Churchill releases Kentucky Derby qualifier schedule

This year’s series awarding qualifying points for entry into next year's Kentucky Derby will include 36 races, starting with Saturday’s Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs, according to a schedule released Monday by track personnel.

Twenty-one of the races have been categorized in the “prep season” running from Sept. 13 to Feb. 21, with most awarding 10 or 20 points to the winner. The exception is the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, which awards 30 points to the winner.

After that, winning one of 15 races on the remaining schedule is usually enough to earn one of the 17 spots in the Derby starting gate reserved for domestic runners, except for the final race on the calendar, the April 11 Lexington Stakes at Keeneland. Seven of the races award 50 points to the winner, while the other seven – including the Arkansas Derby, Florida Derby, Wood Memorial, Blue Grass Stakes, and Santa Anita Derby – award 100 points.

Generally, 40 points guarantees a spot in the 20-horse field.

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Churchill will continue to reduce the number of points available in a race if the field is five horses or less, with the total points award reduced to 75 percent of the original total in a five-horse field and 50 percent of the original total in a field with four horses or less. The rule was first implemented in 2024.

Last year, the Santa Anita Derby had a five-horse field, and the race’s second-place finisher, the highly regarded Baeza, was initially an also-eligible for the Derby with only 37.5 points. Baeza eventually got into the Derby after several late scratches, and he went off as the sixth choice, finishing third.

Two separate series will reserve one spot for a horse based in Japan and two spots for horses racing in Europe and/or the Middle East. The Japan series has four races in it, while the Euro/Mideast series has seven races, capped by the March 28 UAE Derby in Dubai, which will award 100 points to the winner.

Churchill Downs has used a points system to determine eligibility for the Derby since 2013. Points are awarded down to fifth place in each of the races, which are all restricted to 3-year-olds.

Once again, Churchill will also use a series to determine eligibility for the Kentucky Oaks, the Grade 1 race for 3-year-old fillies held the day before the Derby. That series will include 33 races, starting with the Pocahontas Stakes at Churchill on Saturday. The Oaks field is limited to 14 horses.

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