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Authentic Ascends To The Lead In NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll

At every point of call in the 146th edition of the Kentucky Derby, Authentic found himself in front of his sophomore rivals. When the votes were tallied in the latest National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top Three-Year-Old Poll, the son of Into Mischief was again the one who could not be caught as he takes over sole position of the No. 1 spot from longtime leader Tiz the Law.

Authentic, who last held the top spot in the poll on March 23, captured the September 5 Kentucky Derby in frontrunning style, besting heavily favored Tiz the Law by 1 ¼-lengths. The victory not only provided Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert his record-tying sixth triumph in the 10-furlong classic, it earned Authentic 21 first-place votes and 354 total points as he improved his overall mark to five wins from six career starts.

Owned by Spendthrift Farm, My Racehorse, Madaket Stables, and Starlight Racing, Authentic previously annexed the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes on July 18 for his first top-level triumph. He and stablemate Thousand Words, who was a late scratch in the Kentucky Derby after rearing and falling the paddock, are both expected to contest the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on October 3.

“If they're working well and all going well, they'll go to the Preakness,” Baffert said from Churchill Downs on Sunday. “We're planning on both if they're doing well.”

The Kentucky Derby marked the first loss for Tiz the Law since last November but the Grade 1 Belmont and Travers Stakes winner didn't lose much regard among pundits. The son of Constitution still earned 16 first-place votes and 349 points this week as he dropped one spot to second.

Blue Grass Stakes winner Art Collector, who had to miss the Kentucky Derby due to a minor foot injury, ranks third with 259 points, just ahead of Honor A. P. (258 points), who finished fourth in the “Run for the Roses.”

Kentucky Oaks runner-up Swiss Skydiver (134 points) ranks fifth followed by Thousand Words (131), and Oaks heroine Shedaresthedevil, who joins the top 10 in the seventh spot with 90 points.

Max Player, fifth in the Kentucky Derby, sits eighth with 85 points as King Guillermo (79 points), and beaten Oaks favorite Gamine (72) complete the top 10.

With Authentic taking over the top spot in the sophomore ranks, Baffert now trains the No. 1 ranked horses on both weekly polls as champion Maximum Security continues to hold down first place in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll.

The 4-year-old son of New Year's Day earned 26 first-place votes and 340 points to maintain the lead position in the wake of his most recent triumph in the August 22 Grade 1 Pacific Classic Stakes.

Multiple Grade 1 winner Vekoma remains in second with 8 first-place votes and 260 points followed by Tom's d'Etat (3 first-place votes, 232 points) and fellow Grade 1 winner Improbable (198 points).

Champion Monomoy Girl moves up to fifth with 197 points after capturing the Grade 1 La Troienne Stakes on September 4, her third victory in as many starts this season. By My Standards, who won the Grade 2 Alysheba Stakes on the Oaks undercard, advances four positions to sixth with 150 points followed by champion Midnight Bisou (146 points) and Tiz the Law (128). Authentic joins the Top Thoroughbred Poll for the first time in ninth with 111 points as multiple Grade 1 winner Rushing Fall (78 points) rounds out the top 10.

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. Voting in both the Top Three-Year-Old Poll and the Top Thoroughbred Poll is scheduled to be conducted through the conclusion of the Breeders' Cup in November.

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Tiz The Law Reigns Over NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll Ahead Of Kentucky Derby Bid

Tiz the Law has spent much of his 2020 season in the driver's seat where divisional bragging rights are concerned and the son of Constitution will take that lofty status into his expected run in the 146th edition of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on September 5.

Trained by Barclay Tagg for Sackatoga Stable, Tiz the Law has been the clear choice among voters in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top Three-Year-Old Poll for several weeks.The Belmont and Travers Stakes winner remains the dominant figure heading into the “Run for the Roses” with 35 first-place votes and 350 points. Should he prevail in the Kentucky Derby, it would mark his fifth career Grade 1 victory.

A win in the 1 ¼-miles classic would also be a second victory in the race for both Tagg and Sackatoga Stable, who teamed up to win the 2003 Kentucky Derby with Funny Cide, who became the first and so far only New York-bred to win the prestigious event.

“He is a fairly easy horse to train and just does it,” Tagg said of Tiz the Law. “He's got a good constitution. He's fast, of course, and is willing to do what you ask him to do. Everything just kind of falls into place with him.”

Blue Grass Stakes winner Art Collector remains in second with 280 points followed by Honor A. P. (252 points) and fellow Grade 1 winner Authentic (219).

Gamine, who was deemed the even-money, morning-line favorite for the September 4 Kentucky Oaks, sits in the fifth position with 185 points while her top Oaks rival, Swiss Skydiver, is sixth with 182 points. Thousand Words (123 points) holds in seventh with King Guillermo (107), Ny Traffic (83) and Max Player (48) completing the top 10.

There was little change in the top 10 in this week's NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll as champion Maximum Security holds first place for a second straight week with 16 first-place votes and 311 points.
The 4-year-old bay colt has won both of his starts since being transferred to the barn of Bob Baffert having captured Grade 2 San Diego Handicap on July 25 and most recently taking the August 22 Grade 1 Pacific Classic Stakes.

Multiple Grade 1-winner Vekoma remains in second with 6 first-place votes and 264 points. Tom's d'Etat (3 first-place votes, 223 points) is third followed by Grade 1 Whitney Stakes-winner Improbable (216 points) in fourth.

Tiz the Law (10 first-place votes, 200 points) ranks fifth and is the lone sophomore in the top 10 of the Thoroughbred Poll. Champion distaffer Midnight Bisou sits in the sixth position with 167 points while multiple Grade 1-winner Rushing Fall (105 points) moves up one spot to seventh.
Zulu Alpha (102 points) ranks eighth followed by champion Monomoy Girl (76 points) and By My Standards (63 points) to round out the top 10.

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Champion Maximum Security Back Out Front In NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll

Champion Maximum Security asserted his class when he captured the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar on August 22, an effort that has once again moved the son of New Year's Day to the head of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top Thoroughbred Poll.

In earning his tenth career triumph and fourth top-level victory, Maximum Security secured 16 first-place votes and 343 points to take the lead in the poll for the first time since March 2. The 4-year-old bay colt has won both of his starts since being transferred to the barn of Bob Baffert having previously annexed the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap on July 25 in his first start under the care of the Hall of Fame trainer.

“He was a totally different horse today,” Baffert told the Del Mar publicity team after the Pacific Classic. He (jockey Abel Cedillo) got to know 'Max' last time and I'm happy for him. (Maximum Security) just does things effortlessly. He wasn't even blowing when he came back. I'm just so happy for this horse. It's not his fault what he went through. Today he showed that he is a great horse.”

With Maximum Security taking over the top spot, fellow multiple Grade 1-winner Vekoma drops one position to No. 2 with 8 first-place votes and 297 points. Tom's d'Etat (3 first-place votes, 250 points) is now third followed by Grade 1 Whitney Stakes-winner Improbable (232 points) in fourth.

Top sophomore Tiz the Law (11 first-place votes, 228 points) remains in fifth, just ahead of champion distaffer Midnight Bisou in sixth with 204 points. Zulu Alpha (109 points) ranks seventh while the Chad Brown-trained Rushing Fall (102 points) jumps up three spots to eighth on the strength of her triumph in the Grade 1 Diana Stakes on August 23.

Champion Monomoy Girl (1 first-place vote and 96 points) and By My Standards (81 points) round out the top 10.

With the September 5 Kentucky Derby less than two weeks away, Belmont and Travers Stakes hero Tiz the Law remains the leader in the NTRA Top Three-Year-Old Poll with 39 first-place votes and 390 points.

Blue Grass Stakes winner Art Collector remains in second with 320 points followed by Honor A. P. (274 points) and fellow Grade 1 winner Authentic (249).

After being tied for the fifth spot last week, Gamine now owns that position outright with 207 points – one point more than her expected Kentucky Oaks rival Swiss Skydiver (206). Thousand Words (138 points) holds in seventh with King Guillermo (102), Ny Traffic (77) and Travers runner-up Caracaro (60) completing the top 10.

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Tiz The Law Continues To Reign On NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll

Having added a dominant victory in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes to his already accomplished resume, Tiz the Law's status as the top sophomore runner in the country was further reinforced Monday when the son of Constitution earned 39 first-place votes and 390 total points to remain the clear leader on the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top Three-Year-Old Poll. Beginning with his seasonal debut victory in the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes, Tiz the Law has won his four starts in 2020 by a combined 16 ½ lengths. After becoming the first New York-bred in 138 years to win the Belmont Stakes, Tiz the Law became just the third New York-bred Travers winner and first since Thunder Rumble in 1992 when he annexed the Mid-Summer Derby by 5 ½ lengths on August 8. Trained by Barclay Tagg for owner Sackatoga Stable, Tiz the Law will now point to the Kentucky Derby on September 5 at Churchill Downs and currently sits atop the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 372 qualifying points.

“He'll gallop every day,” Tagg told the NYRA publicity team. “He'll have about 10 days before we breeze him again. We'll probably only be able to get two breezes in him before we go out there. We'll go out there a week ahead of time.” Joining Tiz the Law in uncorking a statement-making performance this past weekend was Bruce Lunsford's Art Collector, who captured the Ellis Park Derby on August 9. That effort, combined with his win in the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes on July 11, earned Art Collector 296 points to move him up to second in the poll. “Everything that we've wanted him to do, he's done,” trainer Tommy Drury said of Art Collector following his Ellis Park victory. “We're going into the race exactly the way we want to go into it.” Honor A. P., who finished second in the Shared Belief Stakes on August 1, drops one spot to third with 277 points with Grade 1 Haskell Stakes victor Authentic (264 points) in fourth. Top filly Gamine (204 points) moves up five spots to fifth in the wake of her handy victory in the Grade 1 Test Stakes on August 8 and she is followed in the rankings by her stablemate Thousand Words (162), who won the Shared Belief Stakes on August 1. Graded stakes-winner King Guillermo (103 points) is seventh while Haskell runner-up Ny Traffic (99) and Swiss Skydiver (78) rank eighth and ninth, respectively. Caracaro, second behind Tiz the Law in the Travers, joins the top 10 for the first time with 71 points. There was relatively little movement in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll as multiple Grade 1-winner Vekoma earned 13 first-place votes and 312 points to maintain the lead position for a second week. Fellow top-level winner Tom's d'Etat (3 first-place votes, 271 points) holds in second followed by Grade 1 Whitney Stakes-winner Improbable (5 first-place votes, 268 points) in third. Champion Maximum Security (5 first-place votes, 239 points) maintains the fourth spot with fellow Eclipse Award-winner Midnight Bisou (228 points) in fifth. Tiz the Law (12 first-place votes, 215 points) moved up two spots to sixth followed by champion Monomoy Girl with 1 first-place vote and 115 points. Zulu Alpha (113 points) ranks eighth while By My Standards (96) and Gamine (42) round out the top 10. 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. Voting in both the Top Three-Year-Old Poll and the Top Thoroughbred Poll is scheduled to be conducted through the conclusion of the Breeders' Cup in November.

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