Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes winner American Pharoah who became America’s 12th Triple Crown winner after breaking a thirty-seven year draught since 1978 on June 6 at Belmont Park remains the unanimous leader of his division and now for all horses of all ages in the latest NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll, results of which were released today. The Pioneerof the Nile colt received all 41 first-place votes for 410 points.

The following eight finishers remain the same from last week’s results with Eclipse Award champion Shared Belief in second with (313 points) followed by Honor Code (302), 2014 Horse of the Year champ California Chrome (259), Eclipse Award winner Main Sequence (167), Tonalist (153), Noble Bird (106), Eclipse champion Beholder (89) and Lea (78).

Moving in the tenth slot and new to the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll is the recent winner from this past Saturday’s  Grade I  Santa Anita Gold Cup,  the five-year-old horse Hard Aces with (42) points after a thriller of a finish by just beating Hoppertunity by a nose at the wire.

Eligible media cast votes for their top 10 horses, with points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.  The Top Thoroughbred Poll is conducted weekly through the Monday, November 2 following the Breeders’ Cup World Championships which will be held at Keeneland Race Course, Lexington, Ky., October 29 and 30.

The NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll concluded after the Belmont Stakes.


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  1. American Pharoah
  2. Shared Belief
  3. Honor Code
  4. California Chrome
  5. Main Sequence
  6. Tonalist
  7. Noble Bird
  8. Beholder
  9. Lea
  10. Hard Aces
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Note: The Racing Biz writers Nick Hahn and Frank Vespe are voters in this poll.