TRIPLE CROWN RATINGS

REMARKS: The ratings underwent their biggest shuffle of the season, with two horses dropping out, Badger Land moving up from sixth place to third and Country Light and Zabaleta being listed for the first time.

Ketoh, who has been in the top five all along, is seriously ill with colitis and other problems and his racing career is over.

Meadowlake, spectacular as a 2-year-old with two wins by more than 30 lengths in his only two starts, is no longer a possibility for any of the Triple Crown races, trainer Bert Sonnier said. Meadowlake developed a serious hoof injury in Florida and is at least a month away from his next workout. He is being shipped to Belmont Park, and Sonnier will try to prepare him for the second half of the year.

Badger Land’s record-breaking performance (1 1/16 miles in 1:46 1/5) in Saturday’s Everglades Stakes at Hialeah will make him the heavy favorite for the Flamingo at the same track on April 5. The only thing about Badger Land’s Everglades win is that he was carrying only 114 pounds, eight fewer than what he shouldered in finishing second to Snow Chief in the Florida Derby and 12 less than what he’ll have if he runs in the Kentucky Derby on May 3.

Country Light earned a spot on this week’s list by winning Sunday’s Louisiana Derby. Although his time was not impressive, Country Light made it a big day for his sire, Majestic Light, who had another winner when Hidden Light, a 3-year-old filly, captured the Santa Anita Oaks.

Lightning Touch ran third in the Louisiana Derby. Trainer Jack Van Berg thought his horse might have done even better if jockey Fernando Toro hadn’t had him so far back early. Lightning Touch was ninth at the top of the stretch. He is not eligible, however, for the Triple Crown races.

Country Light, who is trained by Phil Gleaves, a former assistant for Woody Stephens, won both of his 2-year-old starts, including the Tyro Stakes at Monmouth Park, and was second and first in two races at Gulfstream Park this year. The colt is headed for Keeneland, where he will run in either the Lexington Stakes on April 12 or the Blue Grass on April 24.

Zabaleta, winner of the faster division of Saturday’s Bay Shore Stakes at Aqueduct, is even more lightly raced than Country Light. The $400,000 yearling purchase didn’t make his first career start until February, winning a maiden race at Santa Anita, and two weeks later he ran a green but good second to Ketoh in the Bolsa Chica Stakes, his last start before the seven-furlong Bay Shore.

Zabaleta, named after a Basque mountain climber who made it to the top of Mt. Everest, is a son of Shecky Greene, who has the reputation of being a speed sire. “But not always,” Santa Anita’s Frank (Jimmy) Kilroe says. “Green Forest was a Shecky Greene who was a champion in France and won going distances. And Comedy Act was another Shecky Greene who could go long.”

John Gosden, who trains Zabaleta, will extend him to a mile in the Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct on April 5, a race that will also include Tasso.

“It was nice to see him lay off the pace and then come on to win,” said Darrel McHargue, who rode Zabaleta. “He didn’t have his mind on his business and was looking around at the end, but he still finished strong.”

A horse that didn’t finish strong behind Zabaleta was Pillaster, who went off the 1-10 favorite in his 3-year-old debut and ran sixth.

LeRoy Jolley, who trains Pillaster, is writing off the Bay Shore because it was the first time he had sprinted the colt. “He jumped up and down all the way around the track,” Jolley said.

As for Zabaleta, his owner, Michael Riordan, said: “We know he’s bred for speed, but we’ll see. We’ll just keep running him longer until he tells us he can’t do it.”

The only significant race on the 3-year-old front this week is Saturday’s Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park, where undefeated Rare Brick will try to win his seventh straight.

TRIPLE CROWN RATINGS

Career Horse S 1 2 3 Earnings 1. Snow Chief 12 8 2 1 $1,444,040 2. Tasso 8 6 1 1 $794,534 3. Badger Land 11 4 2 0 $353,825 4. Variety Road 8 3 1 4 $210,195 5. Pillaster 5 3 1 0 $248,390 6. Ferdinand 8 2 3 2 $265,900 7. Mogambo 9 3 1 4 $380,096 8. Country Light 5 4 1 0 $174,259 9. Rare Brick 6 6 0 0 $111,060 10. Zabaleta 3 2 1 0 $118,250