Helium among nine late Triple Crown nominees

Helium, who won the Tampa Bay Derby in his last start and is scheduled to go straight to the Kentucky Derby on May 1, and Weyburn, who won the Gotham in his last start and is scheduled to run in the Wood Memorial on Saturday, are two of the nine 3-year-olds announced on Wednesday as late nominees to the Triple Crown.

Back in January, there were 326 horses made eligible to the Triple Crown for an early nominee price of just $600. This second opportunity is more costly, at $6,000, but gives those with late-developing horses a chance to nominate and not have to pay a huge supplemental fee -- $200,000 before the Derby, $100,000 before the Preakness, and $50,000 for the Belmont -- to get into subsequent Triple Crown races.

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The Triple Crown consists of the Derby, the Preakness on May 15, and the Belmont on June 5.

One of the other significant late nominees is Panadol, second last Saturday in the United Arab Emirates Derby, a finish worth 40 points. If Panadol comes to the Derby, those points should be sufficient to secure a berth in the field.

The other six late nominees are Back Ring Luck, Carrothers, Hockey Dad, It’s My House, Maythehorsebwithu, and Tiz Mandate.