Well, it’s almost six months ’til the First Saturday in May (Kentucky Derby Day), so this is the perfect time for Gary Contessa to provide you with some education, new race fans. For after the Kentucky Derby comes the Preakness, then the Belmont Stakes…you know, the Triple Crown. It’s time to talk about the Triple Crown–again. And the first race on that journey is the Kentucky Derby. But new race fans need to know, how does a horse get into the Kentucky Derby?
Gary’s all about education as the key to growing horse racing, and surely this is basic stuff that any new fan should know as we start to look toward the next Triple Crown season.
(And, in response to your unasked question: the quest for the Triple Crown will continue in 2016. And 2017. And every year, henceforth. American Pharoah won the Triple Crown this year, but it’s not like he discovered uranium, one and done. Yes, new race fans, it is an annual event. 2016 may very well give us another Triple Crown winner–how cool would that be?)
So, kudos to American Pharoah, but now it’s time to think about the Kentucky Derby, and next year’s Triple Crown attempt. If you’re a Thoroughbred owner or trainer, you’ve been thinking about the Triple Crown 2016 for several months now, and plotting your horses’ courses in a careful manner. Today’s victory can lead to entry into one of the Derby prep races and/or qualifying races…
Wait. What? What the heck is a “qualifying race”? How long have these “qualifying races” been around–since the inception of the Kentucky Derby? What horses can qualify? Which will have a harder time?
If you’re a new fan of horse racing, all these questions may be swirling around in your head. I’ve been a fan of 55 years, and I don’t understand the qualifying concept. So surely, someone who just came into horse racing because of American Pharoah is probably clueless about the whole prep races/qualifying races situation.
Gary wants you to read this information–no, you don’t have to memorize it–but you may wish to refer to it, often. This will help you (new fans and oldsters, like me) to wade through the complicated waters as the year moves forward.
Here, according to Wikipedia, is the least complicated explanation:
The Road to the Kentucky Derby is a points system which features 34 stakes races for 2 and 3-year-old Thoroughbreds. The point system replaces the previous system, which consisted of about 185 graded stakes races worldwide. The series is divided into two phases, the Kentucky Derby Prep Season and the Kentucky Derby Championship Series. The prep season consists of 17 races on dirt or synthetic surfaces over distances of at least one mile that typically are run between late September and late February. Points are awarded to the top 4 finishers in each race on a 10-4-2-1 scale. The championship season consists of two legs and a “wild card” round. The first leg includes eight races with a 50-20-10-5 scale. The second leg includes seven races with a 100-40-20-10 scale. The “wild card” consists of one race and has a 10-4-2-1 scale.
The top 20 point earners can earn a spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate if at least 20 horses enter the race. Up to 24 horses may enter the race and four horses can be listed as “also eligible” and would be ranked in order accordingly in case any horse(s) be scratched prior to the race. If two or more horses have the same number of points, the tiebreaker to get into the race will be earnings in non-restricted stakes races, whether or not they are graded. In the event of a tie, those horses will divide equally the points they would have received jointly had one beaten the other. If an owner wants a filly to run in the race, she is eligible, but she’ll have to earn points in the same races as the colts and geldings. Horses listed as “also eligible” are not allowed to participate in the race once wagering is opened.
I know, I’m still confused. But Gary gets it, and hopes that you will, too. SO! Sans further ado, here are the races, Prep and Championship Series, for the Kentucky Derby 2016, starting with November’s races.
Note that, left-to-right: Race / Track / Date / Points Given to First Four Finishing Positions:
Prep Races:
Delta Downs Jackpot / Delta Downs / Nov 21, 2015 / 10-4-2-1
Remsen / Aqueduct / Nov 28, 2015 / 10-4-2-1
Kentucky Jockey Club / Churchill Downs / Nov 28, 2015 / 10-4-2-1
Los Alamitos Futurity / Los Alamitos Race Course / Dec 19, 2015 / 10-4-2-1
Jerome / Aqueduct / Jan 9, 2016 / 10-4-2-1
Sham / Santa Anita Park / Jan 16, 2016 / 10-4-2-1
Smarty Jones / Oaklawn Park / Jan 18, 2016 / 10-4-2-1
Holy Bull / Gulfstream Park / Jan 30, 2016 / 10-4-2-1
Withers /Aqueduct / Feb 13, 2016 / 10-4-2-1
Robert B. Lewis/Santa Anita Park / Feb 13, 2016 / 10-4-2-1
Southwest / Oaklawn Park / Feb 15, 2016 / 10-4-2-1
El Camino Real Derby / Golden Gate Fields / Feb 20, 2016 / 10-4-2-1
Risen Star / Fair Grounds / Feb 20, 2016 / 50-20-10-5
Championship Series:
Fountain of Youth / Gulfstream Park / Feb 27, 2016 / 50-20-10-5
Gotham / Aqueduct / Mar 12, 2016 / 50-20-10-5
Tampa Bay Derby / Tampa Bay Downs / Mar 12, 2016 / 50-20-10-5
San Felipe / Santa Anita Park / Mar 12, 2016 / 50-20-10-5
Rebel / Oaklawn Park / Mar 19, 2016 / 50-20-10-5
Sunland Derby / Sunland Park / Mar 20, 2016/ 50-20-10-5
Spiral / Turfway Park / Mar 26, 2016 / 50-20-10-5
UAE Derby / Meydan Racecourse / Mar 26, 2016 / 100-40-20-10
Louisiana Derby / Fair Grounds / Mar 26, 2016 / 100-40-20-10
Florida Derby / Gulfstream Park / Apr 2, 2016 / 100-40-20-10
Wood Memorial / Aqueduct / Apr 9, 2016 / 100-40-20-10
Blue Grass / Keeneland / Apr 9, 2016 / 100-40-20-10
Santa Anita Derby / Santa Anita Park / Apr 9, 2016 / 100-40-20-10
Arkansas Derby / Oaklawn Park / Apr 16, 2016 / 100-40-20-10
Lexington / Keeneland / Apr 16, 2016 / 10-4-2-1
A few notes, asterisks (*) as it were:
TIEBREAKERS – If two or more horses have the same number of points, the tiebreaker is earnings in non-restricted stakes races. In the case of remaining ties, the additional starter(s) and/or also-eligible horses shall be determined by lifetime earnings. In the case of remaining ties, the additional starter(s) and/or also-eligible horses shall be determined by lot (aka a “shake”).
DEAD-HEATS – In the event of a dead-heat (tie) in a “Road to the Kentucky Derby” race, those horses will divide equally the points they would have received jointly had one beaten the other.
SPLIT DIVISIONS – In the event a “Road to the Kentucky Derby” race is split into divisions and each division awards its originally published purse money, points will be awarded as scheduled for each division. If the originally published purse is halved for each division, points will be halved as well.
NOMINATIONS – Horses born in 2013 can be made eligible to run in the 2016 Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown with a $600 early payment due by Jan. 23, 2016. A late period for nominations at $6,000 each will be open Jan. 24, 2016 through March 28, 2016. In addition to the Triple Crown nomination fee, owners must pay $25,000 to enter the Derby by 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, May 4, 2016, and an additional $25,000 to start. A horse not nominated to the Triple Crown with sufficient points may be supplemented for $200,000.
POST POSITION DRAW – The Kentucky Derby post position draw – a traditional “pill pull” in which horses’ entry blanks are pulled simultaneously with a numbered pill to determine what stall a horse will break from the starting gate – will be held at Churchill Downs on Wednesday, May 4, 2016 at 5:30 p.m. ET (live on NBCSN). Up to 24 horses may enter the race and four horses can be listed as “also eligible” and would be ranked in order accordingly; they could draw into the field should any horse(s) be scratched before scratch time on Friday, May 6, 2016 at 9 a.m. ET.
PRIZE MONEY – The Kentucky Derby winner will receive a gold trophy plus an estimated $1.24 million payday. A total of $400,000 will be awarded to the runner-up, $200,000 to third, $100,000 to fourth and $60,000 to fifth.
Hopefully, all this information didn’t muddy the waters of your understanding. It’s complicated, we know, but Gary gets it, and he really wants race fans (both lifelong and new) to understand so that you can watch the races leading up to the Kentucky Derby–and thereby, the Triple Crown–with the confidence that comes with comprehension. If you have any questions, please feel free to drop us a line, and we’ll get the best answer for you.
And the most important thing to understand about all these races, and the Triple Crown races, themselves? Have fun! It’s the same as with work or hobbies: if it’s not fun–don’t do it.
