Sovereignty remains firmly atop the NTRA poll

The 2025 Horse of the Year once again dominated the weekly poll among top U.S. media outlets by a wide margin, chased by Nitrogen. Deterministic and Magnitude round out the top four spots, while Knightsbridge will have a prime opportunity to keep climbing in Saturday's Pacific Classic

LEXINGTON, Kentucky (Special for Turf Diario).— With a fairly quiet recent weekend in terms of major stakes in the United States, there were no changes among the top ten positions in the latest Top Thoroughbred Poll released by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) this Tuesday.

Remaining firmly at the very top is Sovereignty, who solidified his position as the benchmark horse of the North American season following a spectacular rebound in the Whitney Stakes (G1) at Saratoga.

The Godolphin defender accumulated 292 points and secured 26 of the 30 available first-place votes, a decisive margin that reflects the impact of his recent return to the winner's circle.

Named Horse of the Year in 2025—a campaign highlighted by victories in the Kentucky Derby (G1), Belmont Stakes (G1), and Travers Stakes (G1)—the son of Into Mischief had started 2026 winless, but cleared up any doubts with a categorical display in the Whitney.

Trailing behind him is Nitrogen (Medaglia D'Oro), who finished second to him in that very contest at Saratoga. The D. J. Stable representative gathered 212 points and maintains a season of remarkable consistency while now taking on male rivals.

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Third place went to Deterministic (Liam's Map), who recently extended his impressive streak by winning the Fourstardave Stakes (G1) at Saratoga, while Magnitude (Not This Time), victor this year in the Dubai World Cup(G1) and the Stephen Foster Stakes (G1), holds fourth. Both received two first-place votes.

America's Best Racing

Although there was no movement inside the Top 10, two winners from the past weekend garnered enough support to feature among the vote-getters.

One was Survie (Churchill), who confirmed her rapid adaptation to U.S. racing by defeating males in the Christophe Clement Turf Stakes (G1T), just two weeks after taking the Glens Falls Stakes (G2T). The Michael Tabor mare accumulated 21 points to tie for 12th position alongside Counting Stars (Honor A.P.) and Baeza (McKinzie).

Recognition also went to Luster (Knicks Go), who dominated males in the King's Plate, Canada's most prestigious event. The representative for Gainesway Stable and Andrew Rosen received seven points to land in 19th place.

The upcoming slate of racing could trigger significant shifts in the rankings, driven primarily by action on both coasts this Saturday.

At Del Mar, Knightsbridge (Nyquist), currently ninth in the poll, will be one of the headline acts in the Pacific Classic (G1 - 2,000 m, $1,000,000), where the Bill Mott trainee faces ten rivals in search of a victory that would surely propel him upward.

Meanwhile at Saratoga, Counting Stars will have the chance to crack the Top 10 if she can extend her dominance over the 3-year-old filly division in the Alabama Stakes (G1, $600,000).

For now, the picture remains unchanged. Sovereignty commands the field comfortably, reclaiming the status expected of him after channeling the overwhelming form in the Whitney that made him the top horse in North America last season.