NTRA | Horse Racing Free Tips

Knicks Go Maintains Lead Over Letruska In NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll

Korea Racing Stable's 5-year-old horse Knicks Go, the leading contender for the Grade 1, $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 6 at Del Mar, retained his top ranking for the 10th consecutive week in this week's NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll. Knicks Go, a winner of four of six starts this year including his last three races, received 23 first place votes and 340 points.

St. George Stable's 5-year-old mare Letruska remained in second place in the poll with six first place votes and 310 points following an impressive victory in Sunday's Grade 1 Spinster Stakes at Keeneland. Trained by Fausto Gutierrez, Letruska is a leading contender for the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff.

Another Cox trainee, Godolphin's 3-year-old standout colt Essential Quality, who is expected to take on elders for the first time in the Breeders' Cup Classic, remained in third place in this week's poll with seven first place votes and 300 points.

Roadrunner Racing, William Strauss, Boat Racing and Gainesway Stable's Hot Rod Charlie, another leading Classic contender, moved from fifth-place to fourth in this week's poll with 156 points. Kirk and Judy Robison's Jackie's Warrior, a leading contender for the Grade 1, $2,000,000 Breeders' Cup Sprint, fell one spot to fifth-place with 154 points.

Zedan Racing Stable's Breeders' Cup Classic hopeful, Medina Spirit (130 points), moved up one spot to sixth-place, overtaking Michael Lund Peterson's Gamine (127 points), who is being pointed for the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. There were no other changes in this week's rankings with Bruce Lunsford's Art Collector (98 points), George Hall's Max Player (85 points) and Klaravich Stable's Domestic Spending (70 points) rounding out the top 10.

Click here for this week's complete poll results.

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Medina Spirit, Art Collector Jump Into Top 10 Of NTRA Thoroughbred Poll

Knicks Go, Letruska and Essential Quality retained the top three spots, respectively, in this week's NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll while Medina Spirit (seventh) and Art Collector (eighth) moved into the Top 10 following impressive victories in their final tune-ups for the Breeders' Cup World Championships on Nov. 5-6 at Del Mar.

Korea Racing Authority's 5-year-old Knicks Go, who galloped to victory in Saturday's Grade 3 Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs, retained his No. 1 rating in the poll for the ninth straight week. Trained by Brad Cox, Knicks Go is expected to make his next start in the Grade 1 $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 6.

St. George Stable's 5-year-old mare Letruska, who is expected to make her next start this Sunday in the Grade 1 Spinster Stakes at Keeneland, remains in second place in this week's poll. Letruska is a leading contender for the Grade 1, $2,000,000 Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff on Nov. 6.

Godolphin's 3-year-old Essential Quality, also trained by Cox and winner of the Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 28, remained in third place in the weekly poll. Essential Quality is expected to face older horses for the first time in the Classic.

Kirk and Judy Robison's Jackie's Warrior, a leading contender for the Grade 1, $2,000,000 Breeders' Cup Sprint at six furlongs on Nov. 6, jumped two spots in this week's poll to land in fourth position. Roadrunner Racing, William Strauss, Boat Racing, and Gainesway Stable's Hot Rod Charlie, who secured his first Grade 1 victory in the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at Parx on Sept. 25, moved from seventh to fifth place in the poll. Trained by Doug O'Neill, Hot Rod Charlie is expected to make his next start in the Classic.

Michael Lund Peterson's Gamine, a leading contender for the Grade 1, $1,000,000 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint on Nov. 6, fell from fourth to sixth in this week's poll. She was followed in the polling by Zedan Racing Stables' Medina Spirt, an impressive winner of Saturday's Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita and Bruce Lunsford's Art Collector, winner of the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes Saturday at Belmont Park. Max Player and Domestic Spending rounded out the top 10.

Click here for this week's complete poll results.

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Knicks Go Has Home-Field Advantage In Saturday’s Lukas Classic

Korea Racing Authority's Knicks Go, the top-ranked horse in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll after convincing wins in this year's Pegasus World Cup (G1) at Gulfstream Park and Whitney (G1) at Saratoga, was made the overwhelming 2-5 morning line favorite in Saturday's $400,000 Lukas Classic (Grade 3) at Churchill Downs – his final test before tackling the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) on Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

“He's a horse that puts a lot into his training and he's done that leading into Saturday's race,” trainer Brad Cox said. “He's accomplished a lot this year and we believe the Lukas Classic is a good race to compete in prior to the Breeders' Cup. This race doesn't require him to ship and he can run out of his own stall.”

Knicks Go (22-8-3-1—$5,368,995) had a strong 1 ½-mile gallop early Thursday morning prior to schooling in the paddock at 10 a.m. The Maryland-bred competed four times at Churchill Downs while under the care of trainer Ben Colebrook but has not recorded victory beneath the Twin Spires.

Knicks Go is scheduled to face five rivals in the 1 1/8-mile Lukas Classic including Juddmonte's multiple graded stakes winning homebred Tacitus. The gray son of Tapit arrived to trainer Bill Mott's Churchill Downs base earlier in the week from Saratoga. Saturday's race will be the first time Tacitus has competed since finishing seventh in the $20 million Saudi Cup (GI) in February.

The Lukas Classic is carded as the eighth race on Saturday's 11-race program. First post is 12:45 p.m. (all times Eastern) and the Lukas Classic will go at 4:22 p.m. Named after Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, the race shares the Saturday spotlight with the $300,000 Ack Ack (GIII), which goes as Race 10 at 5:26 p.m.

The complete field for the Lukas Classic from the rail out (with jockey, trainer and morning line odds): New Orleans Classic (G2) winner Chess Chief (James Graham, Dallas Stewart, 20-1); Knicks Go (Joel Rosario, Cox, 2-5); $3.7 million earner Tacitus (Jose Lezcano, Mott, 5-2); multiple stakes winner Shared Sense (Brian Hernandez Jr., Cox, 15-1); Pegasus World Cup third Independence Hall (Javier Castellano, Michael McCarthy, 10-1); and West Virginia Governor's (G3) winner Sprawl (Joe Talamo, Tommy Drury Jr., 12-1).

Wagering is available on www.TwinSpires.com, the official ADW of Churchill Downs Incorporated and its family of racetracks.

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US Equestrian, NTRA Launch ‘I Am US Equestrian’ Gator Giveaway

US Equestrian and National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NRTA) have announced a joint contest between the two organizations centered around US Equestrian's “I Am US Equestrian” campaign, meant to challenge the perceptions of who equestrians are and what is means to be an equestrian.

The contest will give away a John Deere TS Gator™ to one lucky winner. The contest will begin today, Sept. 27, and close on Oct. 15, 2021.

The “I Am US Equestrian” Gator Giveaway allows USEF members in good standing to submit one photo and a 250-word description of what it means to be a US Equestrian, highlighting adversities or challenges they have overcome to achieve their individual goals or ambitions within the sport.

The “I Am US Equestrian” campaign was created to uplift underrepresented voices within the sport and highlight what makes equestrians unique, yet still connected through the shared love of horses.

The judging panel will consist of three (3) NTRA employees and two (2) USEF employees, and the winner will be announced by Oct. 25, 2021. Applicants must be 18+ years old to enter. Contest rules can be found in full here.

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