CLASSIC EMPIRE TAKES FIRST PLACE, NTRA TOP 3-YEAR-OLD POLL ARROGATE REMAINS IN FIRST PLACE

Joan Lawrence/NTRA —-

Classic Empire; Coady Photography

CLASSIC EMPIRE TAKES FIRST PLACE, NTRA TOP 3-YEAR-OLD POLL
ARROGATE REMAINS IN FIRST PLACE & UNANIMOUS CHOICE, NTRA TOP THOROUGHBRED POLL

(Receives all 41 first-place votes)

Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Monday, April 17, 2017) – The “Road to the Kentucky Derby” ran its last two final champion Derby prep races for three-year-olds and with it came along some changes but not a clear runaway choice in week 12 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 (13 first-place votes, 359 points) ranked seventh last week slides into first after winning the Arkansas Derby (GI) at Oaklawn Park this past Saturday. The Pioneer of the Nile colt trained by Mark Casse is ranked second with 132 qualifying points on the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard for a starting berth in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 6.

Having been ranked in first-place on the poll last week Always Dreaming (12 first-place votes; 310 points) relinquished his position from first to second. The G1 Florida Derby winner is currently ranked seventh on the Kentucky Derby Leader board with 100 qualifying points 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.

Irish War Cry (6 first-place votes, 301 points) slides down a notch from second to third. The G2 Wood Memorial Curlin colt is owned and breed by Isabelle de Tomaso and trained by Graham Motion. The sophomore is ranked fifth with 110 qualifying Derby points.

Ranked fourth is the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) winner, Girvin (1 first place vote, 248 points). The Brad Grady, Joe Sharp trainee is ranked number one on the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard with 150 points.

Ian Wilkes trainee McCraken (3 first-place votes, 196 points) remains in fifth on the top-ten after finishing third in the G2 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. Owned by Whitham Thoroughbreds LLC the Ghostzapper colt is currently ranked sixteenth with 40 qualifying points on the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard.

Ranked sixth is Peacock Racing Stable is Gunnevera (1 first-place vote, 188 points). Trained by Antonio Sanos, the Dialed In colt is ranked eighth with 84 qualifying points on the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard.

Gormley (1 first-place vote; 134 points ) the Grade I Santa Anita Derby slips from sixth to seventh on the NTRA top-ten ladder. Ridden by Victor Espinoza, trained by John Shirreffs and owned by Jerry and Ann Moss, the Malibu Moon colt is ranked third with a total of 125 Derby qualifying points.

Rounding out the field is: Unique Belle (1 first-place vote; 92 points); Mastery (2 first-place votes; 79 points) and Practical Joke (74).

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.

For the third week in a row the first five top ranked horses remain as status quo on this week’s NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll for horses four and up.

The number one ranked horse, Group 1 $10 million Dubai World Cup winner and Eclipse Award champion Arrogate (41 first place votes; 410 points) with earnings of $17,084,600 is to take some time and freshen up as he prepares for his next engagement, the G1 $1 million TVG Pacific Classic on August 19 at Del Mar Race Course according to his trainer Bob Baffert and owner Juddmonte Farm.

Standing in second in the top-ten is the second place finisher from the Dubai World Cup, Gun Runner (357) for trainer Steve Asmussen and Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm.

Grade I Santa Anita Handicapped winner Shaman Ghost (296) remains in third for trainer Jimmy Jerkens and Stronach Stables.

2016 Eclipse Champion Female Songbird (240) remains in fourth for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer followed by Neolithic (150) in fifth.

Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen winner the New York bred, Mind Your Biscuits (135) moves up a step in sixth for the 32-year-old trainer Chad Summers with Eclipse Award Turf Champion Tepin (133) dropping down a notch to seventh for trainer Mark Casse.

Ranked eighth after making her first start since finishing fourth in the Breeders’ Cup for the first time is the Grade I Apple Bloom Handicap winner Stellar Wind (105) for owners Hronis Racing LLC and trainer John Sadler. The now 5-year-old Curlin mare, voted champion 3-year-old filly of 2015, improved her career record to eight wins from 14 starts.

Rounding out the last two places on the top-ten are: Vale Dori (78) and Lady Eli (34).

The NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll concludes November 6 after the running of the Breeders’ Cup.

The full results for both NTRA weekly Thoroughbred polls can be found on the NTRA website at:https://www.ntra.com/ntra-top-thoroug…ll-april-17-2017/

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).