Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands, Triple Crown Attract 366 Nominations

Feb 07, 2010 Gene Williams

The cream of this year’s crop of 3-year-old Thoroughbreds has risen to the top once again as 366 members of that class have been nominated early for the 2010 renewals of America’s three classic races that comprise horse racing’s highly sought Triple Crown.

The first of the classics – the 136th Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands – will be run May 1 at Louisville’s Churchill Downs, to be fol­lowed by the 135th Preakness Stakes on May 15 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore and the 142nd Belmont Stakes on June 5 at New York’s Belmont Park. The early nomina­tion period, at $600 per horse, closed Saturday, Jan. 16. A late period for nominations, at $6,000 each, will close on Saturday, March 27.

At the head of the 2010 class are American Eclipse Award 2-year-old champion Lookin At Lucky, owned by 1998 Kentucky Derby and Preakness-winning owner Mike Pe­gram and partners Karl Watson and Paul Weit­man, and 2009 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Vale of York, who represents Godolphin Racing of Dubai. Lookin At Lucky is trained by Bob Baffert, a three-time winner of both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness who was ushered into rac­ing’s Hall of Fame last summer. Vale of York is trained by Saeed bin Suroor for Go­dolphin’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, who has overseen the development of that massive racing operation into a worldwide racing powerhouse. Vale of York and Lookin At Lucky, just a head apart in their memorable 1-2 in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, are joined on the roster of Triple Crown nominees by all the other runners from that race except the Irish-bred Alfred Nobel.

In addition, eight fillies, including Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner and Eclipse Award 2-year-old filly champion She Be Wild and multiple Grade I win­ner Blind Luck, who finished third in the Juvenile Fillies before winning the Hollywood Starlet, are nominated for the Triple Crown.

The 2010 early nomination total is down from the 401 3-year-olds initially made eligible for the three-race series in 2009.  Eleven horses were added to the overall list during last year’s late nomination phase.

“Our nomination total is down a bit, but the 366 horses on the roster of nominees represent as deep a field of quality prospects as we’ve seen over the years,” said Donald R. Richardson, senior vice president, racing, for Churchill Downs Incorporated.  “All the major players in the United States have come forward for these classics and have been joined by 17 representatives from abroad. The list includes eight of the top nine horses from the 2009 Experimental Free Handicap for 2-year-old males, along with the fillies that were considered the top two of their gender in 2009, so it’s clear that interest in this special series of classics that include the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes remains deep and widespread.”   

Of the 17 overseas nominees, eight – led by Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Vale of York and promising recent purchase Tahitian Warrior – are part of the ongoing bid by Godolphin Racing to capture the Kentucky Derby, one of the few major races in the world that has eluded Sheikh Mohammed. The rest of the overseas contingent hail from England and Ireland and include horses conditioned by trainers such as John Gosden, Aidan O’Brien, Dermot Weld and Jeremy Noseda.

After giving way to two-time Eclipse Award winner Steve Asmussen to end a six-year run as the trainer nominating the most horses to the Triple Crown, Todd Pletcher returns to that familiar spot this year with 20 nomi­nees. Making a spectacular return to the big stage this year is Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who made a habit to be at the head of the list for nomina­tions. Lukas’ presence among the major nominators has diminished in recent years, but he returned with a vengeance in 2010 with 19 nominations, which ranks second on the list. Lukas has won 13 Triple Crown races and is tied for the highest career total of Triple Crown wins with Hall of Fame trainer “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons, who saddled a pair of Triple Crown winners in Gallant Fox and Omaha in 1930 and 1935, respectively.  

Hall of Famers Nick Zito and Baffert, always among the top nominators, are prominent again this year. Zito has 15 on the list and Baffert 13. Joining them at the double-figure level are Southern California conditioners John Sadler, with 16 nominees, and Richard Mandella, another Hall of Fame trainer, with 11. Asmussen, the trainer of Preakness winners Curlin (2007) and Rachel Alexandra (2009) who led trainers in 2009 with 25 nominations, has nominated six horses to this year’s Triple Crown races. His Preakness winners have combined to earn Horse of the Year honors in each of the last three years.

Taking over the leadership at the top of the owner rankings is Thorough­bred Racing Legends, a partnership that has parceled its horses to Lukas, Zito and Baffert. The partnership is represented by 12 Thoroughbreds. Close behind is WinStar Farm with 10 early nominees. Spendthrift Farm of B. Wayne Hughes and the Gary and Mary West Stables join Godolphin with eight nominations. Zayat Stables, which led owners with 22 early nominees in 2009, nominated just two horses in the early phase this year.

Leading the sire list of nominees are Distorted Humor and Tiznow, each with 10. Following closely with nine are Un­bridled’s Song and Maria’s Mon. Afleet Alex and Gi­ant’s Causeway are, respectively, the sires of eight early nominees.

Click Here for the full list of Nominations

HORSES (BY SEX)
Colts 324
Geldings 30
Fillies 8
Ridgelings 4
TOTAL 366

HORSES (By Color)
Bay 138
Chestnut 105
Dark Bay/Brown 93
Gray/Roan 30
TOTAL 366

BIRTHPLACE OF NOMINATED HORSES (inside U.S)
Kentucky 270
Florida 34
New York 12
California 9
Maryland 7
Pennsylvania 6
Virginia 4
Illinois 2
Texas 2
Arizona 1
Indiana 1
Minnesota 1
Ohio 1
Oklahoma 1
TOTAL 351

BIRTHPLACE FOR NOMINATED HORSES (Outside of U.S.)
Ireland 8
Canada 4
Great Britain 3
TOTAL 15

HALL OF FAME TRAINERS (By Number of Nominations)
D. Wayne Lukas 19
Nicholas P. Zito 15
Bob Baffert 13
Richard A. Mandella 11
W Jonathan Sheppard 3
William I. Mott 6
Neil Drysdale 2
Claude R. McGaughey III 2
Carl Nafzger 1