Making the Grade, which runs through the 2021 Triple Crown races, focuses on the winners of (or top performers in) key races, usually from the previous weekend. We’ll be analyzing impressive winners and evaluating their chances to win classic races based upon ability, running style, connections (owner, trainer, jockey), and pedigree.
Each week members of the media around the country vote on the nation's top contenders on the Triple Crown trail in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll. Find out the final 2021 top 3-year-old rankings below.
Essential Quality rebounded from his lone defeat, a fourth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, to outduel pacesetting Hot Rod Charlie by 1 ¼ lengths in the 153rd