sign in sign up
<<
Home , Essential Quality, Known Agenda, Malathaat, Medina Spirit, Midnight Bourbon, Southwest Stakes

News Release ______

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Kevin Kerstein Publicity Manager Racetrack (610) 420-6971 (mobile) (502) 635-4712 (office) [email protected]

CHAMPION TOPS 326 EARLY TRIPLE CROWN NOMINEES

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021) – Led by 2-year-old champion and two-time Grade I winner Essential Quality, a total of 326 3-year-old were made eligible to compete in this year’s Triple Crown during the early nomination phase, which closed Jan. 23.

Each of the 326 horses from the 2018 foal crop were made eligible through a $600 payment to compete in any leg of the Triple Crown series. The 2021 Triple Crown opens Saturday, May 1 with the 147th running of the 1 ¼-mile Presented by Woodford Reserve (GI) at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. The 146th Preakness, its 1 3/16-mile second jewel, is set for Saturday, May 15 at in Baltimore, Md. The 153rd running of the , the series’ 1 ½-mile final leg, is scheduled for Saturday, June 5 at in Elmont, N.Y.

Essential Quality, owned by Godolphin, is scheduled to make his 3-year-old debut in the $750,000 (GIII) on Feb. 15 at Oaklawn, according to his trainer Brad Cox. The champion 2-year-old of 2020 was one of 14 horses Cox nominated to this year’s Triple Crown series.

Trainer led all conditioners with 45 horses nominated to the Triple Crown followed by (23), (22) and Chad Brown (18).

Godolphin led all individual owners with 11 horses nominated followed by Brad Kelley’s Calumet Farm with 10.

Overall, 42 stakes winners were nominated to the Triple Crown. Among them are Brooklyn Strong (Remsen); Caddo River (); Capo Kane (Jerome); Fire At Will (Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf); Get Her Number (); Greatest Honour (); Jackie’s Warrior (Champagne); Keepmeinmind (Kentucky Jockey Club); Life Is Good (Sham); (Robert B. Lewis); (Lecomte); Senor Buscador (Springboard Mile); Sittin On Go (Iroquois); Spielberg (Los Al Futurity).

Total nominations were 21 fewer horses than last year’s 347 during the early stage, a slip of 6.1%.

Early Triple Crown Nominees by the numbers:  $1.5 million: Tied for the highest public auction purchase price between Conquer the World (2019 Fasig Tipton August) and Golden Whim (2019 September Yearling).  265: Number of Kentucky-bred horses. Other states represented are California (5), Florida (14), Illinois (1), Louisiana (2), Maryland (1), New Jersey (1), New York (17), Pennsylvania (2), Virginia (1), Washington (2) and West Virginia (1).  20: Horses produced by top sire Into Mischief. He’s followed by (14), Uncle Mo (14) and Constitution (13).  14: Horses foaled outside of the United States. Other countries are Canada (7), Ireland (4) and Japan (3).  13: Number fillies that were nominated. Among them are champion 2-year-old filly and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (GI) winner Vequist and Ashland (GI) winner Simply Ravishing.  5: Number of horses nominated who are based in Japan including Zennippon Nisai Yushun winner Alain Barows (JPN) and Cattelya Sho winner Lemon Pop.

Horses not nominated during the early phase can be made eligible until Monday, March 29 with a $6,000 payment. Any horse not nominated during the early or late phases can become Triple Crown eligible through payment of a supplemental nomination fee due at the time of entry for each Triple Crown race: the Kentucky Derby ($200,000), Preakness ($100,000) and Belmont ($50,000).

-more- Early Triple Crown Nominees Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021 Page 2 of 3

Thirteen horses have swept the Triple Crown series: (1919), (1930), (1935), (1937), (1941), (1943), (1946), (1948), (1973), (1977), (1978), American Pharoah (2015) and (2018).

2021 Triple Crown Nominees (in alphabetical order):

(18)Highestmaintenance Camp Hope Dream Shake Get Her Number (18)Rose to Gold Candy Man Rocket Dreamer's Disease Ghazaaly (18)Vivo Per Lei Cantata Du Jour Ghostliner (18)White Waves Capo Kane Dupuis Global Appeal Affable Captain Fantastic Dyn O Mite Goddard Alain Barows (JPN) Cardinal Bird Dynamic One Golden Spoke Alejandro Carillo Earls Rock (IRE) Golden Whim All Bodes Well Cash Rocket El Socio Greatest Honour Amazing Rocket Cathkin Peak (IRE) Elector Gretzky the Great American Drama Cazadero Eleven Central Grey Storm Amount Chaos Reigns Emperor's Cause Hachure Angkor Chargeittothegame Epic Run Harbored Memories Annex Circumvent Essential Quality Harvard Arabian Prince Clairiere Everesting Hello Hot Rod Atlantic Road Classier Exalted Charm He's in Charge Avenue Kid Exalted Joy He'smyhoneybadger Aviano Collaborate Excellent Timing Hidden Stash Awesome Gerry Colonel Bowman Fairchild High Yield Kitten B C Glory Days Concert Tour Federal Bureau Higher Quality Baltasar Conquer the World Fenway Highly Motivated Beep Beep Continental Coins Fighting Force Hold the Salsa Behavin Myself Cool Rags Find New Roads Bennyfromthebronx Core Curriculum Fire At Will Houdini's Awesome Best Bet Count Tolstoy Fire Sword Hozier Bezos Country Captain First Task Hudson Ridge Big Fish Cowan Fly Like an Eagle Hush of a Storm Big Flame Cronus Following Sea Hyperfocus Big Lake Crowded Trade Fortified I Am the Law Big Thorn Danish Ekati Founder Imperial Road Blue Boon Defeater France Go de Ina Inspector Frost Bobby Bo Defunded Freedom Fighter Inspiration Point Bold Minister Deservedly Frozen Assets Isolate Bourbonic Devils Sky Full Charge It's a Gamble Bracken Dis Ones On Fire Full Court Press Jackie's Warrior Breadman Do the Honors Future Victory Jasper Dream Brooklyn Strong Dolder Grand Gagetown Jirafales By George Donegal Bay Garoppolo Joe Man Joe Caddo River D'oro Forever Genomic Keepmeinmind Call of Honor Dr Ardito Gershwin Khafre Kinetic Sky O Besos Rosenquist Taita King Fury Ocean Ride Royal Realm Tallis Kingdom Warrior One Fast Cat Royal Tryst Taraashoq King's Ovation One Two Kid Run Classic Tarantino Knopfler Ottothelegend Runway Magic Tesoro Outadore Saffa's Day Texas Royalty Koolhaus Outasite Sainthood The Chosen Vron La Perouse (JPN) Overtook Santa Cruiser The Great One Lady Speightspeare Papetu Santos to Wilson There Goes Harvard Laker Mamba Parnelli Savile Row Tivoli Twirl Lamutanaatty Partner's Hope Scales of Justice Tiwanaku Laurel River Patron d'Oro Scarlet Fusion Tiz Tact Toe Law Professor Pauline's Pearl Scarred Too Boss Leblon Perfect Cut Senor Buscador Traveller Lemon Pop Perfect Munnings Shackqueenking Triple Tap Life Is Good Petruchio Shadow Matter Troubadour Like the King Pickin' Time Shaftesbury Tulsa Tornado Likeable Prate Simovitch Ubiquitous Lucky Law (IRE) Prevalence Simply Ravishing Ultimate Badger Magnificent Primary Endpoint Sir Ollie d'Oro Malathaat Prime Factor Sittin On Go Unbridled Honor Prince Ziggy Smiley Sobotka Unembellished Masqueparade Private Network Son of Thunder Uno Medina Spirit Promise Keeper Sososubtle Untreated Midnight Bourbon Proxy Soup and Sandwich Value Creation Millean Publicly Available Souper Sensational Vanishing Point Money Mike Q B One Southern District Vequist Moonlite Strike Racarino Speaker's Corner Warbird Mubtadaa Ram Speight'spercomete Warrant Mucho Del Oro Ranger Fox Speightstown Shirl Warrior in Chief Mutasaabeq Realm of Law Spielberg Waspirant Mutasallem Rebel's Romance (IRE) Spirit Maker Whiskey Double My Favorite Uncle Red Flag Stage Raider Whitaker Myopic Regal Run Stainless Steel Whole Shebang (JPN) Naco Ricochet Star Sailor Wildcat Nation Naismith Ridin With Biden Starrininmydreams Will E Sutton Never Surprised Rightandjust Stayin' Out Late Winfromwithin Newyearsblockparty Risk Taking Super Stock Wipe the Slate Next River Redemption Super Strong Wolfie's Dynaghost Nicky the Vest Road Bible Swiftsure World Cruiser Notable Exception Swing Low Zaajel Notary Roman Centurian Swingman Nova Rags Swot Analysis

-END-