LOUISVILLE, KY. (Wednesday, March 23, 2016) \u2013 The roster of 3-year-old Thoroughbreds eligible to compete for the honor of succeeding Zayat Stables\u2019 American Pharoah as the 12th horse to sweep the American Triple Crown has climbed to 377 after nine horses were made eligible for the coveted three-race series during its late nomination phase that closed just before midnight (EDT) on Monday, March 21.<\/p>\n
The owners of eight colts and one gelding paid a fee of $6,000 during the late nomination phase to make their horses eligible to run in the 2016 renewals of classic races that includes the 142nd running of the 1 \u00bc-mile $2 million Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I), which will be run on Saturday, May 7 at Churchill Downs; the $1.5 million Preakness (GI), the 1 3\/16-mile second jewel that will be renewed for the 141st time on Saturday, May 21 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.; and the 148th renewal of the 1 \u00bd-mile $1.5 million Belmont Stakes (GI), which is set for Saturday, June 11 at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.<\/p>\n
The list of late nominees to this year\u2019s Triple Crown:<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Stonehedge LLC\u2019s Abiding Star, a Florida-bred son of Uncle Mo and winner of the Private Terms at Laurel for trainer Edward Allard;<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Gary and Mary West\u2019s American Pioneer, a Kentucky-bred son of Awesome Again that was a four-length winner of a March 19 maiden race at Oaklawn Park for trainer Wayne Catalano;<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Highclere America and McConnell Racing Stable, Wachtel Stable and D. Bilinski\u2019s Cards of Stone, a New York-bred gelding by Bustin Stones that won a restricted allowance\/optional claiming race by 13 lengths for trainer Todd Pletcher;<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Jump Sucker Stable and Oak Bluff Stable\u2019s Governor Malibu, a New York-bred son of Malibu Moon and winner of the Gander at Aqueduct for trainer Christophe Clement;<\/p>\n
\u00b7 DB DOJO LLC\u2019s Isofass, a Florida-bred son of Rodman with one win in four races for trainer Francis \u201cTrey\u201d Abbott III;<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Michael J. Bruder\u2019s Lookin for a Kiss, a Kentucky-bred son of Lookin At Lucky with one win in two races and a recent transfer to trainer Mike Tomlinson;<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Sheep Pond Partners, Newport Stables LLC and Jay W. Bligh\u2019s My Man Sam, a Kentucky-bred son of Trappe Shot with one win in three races at Aqueduct for trainer Chad Brown;<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Beverly Anderson and Edward Seltzer\u2019s homebred Surgical Strike, a Kentucky-bred son of Red Giant who won Turfway Park\u2019s John Battaglia Memorial for trainer Ben Colebrook; and<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Lloyd Madison Farm IV LLC\u2019s Kentucky-bred Zapperini, a homebred Ghostzapper colt with one win and a fifth in the Risen Star (GII) in three career races for trainer Greg Foley.
\nLast year\u2019s Triple Crown attracted 438 nominations, which included 429 early nominees and nine made eligible during the late nomination phase.<\/p>\n
The late nomination of Cards of Stone lifted the 2016 Triple Crown nomination total for seven-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher to 29, which remains below his 2015 total of 34. Pletcher has three wins in Triple Crown races on his r\u00e9sum\u00e9. With his nomination of My Man Sam, trainer Chad Brown\u2019s nominee total rose to 13, which ranks second among trainers.<\/p>\n
The Kentucky Derby field has been limited to 20 starters since 1975 and the horses that enter the starting gate for its 2016 renewal will again be determined by points earned in the \u201cRoad to the Kentucky Derby\u201d eligibility system, which debuted in 2013. If entries to the Derby total more than the maximum field of 20, up to four \u201calso eligible\u201d entrants will be permitted. If one or more entrants scratch from the 20-horse Kentucky Derby field prior to 9 a.m. Friday, May 6, the also-eligible horse or horses with highest preference in the \u201cRoad to the Kentucky Derby\u201d system assume the empty stalls in the starting gate.
\nThe Preakness is limited to 14 starters, while the Belmont Stakes permits a maximum field of 16 horses.<\/p>\n
Three-year-olds not nominated to the Triple Crown during either the early or late nomination phases have a final opportunity to become eligible for the three-race series by payment of supplemental nomination fees. Due at the time of entry for either the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness or the Belmont Stakes, the supplemental fee process makes a horse eligible for the remainder of the Triple Crown series. A supplemental nomination at the time of entry to the Kentucky Derby requires payment of $200,000. The fee is $150,000 if paid prior to the Preakness or $75,000 at time of entry to the Belmont Stakes.<\/p>\n
Churchill Downs adjusted its entry process in 2014 to permit horses that are made supplemental nominations prior to the Kentucky Derby to be treated the same as original nominees. If one or more supplemental nominees possess sufficient \u201cRoad to the Kentucky Derby\u201d points to qualify for the Derby field, they will be allowed to start over original nominees that possess lesser qualifications. Under its previous policy, Churchill Downs gave preference in all cases to early and late Triple Crown nominees.<\/p>\n
Information on the Triple Crown nomination process is available at www.theTripleCrown.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LOUISVILLE, KY. (Wednesday, March 23, 2016) – The roster of 3-year-old Thoroughbreds eligible to compete for the honor of succeeding Zayat Stables’ American Pharoah as the 12th horse to sweep the American Triple Crown has climbed to 377 after nine horses were made eligible for the coveted three-race series during its late nomination phase that closed just before midnight (EDT) on Monday, March 21.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5114,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[97,52,2044],"tags":[253],"class_list":["post-5112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english-events-magazine","category-events-magazine","category-magazine","tag-kentucky-derby"],"yoast_head":"\n