Triple Crown draws 367 early nominees * The Racing Biz

Triple Crown draws 367 early nominees

• Press release
• February 3, 2026

A total of 367 of the world’s top three-year-old Thoroughbreds were eligible to compete in the 2026 Triple Crown series during the early nomination phase, which closed Monday, January 26.

This year’s early nominees span the globe and include several horses that have already made an impact at the Road to the Kentucky Derby, presented by Woodford Reserve, led by graded stakes winners Further Ado, Golden Tempo, Intrepido, Litmus Test, Napoleon Solo, Nearly and Paladin.

This article contains affiliate links. If you click and buy, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

Buy reliable and rewarding tickets for major events!

Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher led all trainers with 31 nominees, followed by Bob Baffert (23), Chad Brown (22), Brad Cox (21) and Daisuke Takayanagi (14).

International representation included 37 horses from Japan, led by Godolphin’s Pyromancer (JPN), winner of the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun.

The 2026 Triple Crown series begins with the 152^i.e performance of the $5 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade I) on Saturday, May 2 at Churchill Downs. The series continues with the $2 million Preakness Stakes (GI) at 1 3/16 miles on Saturday, May 16 at Laurel Park, and concludes with the $2 million Belmont Stakes (GI) at Saratoga Race Course at 1 ¼ miles on Saturday, June 6.

Last year there were 373 early nominees and another five late nominations.

Early Triple Crown Nominees by Numbers:

• 281 – Nominees from Kentucky, the most of any state. Others: Japan (37), New York (11), Florida (10), California (7), Pennsylvania (5), Ireland (3), Maryland (3), Virginia (3), Indiana (2), Ontario (2), Great Britain (1), Louisiana (1), Minnesota (1) and New Jersey (1).

• 171 brown horses. Other colours: dark brown/brown (84), chestnut (68), grey/roan (42) and gray (3).

• 127 – Trainers with horses nominated for the Triple Crown.

• 55 – Bet winners nominated. Winners of 19 rated bets.

• 31 – Number of horses nominated from Todd Pletcher’s stable, followed by Bob Baffert (23), Chad Brown (22), Brad Cox (21) and Daisuke Takayanagi (14)

• 16 – Horses from Not This Time, the most of any stallion. Others: Gun Runner (15), Into Mischief (14), Nyquist (14), Constitution (13) and Maxfield (12).

• 11 – Fillies nominated: Bella Ballerina (trainer Brendan Walsh), Belle of the Barn (Caio Caramori), Counting Stars (Mark Casse), Dancin in Old Town (Keith Desormeaux), Energy Issei (JPN) (Daisuke Takayanagi), Goldmunze (JPN) (Daisuke Takayanagi), Perfect Town (Steve Asmussen), Ten Time Top (JPN) (Daisuke Takayanagi), Tokai Ma Cherie (JPN) (Daisuke Takayanagi), Unnatamsa (JPN) (Daisuke Takayanagi) and Zany (Todd Pletcher).

• January 1, 2023 – Earliest foal among the nominees: Star Ship (JPN).

• May 24, 2023 – Last foals among the nominees: Silver Prince.

Three-year-olds not nominated in the early stages can still participate in the Triple Crown trail by making a late payment of $6,000 by Monday, April 6. www.thetriplecrown.com.

LATEST NEWS