King Guillermo Made a Late Nomination to Triple Crown

King Guillermo, the 49-1 upset winner of the March 7 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (G2), has been nominated to the Triple Crown with a $6,000 late payment that was received and processed March 10, Churchill Downs announced.

With Victoria's Ranch’s late payment to nominate to the Triple Crown, King Guillermo has been adjusted to the fifth-ranked horse on the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 50 points. The unbeaten Authentic leads with 60 points.

A 3-year-old son of Uncle Mo  trained by Juan Carlos Avila, King Guillermo has won two of four starts and $240,350. He is owned by former Major League Baseball player Victor Martinez, who races under his stable name, Victoria's Ranch.

Martinez and Avila are pondering their next step with the colt, one option of which is to run him fresh in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) May 2 without another prep in between. The colt won the Tampa Bay Derby following a break of more than three months.

Bred in Kentucky by Carhue Investments, Grouseridge Ltd., and Marengo Investments, King Guillermo is the sixth named foal out of the Dixieland Band mare Slow Sand. He was purchased by Martinez for $150,000 from the consignment of Gene Recio to the Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. 

The late nomination phase for the Triple Crown—comprised of the $3 million Kentucky Derby, the $1.5 million Preakness Stakes (G1), and the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes (G1)—closes March 30. Three-year-olds that were not nominated to the Triple Crown during either the early or late nomination phases also can become eligible for the races through the payment of a supplemental nomination fee due at the time of each race’s entry: $200,000 for the Kentucky Derby, $150,000 for the Preakness Stakes, and $50,000 for the Belmont Stakes.