Nutshell: The second National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s Top Thoroughbred Poll of 2015 was released yesterday with very little change. Shared Belief (all horses) and Dortmund (three-year-olds) retain the top spots.
CHANGE IS BAD: Of the 20 spots available in the two polls, 19 were occupied by horses in last week’s poll. The only horse to drop out: Untapable, second in her seasonal debut in the Grade 2 Azeri at Oaklawn Park. She had been ninth among all horses in last week’s poll.
INDIRECT BENEFICIARY: Salutos Amigos benefited from Untapable’s defeat, moving into 10th position on the Top Thoroughbred Poll. Though he did not race in the week between polls, he has two wins from two starts this year.
THE MORE THINGS STAY THE SAME…: Neither Honor Code nor Constitution raced in the week between polls. No matter: voters saw fit to flip them in the rankings, moving the former up to fourth and the latter down to fifth.
ONE LONELY SOPHOMORE: Dortmund is the only three-year-old to appear on the Top Thoroughbred Poll. He also tops the Top 3-Year-Old Poll. No females appear on the Top Thorougghbred Poll.
WELCOME BACK: Two-year-old champ American Pharoah returned to action this weekend, romping to an easy win in the Grade 2 Rebel at Oaklawn Park. That enabled him to rise from fourth to second in the sophomore poll, the only horse to move up. Outside of the shifts necessitated by his move, the remainder of the poll remained the same.
NTRA TOP THOROUGHBRED POLL
- Shared Belief
- Main Sequence
- California Chrome
- Honor Code
- Constitution
- Bayern
- Lea
- Dortmund
- Wise Dan
- Salutos Amigos[/column]
NTRA TOP 3-YEAR-OLD POLL
- Dortmund
- American Pharoah
- Carpe Diem
- Upstart
- El Kabeir
- International Star
- Far From Over
- Itsaknockout
- Firing Line
- Texas Red[/column]
Note: The Racing Biz writers Nick Hahn and Frank Vespe are voters in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll.
