A total of 367 of the world’s top 3-year-old Thoroughbreds became eligible to compete in the 2026 Triple Crown series during the early nomination phase, which closed Monday, Jan. 26.
This year’s early nominees span the globe and include several horses that have already made an impact on 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.
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 will begin with the 152nd running 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.
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Early Triple Crown Nominees by the Numbers:
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·         281 – Kentucky-bred nominees, 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 bay-colored horses. Other colors: dark bay/brown (84), chestnut (68), gray/roan (42) and gray (3).
·         127 – Trainers with horses nominated to the Triple Crown.
·         55 – Stakes winners nominated. 19 graded stakes winners.
·         31 – Number of horses nominated from Todd Pletcher’s barn, followed by Bob Baffert (23), Chad Brown (22), Brad Cox (21) and Daisuke Takayanagi (14)
·         16 – Horses sired by 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).
·         Jan. 1, 2023 – Earliest foal among nominees: Star Ship (JPN).
·         May 24, 2023 – Latest foals among nominees: Silver Prince.
Three-year-olds not nominated during the early phase can still join the Triple Crown trail by making a late payment of $6,000 by Monday, April 6 at www.thetriplecrown.com.
Thirteen horses have swept the Triple Crown: Sir Barton (1919), Gallant Fox (1930), Omaha (1935), War Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946), Citation (1948), Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977), Affirmed (1978), American Pharoah (2015) and Justify (2018).