Churchill Downs officials on Thursday released the complete qualifying-points schedules toward the 2020 Kentucky Derby and Oaks with no changes from what has become traditional.

The Road to the Kentucky Derby once again consists of 35 races in the United States, with points awarded on a sliding scale in accordance to the relative importance of the prep races. Nineteen of those races are run as “prep season,” with most of them worth 10 points to the winner, while more meaningful races comprise the later “championship season,” with the winner getting 50 or 100 points. 

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has filed a motion to dismiss a federal lawsuit from Gary and Mary West disputing the disqualification of the couples’ horse, Maximum Security, from the Kentucky Derby on May 4.

The KHRC motion, filed June 8, states that the Wests have no legal foundation for seeking a court judgment to overturn the disqualification, citing the state’s rules regarding stewards’ decisions and legal precedent. Kentucky’s rules state that a decision of the stewards regarding interference in a race is final and cannot be appealed.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – By My Standards, the Louisiana Derby winner who was 11th in the Kentucky Derby, has returned to training after getting nearly two weeks off, with his next start still to be determined.

Luis Saez has filed an appeal of a 15-day suspension handed down by the stewards at Churchill Downs for his ride on Maximum Security during the May 4 Kentucky Derby, according to his attorney. Saez also filed a request for a stay of the suspension until his appeal can be heard.

The owners of Maximum Security, the colt disqualified from first in the May 4 Kentucky Derby, have filed a federal lawsuit in a U.S. District Court in Kentucky seeking to overturn the stewards’ decision and declare the horse the official winner.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Jockey Luis Saez has been suspended 15 racing days by Churchill Downs stewards for his ride in the Kentucky Derby aboard Maximum Security, who crossed the wire first before being disqualified for causing interference leaving the second turn of the race. Saez was cited for “failure to control his mount and make the proper effort to maintain a straight course,” the stewards cited in their ruling, which was released Monday on the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission website.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Gray Magician is being rested at a Kentucky farm after finishing last of 19 in the Kentucky Derby last Saturday.

Trainer Peter Miller said Gray Magician bled “a little bit” in the Kentucky Derby. Sent off at 33-1, Gray Magician was 14th on the backstretch and as close as 13th on the turn before fading through the stretch on a sloppy and sealed racetrack.

“I don’t think he’ll be seeing a wet track again,” Miller said. “His two worse races were on sloppy tracks.”

ARCADIA, Calif. – Omaha Beach, who was withdrawn from the Kentucky Derby three days before the race after being diagnosed with an entrapped epiglottis, could return to trainer Richard Mandella’s stable at Santa Anita as early as this weekend.

Mandella said Wednesday that Omaha Beach is being given a rest at WinStar Farm in Kentucky. Mandella said he has secured a reservation on a horse flight Sunday and may have Omaha Beach shipped west this weekend, depending on the colt’s condition.

Q.  What is your opinion about the DQ in the 2019 Derby? Should this lead to talk about standardized rules in racing and maybe a commissioner?

—Dwight Shellman

A. I am glad you asked this question because I feel strongly about the issue: Maximum Security should not have been disqualified.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – They were slogging back around the clubhouse turn headed home with their muddy, untacked longshot, already thrilled with his gallant runner-up effort in the Kentucky Derby, when Churchill Downs track announcer Travis Stone’s voice came over the public address system: “Hold all tickets. There’s a rider’s objection in this race, and it concerns the top two finishers.”

And so they turned back around to wait near the finish wire. Just in case.