ACCELERATE REMAINS ATOP NTRA POLL AS DIVISIONAL LEADERS PLOT COURSES TO BREEDERS’ CUP

NTRA Communications —-

Leading Breeders’ Cup Classic contender Accelerate retained the top spot in the NTRA Top 10 Thoroughbred Poll for the fourth consecutive week as virtually all of the leading U.S.-based horses train toward their final starts in advance of the Nov. 2-3 Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Churchill Downs.

Owned by Hronis Racing, Accelerate received nine first place votes and 380 total points in this week’s Top 10 poll. The 5-year-old is expected to make his next start in the September 29 Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita. A multiple Grade 1 winner this year on the west coast, Accelerate was made the 3-1 favorite in recently closed future wagering on the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Triple Crown hero Justify, who was retired earlier this summer, remained in second-place in the Top 10 poll with 30 first place votes and 354 points.

Ralph and Lauren Evens Grade I Whitney winner Diversify received the other two first place votes and ranked third in this week’s Top 10 poll with 298 points. Diversify is expected to make his next start in the Jockey Club Gold Cup on September 29 at Belmont Park. Rounding out the top five were a pair of Grade 1-winning fillies: 3-year-old Monomoy Girl (263 points) and the Champion 4-year-old Abel Tasman (211 points).

Two versatile Grade 1 winners on turf and dirt, Belmont Derby and Travers Stakes winner Catholic Boy (162 points) and Old Forrester Turf Classic and Woodward Stakes winner Yoshida (143 points), ranked sixth and seventh, respectively, in this week’s Top 10 poll. Both are being pointed for the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Sistercharlie (96 points) ranked eighth in the Top 10 poll and was followed by in the voting by Catalina Cruiser (85 points) and Mind Your Biscuits (82 points), who flipped-flopped positions from last week to again round out this week’s top 10.

The NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll is the sport’s most comprehensive survey of experts. 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. All horses that have raced in the U.S., are in training in the U.S., or are known to be pointing to a major event in the U.S. are eligible for the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll, which continues until November 5, after the Breeders’ Cup World Championships.

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

https://www.ntra.com/ntra-top-thoroughbred-poll-september-10-2018/

Full accounting of top 10 votes by voter can be found at:

https://www.ntra.com/wp-content/uploads/Polls-week33-by_voter-2018.pdf

About the NTRA
The NTRA, based in Lexington, Ky., 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 owns and manages the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance; NTRA.com; the Eclipse Awards; the National Horseplayers 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).