BloodHorse news editor Byron King presents his Derby Dozen with a review of leading contenders for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve on May 3.
Each week, members of the national media vote on the nation's top contenders on the Triple Crown trail in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top Thoroughbred Poll.
After an impressive victory in the $200,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on Saturday, John Hancock moved up to 17th in the Equibase standings by purse earnings and seventh within the 3-year-old division with $138,560 in earnings.
The sport of horse racing in America dates to the colonial era, when Richard Nicolls, governor of New York, set up the first formal racetrack on Long Island. Since the 17th Century, the sport has thrived in all corners of the country, thanks to the tireless work of generations of men and women, especially African Americans like jockey Oliver Lewis and trainer Ed Brown, and the former slave turned jockey, trainer, and pedigree expert William Walker.
