Racing Dudes Divisional Rankings 10/28/20: Breeders’ Cup Inches Closer

Welcome to the 2020 Divisional Rankings! Each week, we rank the best thoroughbred horses in America based on their divisions. Let’s take a look at the rankings, including my last vote in the NTRA Top 10 Poll:

Overall Rankings

Here are my overall rankings as seen in the latest NTRA Top 10 Poll this week. The poll ranks the top thoroughbred horses based on if Horse of the Year voting was conducted at this very moment. Here’s what my latest Top 10 poll looked like:

1. Improbable  
2. Tom’s d’Etat
3. Swiss Skydiver
4. Tiz the Law
5. Maximum Security 
6. Vekoma  
7. Monomoy Gril
8. Authentic 
9. By My Standards 
10. Rushing Fall       

Older Males

1. Improbable – His ultra-impressive Awesome Again Stakes (G1) win gives him 3 straight Grade 1 triumphs. 

2.  Tom’s d’Etat – A terrible stumble from the gate cost him all chance in the Whitney Stakes (G1).

3. Maximum Security – He suffered his first defeat of the season in the Awesome Again Stakes (G1). 

4. By My Standards – A solid Alysheba Stakes (G3) win put this horse back on the Breeders’ Cup radar. 

5. Zulu Alpha – He finished third in the Kentucky Turf Cup (G3), but the track was a complete mess by the time that he ran. 

Sleeper: Global Campaign – He earned the biggest win of his career in the Woodward Stakes (G1) at Saratoga. 

Older Females

1. Monomoy Girl – The queen is back on top after another awesome win in the La Troienne Stakes (G2). 

2. Rushing Fall – The turf rocket just continues to dazzle year after year. She was sensational once again in the Diana Stakes (G1).

3. Midnight Bisou – She officially retired after coming out of a workout with a minor injury. She had a tremendous career. 

4. Uni – Is she finally back? It sure looked like it in the First Lady Stakes (G1) at Keeneland. 

5. Fighting Mad – Her winning streak came to an end in the Zenyatta Stakes (G2), where she finished third.

Sleeper: Beau Recall – She deserves credit for finishing second in the First Lady Stakes (G1) at Keeneland. 

3-Year-Old Males

1. Tiz the Law – He lost the Kentucky Derby (G1), but he still deserves to be the top-ranked 3-year-old after running extremely well in defeat. 

2. Authentic – Wow, he was a nose away from winning two legs of the Triple Crown. He’ll head to the Breeders’ Cup with a chance to win this division. 

3. Art Collector – It wasn’t his day in the Preakness Stakes (G1), but he’s still had a solid campaign. 

4. Happy Saver – He threw his hat into the ring with an impressive win in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Belmont Park. 

5. Max Player – Let’s give him credit for running well in all three legs of the Triple Crown.

Sleeper: Gufo – He showed a powerful turn of foot in his Belmont Derby (G1) triumph. 

3-Year-Old Females

1. Swiss Skydiver – She locked up this division with a breathtaking victory in the Preakness Stakes (G1).

2. Shedaresthedevil – She’s heading to the farm to prep for 2021 after being unable to reproduce her winning Kentucky Oaks (G1) effort in the Spinster Stakes (G1).

3. Gamine – The Kentucky Oaks (G1) distance seemed to be a bit too much for her, but she still held on for third and should be a top threat in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1).

4. Harvest Moon – She picked up a big win against older horses in the Zenyatta Stakes (G2).

5. Speech – She ran decently in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) but was no match for the top trio.

Sleeper: Bonny South – We’ll keep her here after charging home to finish a tough-luck second in the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2).

Sprinters

1. Vekoma – He earned the top spot with a monster effort in the Met Mile (G1) over a tremendous field. 

2. C Z Rocket – The amazing Peter Miller has turned this horse into a monster, with his latest win coming in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship (G2).

3. Diamond Oops – A big win in the Phoenix Stakes (G2) at Keeneland has him ready for the Breeders’ Cup.

4. Volatile – Unfortunately, he retired due to injury just as he was peaking.

5. Firenze Fire – His latest win in the Vosburgh Stakes (G2) puts him back on the map. 

Sleeper: Yaupon – He was impressive once again at Pimlico in the Chick Lang Stakes (G3). 

2-Year-Old Males

1. Jackie’s Warrior – He’s proving to be far and away the best colt in the crop so far. His Champagne Stakes (G1) win was effortless. 

2. Dr. Schivel – Back-to-back wins at Del Mar have this horse looking great heading into 2021 (he’s taking the rest of 2020 off).

3. Essential Quality – A big win in the Claiborne Breeders Futurity (G1) at Keeneland has him looking good heading into the Breeders’ Cup.

4. Reinvestment Risk – This nice colt has been no match to our top-ranked horse in his last 2 efforts. 

5. Mutasaabeq – He made his turf debut a winning one, dominating the Bourbon Stakes (G3) in impressive fashion.  

Sleeper: Classier – This Bob Baffert trainee looked pretty good in his debut at Santa Anita Park – good enough that Baffert pre-entered him in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) on what would be short rest.

2-Year-Old Females

1.  Princess Noor – She’s now a perfect 3-for-3 after another dominant win in the Chandelier Stakes (G2).

2. Simply Ravishing – She’s now the biggest challenger to Princess Noor at the Breeders’ Cup after an impressive win in the Alcibiades Stakes (G1). 

3. Dayoutoftheoffice – Her impressive Frizette Stakes (G1) win stamps her as a legitimate Breeders’ Cup contender.

4. Vequist – She ran well in the Frizette Stakes (G1), finishing second behind Dayoutoftheoffice. 

5. Girl Daddy – A solid victory in the Pocahontas Stakes (G3) has this filly on the right path. 

Sleeper: Crazy Beautiful – Twin runner-up efforts in graded stakes races have her on the cusp of breaking into the top 5.