Churchill Downs Adds European Path to Derby

Churchill Downs has shown an eagerness to stimulate international interest in the 2018 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) through the creation of a path to the race for horses based in Europe, as well as the expansion of its current series for Japan's top dirt horses.

Those initiatives and other adjustments to the "Road to the Kentucky Derby" were announced Aug. 31. The changes also include the addition of a lucrative Midwest juvenile "Prep Season" race, the Springboard Mile, and point adjustments within the "Championship Series," that will reduce points for Turfway Park's top Kentucky Derby prep race and points increased for Keeneland's Stonestreet Lexington Stakes (G3).

Since 2013 Churchill Downs has used a sliding scale of points awarded to the top four finishers in selected races to determine preference for its Kentucky Derby field, which is limited to 20 starters. 

A year ago Churchill Downs introduced the "Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby" to provide one potential entry in the Kentucky Derby for Japan-based horses. This year a path is being extended to European horsemen as well. 

Much like the "Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby," the new "European Road to the Kentucky Derby" is a stand-alone series of seven races that is separate from America's 36-race "Road to the Kentucky Derby" sequence. Only one position in the Kentucky Derby starting gate will be awarded to the horse that accrues the most points in the "European Road to the Kentucky Derby" and accepts an invitation to compete.

"With premier races for Europe's top horses often staged on turf in the months of May through October, we felt it was important to work with our European partners to create a distinctive path for horsemen who are interested in the Kentucky Derby," said Churchill Downs Inc. president and chief operating officer Bill Mudd. "Any European horse that intends to test the Kentucky Derby now has an opportunity to qualify for the 1 1/4-mile dirt classic by competing in the new series, which culminates with a trio of early-in-the-year races over synthetic surfaces at Kempton Park, Dundalk, and Newcastle. 

"By working with great partners at the racecourses, along with the British Horseracing Authority, France Galop, and Horse Racing Ireland governing bodies, we're optimistic this new series can add to the worldwide popularity of the Kentucky Derby."

The "European Road to the Kentucky Derby" includes a top-level quartet of one-mile juvenile turf races that will award points to the top four finishing positions: 10 points to the winner, four points to the runner-up, two points to the third-place horse, and one-point to the fourth-place finisher.

The 2-year-old races are the Sept. 24 Juddmonte Beresford (G2) at Naas in Ireland; the Sept. 30 Juddmonte Royal Lodge (G2) at Newmarket in England; the Oct. 1 Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère (G1) on the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1) undercard at Chantilly in France; and the Oct. 28 Racing Post Trophy (G1) at Doncaster in England.

Two one-mile races for 3-year-olds in early March over all-weather racing surfaces—the Road to the Kentucky Derby Condition Stakes at England's Kempton Park March 1 and the Patton Stakes at Dundalk in Ireland March 2—will award points on a scale of 20-8-4-2.

The series will climax March 30 with the one-mile Burradon Stakes at Newcastle in England, in which points will increase to 30-12-6-3 for the top four finishers.

"Early racing success is compensated in our series, but we prefer to emphasize recent form for qualification to the Kentucky Derby, and the creation of this new path provides just that," said CDI executive director of racing Mike Ziegler.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Racing's Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun, a race that often decides Japan's champion 2-year-old dirt horse, has been added to the "Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby" to make it a three-race series.

The one-mile Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun, annually contested at Kawasaki, is set for Dec. 13 between the Cattleya Sho for 2-year-olds Nov. 25 and the Hyacinth for 3-year-olds in mid-February. Both the Cattleya Sho and Hyacinth are one-mile Japan Racing Association races that are staged at Tokyo.

Points awarded to the top four finishing positions in the Cattleya Sho and Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun will be 10-4-2-1, while the Hyacinth will carry a point value of 30-12-6-3.

"It is with great pleasure to receive the news that our featured 2-year-old race, the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun, will be included in the 'Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby,' a series of races which provides an entry to the Kentucky Derby for a horse from Japan," said Masanobu Nakajima, president of Kanagawa Prefecture Kawasaki Racing Association. "The Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun is a domestic exchange race, in which both JRA and NAR horses can run and it is a race to decide the champion 2-year-old dirt horse in Japan. I am sure that with the inclusion of our race in this series, it opens the door for horses on the NAR circuit not only to the Kentucky Derby but also to the world. It is my earnest wish for this race to be a high-profile race and for our racing association to further promote NAR racing."

"Churchill Downs is thrilled to build upon our partnership with the JRA and welcome the NAR into this appealing series," Ziegler said. "Japan is a burgeoning market with considerable international interest, and we're keen to provide a useful and meaningful path to the Kentucky Derby for their world-class competitors and horsemen."

Two invitations to compete in the Kentucky Derby—one from Japan and one from Europe—will be extended to a horse from their respective series, with preference given to the horses who accrue the most points in their sequence. No invitation will be extended beyond the top four point earners, but if a horse also qualifies through the 36-race "Road to the Kentucky Derby" series, the invite will be extended to the next eligible horse.

If two or more horses have the same number of points, the tiebreakers are earnings in non-restricted stakes races followed by lifetime earnings. Should an invitation be declined by the top four in either division, the next horse on the North American "Road to the Kentucky Derby" preference list can seize that position.

Since 1967 there have been 36 horses who previously raced outside North America and ran in the Kentucky Derby. Venezuela's Canonero II won the 1971 Derby, while Bold Arrangement, who was campaigned in Great Britain and France, finished second to Ferdinand in the 1986 renewal.

In North America the 16 races of the "Kentucky Derby Championship Series" during the 10-week run-up to the first Saturday in May remain unchanged from a year ago, but a points modification was made to a pair of the races. The Jack Cincinnati Casino Spiral Stakes (G3) at Turfway (previously a 50-20-10-5) and Lexington at Keeneland (previously 10-4-2-1) are now worth 20-8-4-2.

"We want to properly reward the winners of both races but simultaneously confirm that the victors have had past or future successes to ensure a spot in the Derby field," Ziegler said.

A new "Prep Season" race on the "Road to the Kentucky Derby" is the $400,000 Springboard Mile, which will be run for 2-year-olds Dec. 17 at Remington Park.

"We're delighted to welcome the Springboard Mile into the fold," Ziegler said. "It has been a meaningful race for Midwest 2-year-olds in recent years, including Will Take Charge , the eventual 3-year-old champion of 2013. Remington Park officials have been enthusiastic to have their race included in our series, and their commitment was reaffirmed when they increased the purse by $100,000 to give it shared status as the richest race of Remington Park's season."

As has been the case for the past four years, the "Prep Season" will commence at the home of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, Sept. 16 with Churchill Downs' $150,000 Iroquois Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles. Points awarded during the "Prep Season" are worth 10-4-2-1, respectively, except for the Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), which is worth twice as much (20-8-4-2).

This is the sixth consecutive year that Churchill Downs will use a point system to determine entrants for its famed Kentucky Derby. At least 20 horses have entered the "Run for the Roses" every year since 2004, and 17 of the past 19 years.

A similar series remains in place to qualify for the Kentucky Derby's sister race, the $1 million Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1). Tampa Bay Downs' Suncoast at one mile and 40 yards in mid-February has been added as a "Prep Season" race to make the "Road to the Kentucky Oaks" a 31-race series. Also, top four points to the Bourbonette Oaks (G3) at Turfway were reduced to 20-8-4-2 (previously 50-20-10-5).