7n-(@ntra) and Facebook(facebook.com/1NTRA).

Cover Photo: Gun Runner; Coady Photography