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Triple Crown Turning Point: How War Admiral Nearly Slipped Away From Owner Riddle

Into each horse’s career comes a fateful moment, a decision or an injury or some outside force that changes the trajectory of their career. For Sir Barton, it was a cough caught from a stablemate. Gallant Fox’s came when Earl Sande agreed to ride the Belair colt in every start of his Triple Crown season in 1930.

Derby Dozen BloodHorse Byron King Kentucky Derby Dornoch Fierceness Sierra Leone Forever Young Timberlake Track Phantom Catching Freedom Mystik Dan Tuscan Sky Deterministic Conquest Warrior Hades Domestic Product

Byron King’s Derby Dozen for March 13

BloodHorse news editor Byron King presents his Derby Dozen with a look at his leading contenders for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve on May 4.

NTRA poll Triple Crown Kentucky Derby rankings Nysos Timberlake Sierra Leone Muth Track Phantom Fierceness Hades Mystik Dan Deterministic Dornoch

Top Positions Unchanged in Latest NTRA Triple Crown Poll

Each week, members of the national media vote on the nation's top contenders on the Triple Crown trail in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top Thoroughbred Poll.

Week 7 of the 2024 Top 3-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll conducted by the NTRA covers racing performances through March 10, 2024.

The 3-year-old poll represents horses competing up to and through the Triple Crown. Rankings are based on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-1 voting system. First place votes are in parentheses.

William E. Applegate, Churchill Downs, Twin Spires, Eclipse Sportswire

Kentucky Derby Forefathers: The Lasting Impact of William E. Applegate

As the Kentucky Derby entered its third decade, its future was in doubt. The Louisville Jockey Club was deep in debt, had turned a profit only once in two decades, and clearly needed new leadership if it was to survive.

Smarty Jones, John Servis, Someday Farm, Stewart Elliott, Philadelphia Park, 2004 Kentucky Derby, 2004 Triple Crown, Bill Denver, EQUI-PHOTO

The Spring of Smarty-Mania: Remembering a Magical Triple Crown Bid by Smarty Jones

A feel-good story that had damn near everything a Hollywood scriptwriter could want mesmerized sports fans in the spring of 2004 – murder, health issues, mammoth sums of money, unlikely heroes, and a budding star from humble beginnings. Even 20-plus years later, it sounds too far-fetched to believe.

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