The early Triple Crown nominations are out and owners of 373 3-year-olds ponied up $600 to set out on a goal all horsemen covet: Victory in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, or Belmont Stakes.
Or, all three.
Citizen Bull, the 2-year-old champion who won the Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3) in his 3-year-old debut, is one of 21 horses nominated by six-time Derby winner Bob Baffert. He also trains current Derby contenders Barnes, Rodriguez, Madaket Road, Getaway Car, and Gaming.
Todd Pletcher.
Hall of Famer leads all trainers with the most Triple Crown nominees
Two-time Derby winner Todd Pletcher leads all trainers with 32 nominees, among them Gate to Wire, Tip Top Thomas, and Grande, one of nine Pletcher trainees owned by Mike Repole.
This year’s total is a 7.8% increase from last year’s 346 early nominations. A record 69 Japan-based horses, trained by 33 different conditioners, were nominated, breaking last year’s record of 47.
Sixty of the nominees have already won stakes races, including the top 10 on the road to the Derby leaderboard: Citizen Bull, Speed King, Coal Battle, Burnham Square, Disco Time, Captain Cook, Built, Gaming, Getaway Car and Jonathan’s Way.
Trainer Brad Cox has 14 nominees, followed by Chad Brown with and Kenny McPeek, who sent out 2024 Derby winner Mystik Dan, with 12.
The Derby is May 3, followed by the Preakness on May 17, and Belmont (at Saratoga) on June 7.
Three-year-olds not nominated during the early phase can still join the Triple Crown trail by making a late payment of $6,000 by Monday, April 7.
Nomination nuggets by the numbers:
— $3,200,000 highest-priced public auction purchase, Barnes
— $1,421,000 highest lifetime earnings, Citizen Bull
— 268 Kentucky-bred nominees
— 181 bay-colored horses
— 146 trainers with horses nominated to the Triple Crown
— 60 stakes winners nominated
— 32 horses nominated from trainer Todd Pletcher’s barn
— 21 horses sired by Into Mischief
— 20 geldings nominated.
— 7 fillies nominated
— 3 ridglings nominated