LITTLE MOVEMENT IN NTRA TOP 3-YEAR-OLD, THOROUGHBRED POLLS

Alicia Hughes/NTRA —-

LEXINGTON, Ky. – With the prep races for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve in the books and little action in the handicap ranks, the status quo held in this week’s National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top 3-Year-Old Poll and NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll.

Omaha Beach, who stamped himself as the likely Kentucky Derby favorite off his victory in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby, continues to sit atop the 3-Year-Old Poll with 27 first-place votes and 376 total points. Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby winner Roadster – one of three Bob Baffert trainees in the top 5 – remains in the second position with 3 first-place votes and 313 points while Juddmonte Farms’ Tacitus sits third with 4 first-place votes and 278 points.

Reigning juvenile male champion Game Winner (3 first-place votes, 273 points) and stablemate Improbable (224 points) are fourth and fifth, respectively, with Grade 1 Xpressbet Florida Derby winner Maximum Security (1 first-place vote, 170 points) moving up one spot in the poll to sixth. Vekoma (146 points), Code of Honor (85), War of Will (61), and By My Standards (44) round out the top 10.

Win Win Win (28 points) received a single first-place vote.

There were also no major shifts in this week’s NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll as Grade 1 winner Bricks and Mortar earned 12 first-place votes and 298 points to retain the top position. Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap winner Gift Box (5 first-place votes, 278 points) also held steady in second with fellow Grade 1 winner Midnight Bisou (3 first-place votes, 244 points) in third.

Champion filly Monomoy Girl (5 first-place votes, 197 points), moved up one spot from last week to fourth with McKinzie (188 points) in fifth. Champion sprinter Roy H (154 points) is sixth followed by City of Light (9 first-place votes, 150 points) and Thunder Snow (IRE) (4 first-place votes, 106 points). World of Trouble (104 points) and X Y Jet (1 first-place vote, 81 points) complete the top 10.

Omaha Beach (22 points) earned a single first-place vote.

The NTRA Top Thoroughbred polls are the sport’s most comprehensive surveys 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.

The NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll concludes November 4 after the running of the Breeders’ Cup.

The Top 3-Year-Old Poll concludes June 8 after the Belmont Stakes.

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

https://www.ntra.com/ntra-top-thoroughbred-poll-april-22-2019/

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

https://www.ntra.com/wp-content/uploads/Polls-week13-by_voter-2019.pdf