Champ Nyquist, Baffert and Zayat Runners Top Triple Crown Nominations

Nyquist, above winning the Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile on Oct. 31, 2015, was among 368 3-year-olds nominated to the 2016 Triple Crown. (All photos by Eclipse Sportswire, unless otherwise noted)
By Ron Mitchell, @BH_RMitchell
Bolstered by having the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years with American Pharoah, owner Zayat Stables and trainer Bob Baffert have nominated the largest numbers of 3-year-olds among the 368 nominated to this year’s series during the early nomination period that closed Jan. 16.
The number of nominations, headed by Reddam Racing’s unbeaten 2015 champion 2-year-old male Nyquist, represents the smallest for the $600 early nomination fee since the 364 nominated in 2011.
The $2-million Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands will be renewed at Churchill Downs for the 142nd time May 7, the $1.5-million, 141st Preakness Stakes follows two weeks later at Pimlico Race Course on May 21, and the $1.5-million Belmont Stakes will contested for the 148th time on June 11 at Belmont Park in New York.
Early nominations to the Triple Crown in 2015 numbered 429 and nine late nominations raised the final total to 438. A late nomination period for the Triple Crown is underway and requires payment of $6,000 for each nominated 3-year-old. The late nomination period runs through March 21 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Baffert’s roster of 35 Triple Crown nominees includes Michael Lund Petersen’s Mor Spirit, winner of the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Futurity; Speedway Stables’ Collected and Juddmonte Farms’ Let’s Meet in Rio, the 1-2 finishers in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes; Karl Watson’s, Mike Pegram’s, and Paul Weitman’s Bob Hope Stakes winner and Los Alamitos Futurity runner- up Toews On Ice; and Baoma Corp.’s impressive Del Mar maiden winner Drefong.
COLLECTED

Zayat’s 15 early nominees, up from nine horses nominated by the stable a year ago, include King Kranz, runner-up in the Grade 2 Belmont Futurity and winner of the Lost in the Fog Stakes on New Year’s Day; and Justin Squared, an impressive winner in his lone start at Del Mar.
This year’s 368 early Triple Crown nominees represent 1.6% of the 2013 North American foal crop, which was estimated at 23,500 Thoroughbreds, making it the third-highest crop representation since 1986.
The roster of 368 Triple Crown-eligible horses includes 327 colts, 30 geldings, eight ridglings, and three fillies — Flora Dora, Royal Obsession, and Northwest Tale. The nomination roster includes 351 horses bred in the U.S., with 283 of that number, or 76.9%, foaled in Kentucky. Twenty-two nominated horses were bred in Florida and 11 in New York.
Seventeen nominees were bred outside of the U.S., with nine bred in Canada and four in Great Britain. Heading the international nominees is Evelyn M. Stockwell’s Hit It a Bomb, the Aidan O'Brien-trained winner of the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.
HIT IT A BOMB

Nyquist, named by Reddam Racing owner J. Paul  Reddam in honor of National Hockey League star Gustav Nyquist, a forward for the Detroit Red Wings, was voted the Eclipse Award for 2-year-old male after he capped a perfect five-race 2015 campaign with a victory in the $2-million Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile. The son of Uncle Mo is trained by Doug O’Neill, who saddled Reddam’s I’ll Have Another to wins the 2012 Kentucky Derby and Preakness. Nyquist also won the Grade 1 FrontRunner Stakes, the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity and Del Mar’s Grade 1 Best Pal Stakes while earning $1,613,600.
Other accomplished young stars nominated to compete in the 2016 Triple Crown series include Albaugh Family Stables’ Brody’s Cause, winner of the Grade 1 Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity and third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile; St. Elias Stable’s, MeB Racing Stables’, and Brooklyn Boyz Stables’ Grade 1 Champagne Stakes winner Greenpointcrusader; Reddam Racing’s Ralis, winner of the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes; John C. Oxley’s Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes winner Airoforce; Godolphin Racing’s Annual Report, winner of the Belmont Futurity; Shadwell Stables’ unbeaten Mohaymen, winner of the Grade 2 Remsen and Nashua Stakes; Big Chief Racing’s Exaggerator, winner of the Grade 2 Saratoga Special and Grade 3 Delta Downs Jackpot Stakes; and Swipe, owned in partnership by Big Chief Racing, Fizzy Racing, Rocker O Ranch, and Desormeaux, et al., the runner-up to Nyquist in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, FrontRunner, Del Mar Futurity, and Best Pal.
American Pharoah's success lifted Baffert’s victory total in Triple Crown races to 12, which ranks second to fellow Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas’ record of 14 victories in the classic series. Baffert has four wins in the Kentucky Derby and six Preakness triumphs, and his Triple Crown-clinching 2015 Belmont Stakes win was his second in the final jewel of the Triple Crown.
BAFFERT

Seven-time Eclipse Award winner Todd Pletcher, who has three career victories in Triple Crown races, nominated 28 horses to the 2016 series, down from his 34 nominees in 2015. Others trainers with double-figure early nominations include Chad Brown (12 nominations), Mark Casse (11), and Lukas and Mike Maker, each with 10 nominees.
Just behind Zayat Stables is Thoroughbred racing icon Calumet Farm, which nominated 11 3-year-olds during the early phase. Under previous ownership, Calumet campaigned Triple Crown winners Citation (1948) and Whirlaway (1941) and is the all-time leader in victories in the Triple Crown series with 18.
The Kentucky Derby field has been limited to 20 starters since 1975, and the horses that enter the starting gate for this year’s running will again be determined by points earned in the 35-race “Road to the Kentucky Derby” eligibility system, which debuted in 2013. If Derby entries total more than the maximum field of 20, up to four also-eligible entrants will be permitted.
If one or more starters is scratched prior to 9 a.m. ET on May 6, the also-eligible horse or horses with the highest preference in the Road to the Kentucky Derby system will be allowed to replace the scratched horse or horses in the starting gate.
The field for the Preakness is limited to 14 starters, while the Belmont Stakes permits a maximum of 16 horses.
Three-year-olds that weren’t nominated for the Triple Crown series during either the early or late nomination phases have a final opportunity to become eligible for the races through the payment of a supplemental nomination fee. Due at the time of entry for either the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, or the Belmont Stakes, the supplemental fee process makes a horse eligible for the remainder of the Triple Crown series.
A supplemental nomination at the time of entry to the Kentucky Derby requires payment of $200,000. The fee is $150,000 if paid prior to the Preakness or $75,000 at time of entry to the Belmont Stakes.