NTRA poll: Renegade moves to top of 3-year-old rankings

Photo: Tommy Land / Eclipse Sportswire

Renegade jumped to no. 1 from seventh place in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's top 3-year-olds poll after his win in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on Saturday, and Commandment retained the second spot after winning the Florida Derby (G1).

Also making a big move was The Puma, who moved into third place from 10th after his runner-up effort in the Florida Derby.

The former top-ranked horse, Paladin, dropped out of the top 10 after sustaining an injury.

NTRA top 3-year-olds

Horse
A-S
2026 record
Points
Pvs.
Trainer
1. Renegade (18) 3-C 2: 2-0-0 275   7 Todd Pletcher
2. Commandment (11) 3-C 3: 3-0-0 269   2 Brad Cox
3. The Puma 3-C 4: 1-2-1 196 10 Gustavo Delgado
4. Class President 3-C 2: 1-1-0 145   4 Todd Pletcher
5. Emerging Market 3-C 2: 2-0-0 131   6 Chad Brown
6. Chief Wallabee 3-C 3: 1-1-1 120   8 Bill Mott
7. Silent Tactic 3-C 4: 1-3-0 111   5 Mark Casse
8. Potente 3-C 2: 2-0-0   71   9 Bob Baffert
9. Incredibolt 3-C 2: 1-0-0   47 11 Riley Mott
10. Fulleffort 3-C 3: 1-2-0   39 12 Brad Cox

Magnitude moved into the top spot among top Thoroughbreds with his win over Forever Young in the Dubai World Cup (G1). That moved 2025 horse of the year Sovereignty down a spot to no. 2, with Forever Young slipping from second place to fourth.

NTRA top Thoroughbreds

Horse
A-S
2026 record
Points
Pvs
Trainer
1. Magnitude (14) 4-C 2: 2-0-0 267   6 Steve Asmussen
2. Sovereignty (12) 4-C 0: 0-0-0 217   1 Bill Mott
3. Nysos (1) 5-H 1: 0-1-0 182   3 Bob Baffert
4. Forever Young (2) 5-H 2: 1-1-0 172   2 Yoshito Yahagi
5. Skippylongstocking 7-H 2: 2-0-0 167   4 Saffie Joseph Jr.
6. Knightsbridge 5-H 2: 2-0-0 139   5 Bill Mott
7. Journalism 4-C 0: 0-0-0   95   7 Michael McCarthy
8. Splendora 5-M 2: 2-0-0   79   8 Bob Baffert
9. Imagination 5-H 1: 1-0-0   67   9 Bob Baffert
10. Touchuponastar 7-G 2: 2-0-0   30 12 Jeff Delhomme

The 2026 NTRA top 3-year-old Thoroughbred Poll and top Thoroughbred Poll conducted by the covers racing performances through March 29. Voting is conducted by national media.

The 3-year-old poll represents horses competing up and through the Triple Crown.

The top Thoroughbred poll represents horses competing for horse of the year and concludes on Tuesday, Nov. 3, after the Breeders’ Cup World Championships.

Rankings for both polls are on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-1 basis, with first-place votes in parentheses.

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