Roadmap to the Kentucky Derby

Mohaymen (left), champion Nyquist (center) and Greenpointcrusader (right) are on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. What exactly does that mean? We have the answer. (Photos by Eclipse Sportswire, unless otherwise noted)
We’ve all heard the phrase “Road to the Kentucky Derby,” but now that we’re inside 100 days to the big event, you may be wondering what it actually takes to get to Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May. The short answer is: a lot of time, sweat, preparation and luck. Read on for a more in-depth look at some of the factors that affect a horse’s route to the Derby.
Points System
The Kentucky Derby is limited to 20 starters, and those 20 are determined by the number of points they’ve earned in certain prep races. For the last two years, the minimum number of points earned by horses that ran in the Derby was 20, with unrestricted stakes earnings breaking the tie between multiple horses at 20 points in 2014.
The list of races and their point values is determined by Churchill Downs, starting with 2-year-old races in the fall, with points awarded to first, second, third and fourth place. Early season 3-year-old races are worth 10 points to the winner, 4 to the second-place finisher, 2 for third place and 1 for fourth place, but in late February the points jump up to 50-20-10-5, and the final, most important prep races begin in late March and are worth 100-40-20-10 for first through fourth place. Check out the full Road to the Kentucky Derby points schedule here. As the point values increase, so does the level of competition and, usually, the distance of the race, so that hopefully a horse will reach maximum potential by May 7.
Prep Race Plan
This year, there is only one horse, Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Nyquist, who has earned more than 20 points to date. While there’s no guarantee that will get him into this year’s Kentucky Derby field, it seems probable. But how will the other 367 Triple Crown nominees attempt to earn the points needed to make it in the starting gate? The trainer and/or owner of 3-year-olds aiming for the Kentucky Derby often start with the Derby and work backward when planning a race schedule for their colt (or filly, potentially). They’ll select races based not only on point value but also on factors such as race location, distance, spacing on the calendar and expected competition. A small issue that affects only a few days of training can cause a horse’s entire prep schedule to be altered, so luck is extremely important.
It’s also important that a prep race plan is not too grueling for a horse — one has to go back to 2004 (Smarty Jones) to find a Derby winner who ran in more than three prep races the year of his Derby win. Of the 11 since, seven ran twice and four ran three times. Interestingly, two of the three most recent winners, California Chrome and Orb, had three Derby preps.
ORB WINNING 2013 KENTUCKY DERBY

Photo by Eclipse Sportswire
Shipping vs. Running at Home Track
A horse based at Fair Grounds might run in the prep-race sequence there in the spring, which is the Lecomte Stakes, Risen Star Stakes and finally the Louisiana Derby on March 26, six weeks out from the Kentucky Derby. A horse in New York might run in all or part of the Aqueduct series, which begins with the Jerome Stakes on Jan. 2 and continues with the Withers Stakes, Gotham Stakes and Wood Memorial Stakes on April 9.
Horses don’t only race at the racetrack where they’re based. They also travel to compete in races at other tracks, whether they ship out of necessity if their track doesn’t host any prep races, or if they ship because of owner/trainer preference due to a different track’s race suiting the horse better. Trainers or owners with multiple Derby hopefuls might ship some to run at other tracks so they don’t all have to race against each other.
Races at tracks that host only one Derby prep, such as the Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park or the Sunland Derby at Sunland Park, usually attract many horses that aren’t based at that track, while tracks with a series of prep races will see many locally based horses compete and often have some of the same horses throughout the series.
FIRING LINE SHIPPED FROM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TO SUNLAND PARK TO WIN THE 2015 SUNLAND DERBY

Coady Photography
A Long Road Ahead
As the Derby trail continues, the favorites for the race frequently change. Some horses become injured and removed from consideration for the Derby, heading instead to the farm or barn to rest up, while others don’t live up to expectations as they mature or conversely turn out to be much better than expected. Every year, there are a few horses that pop up seemingly out of nowhere in late January or February to become a popular Kentucky Derby choice.
Once in a while, a budding superstar emerges in an impressive career debut early in the year as a 3-year-old. For whatever reason, those horses’ chances for Derby glory are slim, as the last horse to go unraced as a 2-year-old and then win the Kentucky Derby was Apollo in 1882. Many racing fans refer to this as “the curse of Apollo.”
No matter who the favorites are, the Kentucky Derby prep season is always an exciting time of year, full of excitement and potential. When it culminates on May 7, it’s easy to see why the Derby is known as the greatest two minutes in sports. Who are you rooting for this Derby season?