Fierceness Among 346 Early Triple Crown Nominations

The anticipation for the 2024 Triple Crown is building as 346 of the world's most promising 3-year-old Thoroughbreds, led by reigning 2-year-old male champion and Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner Fierceness , were nominated to the series for $600 during the first closing Jan. 29.

The 2024 Triple Crown begins May 4 with the 150th running of the $5 million Kentucky Derby (G1) at 1 1/4 miles at Churchill Downs. The 149th running of the $1.5 million Preakness Stakes (G1), at 1 3/16 miles, will take place two weeks later on May 18 at Pimlico Race Course. This year's 156th running of the $2 million Belmont Stakes (G1) will be June 8 at Saratoga Race Course due to ongoing construction at Belmont Park. The Belmont is 1 1/4 miles this year due to the main-track configuration at Saratoga.

This year's early Triple Crown nominees were down from last year's 369 nominations. The nominees included many horses stabled worldwide, including a record 47 from Japan, 10 more than last year's mark of 37.

Fierceness, one of Repole Stable's 20 nominees, which leads all owners, was one of 54 horses under the care of Todd Pletcher that were nominated. He led all conditioners and was followed by Bob Baffert and Brad Cox with 18 each. Baffert's trainees are only eligible for the Preakness and Belmont because horses under his care are ineligible to compete at Churchill Downs Inc.-owned racetracks in 2024.

Overall, 44 stakes winners were nominated to the Triple Crown. Some of the most notable are Catching Freedom , winner of the Smarty Jones Stakes; Hades , the Holy Bull Stakes (G3) winner; Honor Marie , who took the 2023 Kentucky Jockey Club (G2); Locked , who scored in last fall's Breeders' Futurity (G1); Mystik Dan , winner of the Southwest Stakes (G3); Nysos , the romping Robert B. Lewis (G3) winner; Track Phantom , winner of the Gun Runner and Lecomte Stakes (G3), and Uncle Heavy , who recently captured the Withers Stakes (G3).

Early Triple Crown Nominees by the numbers

• $2,300,000: Highest public auction purchase—Sierra Leone  (The Saratoga Sale in 2022 at Fasig-Tipton)
• $1,127,250: Highest earnings of an individual horse nominated (Fierceness). The other top earners (as of Feb. 3): Muth  ($716,600), Locked ($608,400), Candied  ($595,800), Forever Young  ($569,451), and Mystik Dan ($510,110).
• $5,000: Lowest public auction purchase—Stretch Ride  (The October Sale in 2022 at Fasig-Tipton)
• 259: Kentucky-breds. Other states represented are Florida (15), New York (13), California (7), Maryland (3), Pennsylvania (2), Colorado (1) Iowa (1), Indiana (1), Louisiana (1), and West Virginia (1).
• 159: Registered bay horses. Other registered colors are dark bay or brown (83), chestnut (72), gray or roan (28), gray (2), brown (1) and white (1).
• 129: Trainers to nominate horses to the Triple Crown.
•  65: Unraced horses nominated to the Triple Crown.
• 42: Horses foaled outside the United States. Other countries are Canada (1), Britain (1), Ireland (3), and Japan (37).
• 41: Horses foaled in 2021 after Kentucky Derby Day (May 4).
• 16: Horses by sire Constitution  . He's followed by Gun Runner   (14), Justify   (14), Into Mischief   (13), Arrogate (11), City of Light   (11), and Curlin   (11). 
• 4: Fillies nominated. They are Candied, Gun Song , Life Talk , and Kopion .

The complete list of early nominations is available at BH.com.

Owners of 3-year-olds who were not nominated to the Triple Crown during the early nomination phase can pay a late payment of $6,000 through April 1.

Thirteen horses have swept the Triple Crown, with American Pharoah   (2015) and Justify (2018) the two most recent.