Stablemates Authentic, Maximum Security Hold Strong Atop NTRA Polls

While trainer Bob Baffert has been working the yearling sales in recent days seeking out his next stable star, the Hall of Fame conditioner has been able to lay claim to having the top-ranked runners in two of racing’s glamour divisions.

For the second straight week, Kentucky Derby winner Authentic leads the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top Three-Year-Old Poll while his stablemate, champion Maximum Security, heads up the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll.

Authentic captured the September 5 Kentucky Derby in frontrunning fashion to give Baffert his record-tying sixth triumph in the 10-furlong classic. The son of Into Mischief earned 23 first-place votes and 356 points to lead the poll with Tiz the Law, beaten favorite in the Kentucky Derby, sitting second with 14 first-place votes and 347 points.

Owned by Spendthrift Farm, My Racehorse, Madaket Stables, and Starlight Racing, Authentic is expected to contest the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on October 3.

Blue Grass Stakes winner Art Collector, who had to miss the Kentucky Derby due to a minor foot injury but is also on track for a start in the Preakness Stakes, remains third with 263 points, one point ahead of Grade 1 winner Honor A. P. (262).

Kentucky Oaks runner-up Swiss Skydiver (140 points) is fifth, just ahead of Thousand Words (139), while Oaks heroine Shedaresthedevil sits seventh with 97 points

Gamine, the beaten favorite in the Kentucky Oaks, moves up two spots this week to eighth with 86 points followed by King Guillermo (78 points) and Max Player (77) completing the top 10.

Maximum Security, who captured the Grade 1 Pacific Classic Stakes on August 22, holds a commanding advantage in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll with 27 first-place votes and 347 points. The 4-year-old son of New Year’s Day has won his last six starts including victories in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational and Grade 1 Cigar Mile last season.

Multiple Grade 1 winner Vekoma remains in second with 7 first-place votes and 263 points followed by Tom’s d’Etat (3 first-place votes, 227 points), who on Monday turned in his first workout since finishing third in the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes on August 1.

Champion Monomoy Girl moves up to fourth with 211 points on the heels of her victory in the Grade 1 La Troienne Stakes on September 4 while Whitney Stakes-winner Improbable (197 points) ranks fifth.

By My Standards, who captured the Grade 2 Alysheba Stakes on the Oaks undercard, remains sixth with 158 points followed by champion Midnight Bisou (156 points) and Tiz the Law (131). Authentic (116 points) and multiple Grade 1 winner Rushing Fall (85) round out the top 10.

The NTRA Top Thoroughbred polls are the sport’s most comprehensive surveys of experts. Every week eligible journalists and broadcasters cast votes for their top 10 horses, with points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. All horses that have raced in the U.S., are in training in the U.S., or are known to be pointing to a major event in the U.S. are eligible for the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll. Voting in both the Top Three-Year-Old Poll and the Top Thoroughbred Poll is scheduled to be conducted through the conclusion of the Breeders’ Cup in November.