Triple Crown Top 12 Archive

• April 12, 2021

  The TDN Derby Top 20 For April 13

  The long prep season is over, but some jostling for a starting spot remains among the horses on the cusp of the qualifying points cutoff. Please note the rankings below are independent from the “Road to the GI Kentucky Derby” points leaderboard Churchill Downs uses to determine starting berths. That list can be accessed here.

• April 5, 2021

  The TDN Derby Top 20 for April 6

  The first Saturday in April's “power trio” of nine-furlong qualifying preps is in the books. We also learned last week that no Japan-based horse will be accepting the “Road to the GI Kentucky Derby” invitation this year, and that none of the qualifying European horses are nominated, meaning they'd have to supplement $200,000 to get

• March 29, 2021

  TDN Derby Top 12 for Mar. 30

  We're on the cusp of the one-month mark to the GI Kentucky Derby, and this Saturday marks the most important weekend of nine-furlong preps on the Triple Crown calendar, with significant stakes at Santa Anita, Keeneland, and Aqueduct. Next week, the Top 12 expands to the Top 20 as the race for qualifying points intensifies

• March 22, 2021

  The TDN Derby Top 12 for March 23

  No, the world didn't tilt off its axis last Saturday. But there was a seismic shift within the Top 12 rankings. 'TDN Rising Star' Life Is Good (Into Mischief) was declared off the GI Kentucky Derby trail with a left hind ankle chip, and two other highly rated contenders failed to fire in the GII

• March 8, 2021

  The TDN Derby Top 12 for March 9

  This week's edition represents the most movement within the Top 12 all season. But brace yourself: the nine-furlong preps are next, and so are the juicier qualifying points opportunities. The GI Kentucky Derby forecast is for continued–but intriguing–volatility. 1) GREATEST HONOUR (c, Tapit–Tiffany's Honour, by Street Cry {Ire}) O/B-Courtlandt Farms (KY). T-Claude R. McGaughey III.