LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Shanghai Bobby and Delta Jackpot winner Goldencents lead the list of 369 early nominees for the Triple Crown series for 3-year-olds.
Shanghai Bobby, last year's 2-year-old champion, lost for the first time in last month's Holy Bull. The colt is trained by Todd Pletcher, who leads all trainers for the fourth straight year with 29 nominees.
Bob Baffert was second with 23 nominees. Ken McPeek and Nick Zito were tied for third with 13 nominees, while D. Wayne Lukas and Mark Casse had 11 each.
The early nomination period, when horses can be nominated for $600 each, closed Jan. 26. The late period, when nominations cost $6,000 each, closes March 23. The nominations released Saturday are down from the 398 horses made eligible at the same time a year ago.
The Triple Crown begins with the May 4 Kentucky Derby, followed by the Preakness on May 18 and the Belmont on June 8.
Among the nominees was Ireland-bred Cerro, owned by Team Valor International, which includes Olympic champion swimmer Michael Phelps and his former coach, Bob Bowman. Carving, co-owned by Olympic skier Bode Miller and Baffert's wife, Jill, also was nominated.
Beholder, winner of the BC Juvenile Fillies and last year's champion 2-year-old filly, was among seven female nominees.
Bluegrass Hall LLC and Gary and Mary West were tied among owners with seven horses each.
Horses not nominated during the early or late nomination phases can become eligible through a supplemental fee of $200,000 for the Derby, and $100,000 for either the Preakness or the Belmont.
