Kentucky Derby, Oaks points system gets a few tweaks

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Officials at Churchill Downs announced Friday a series of slight modifications to the points system governing entry into the Kentucky Derby and Oaks in coming years, including toward next May, when both classics will be renewed. The series of preps toward the 2023 runnings were to begin Saturday with two Grade 3 races, the Iroquois and Pocahontas at Churchill.

The most significant changes to a system that first came into use ahead of the 2013 Derby and Oaks involve points being awarded to the top five finishers (instead of four), along with points increases for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and Juvenile Fillies and for certain preps traditionally held in late January to early February.

Points values now will be awarded on a 10-4-3-2-1 basis, versus 10-4-2-1 on the old scale. Multiples of that baseline apply to races of higher value. Under the new points system the top races will now be worth 100-40-30-20-10.

In a release, Churchill reasoned that the expansion of points “has been implemented to grow ‘Derby Fever’ for more horses and ownership groups, which could potentially increase field size” for those qualifying races.

The BC Juvenile and Juvenile Fillies, both set for Nov. 4 at Keeneland, now are worth 30 points to the winner instead of 20, with the other finishing positions adjusted accordingly on the new scale. The reasoning for the bump is to differentiate them as historically high-quality Grade 1 races from other preps, according to the Churchill release.

Also, seven early-season Derby preps that had awarded only 10 points to the winner have been doubled to 20-8-6-4-2, those races being the Lecomte (Fair Grounds), Southwest (Oaklawn Park), Withers (Aqueduct), Holy Bull (Gulfstream Park), Robert B. Lewis (Santa Anita), Sam F. Davis (Tampa Bay Downs) and John Battaglia Memorial (Turfway Park). Some corresponding early-season preps for the Oaks also have undergone the same tweak.

In addition to the 37-race series of traditional preps toward the Derby, there also remain two separate series that each carve out one spot for a potential starter from Europe and Japan. There are 32 designated preps for the Oaks.

The 2023 Oaks and Derby will be run May 5 and 6, respectively.