Kentucky Derby 2022: Who's in, out and on the points bubble?
No win, or combination of wins, has earned a hopeful their ticket to the 2022 Kentucky Derby until now. The pursuit toward achieving a bid began in September, but the points payout has not been enough in a single race to put you over the top until we reached the Grade 2 Risen Star.
Let's jump in and analyze the leaderboard by looking at who's in, out, and on the 2022 Kentucky Derby points bubble. We begin by running down the changes prompted by Saturday's results.
Newly in
Epicenter, 64 points
The wire-to-wire win catapults Epicenter, trained by Steve Asmussen, to the front of the points standings with this impressive win in the Risen Star. The son of Not This Time broke cleanly from the starting gate, took the lead and never looked back. He now has scored in all three of his Kentucky Derby points races and never finished worse than second. Epicenter's win in the Risen Star with Joel Rosario aboard provides a strong case for him to be considered a top 10 contender heading into his next start on the Kentucky Derby trail.
On the bubble
Smile Happy, 30 points
In some years, 30 was not enough to make it into the starting gate - 40 points in 2019 - so Smile Happy will have to be held out for now. But it is evident that the son of Run Happy is just getting started and that more points will quickly be added to his total before we reach the first Saturday in May.
Trained by Kenny McPeek, the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes winner was sent off as the favorite in the Risen Star but couldn't close the gap fast enough. However, Smile Happy looks like a prime candidate for the Kentucky Derby distance, so his chances of qualifying were not lessened by this weekend's performance.
Still out
Zandon, 14 points
The son of Upstart got started on the Kentucky Derby trail with a runner-up finish in the Remsen (G2) in December. By coming back with a third-place effort in the Risen Star, his connections should be feeling pretty good about his chances of scoring again next time out. Trained by Chad Brown, Zandon likely will swing back to the East Coast after this stop and steer toward the Wood Memorial (G2).
Pappacap, 14 points
Pappacap began his racing career mainly on the West Coast with the Breeders' Cup as the target. His juvenile career was fruitful, and he produced a runner-up finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Since then, however, his Derby hopes stalled out in Louisiana with a third-place finish in the Lecomte (G3) and now an eighth-place effort in the Risen Star. Historically when a juvenille races as often as Pappacap did without enough points by now, qualification for the Kentucky Derby can be challenging. Mark Casse undoubtedly is good enough to get it right, so it will be interesting to see where Pappacap turns up next.
Slow Down Andy, 10 points
The decision to leave California in favor of a spot in the Risen Star at the Fairgrounds did not return any points for Doug O'Neill. After winning the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2), the son of Nyquist, winner of the 2016 Kentucky Derby, got caught in the middle of the pack and failed to make a bid. There are many races ahead and chances to reset, but it will be interesting to see whether his connections will keep Slow Down Andy in Louisiana or send him back to California for his next start.
Pioneer of Medina, 5 points
The son of Pioneerof the Nile, runner-up in the 2009 Kentucky Derby, earned five points with a fourth-place finish in his first graded stakes race. Pioneer of Medina has to add a lot of points to his total to make it into the top 20, but there's plenty of time and probably a well-thought-out plan by his trainer, Todd Pletcher.
Looking ahead - points standings
A win-and-you're-in scenario resumes again on Saturday with the Rebel (G2) at Oaklawn Park. Click here to see the remaining races on the points series schedule and the points awarded for each contest. And finally, below is the updated leaderboard after the Risen Star.
| Rank | Horse | Points | Trainer | Stakes earnings* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Epicenter | 64 | Steve Asmussen | $100,000 |
| 2 | Smile Happy | 30 | Ken McPeek | $234,410 |
| 3 | Classic Causeway | 16 | Brian Lynch | $246,100 |
| 4 | Pappacap | 14 | Mark Casse | $558,000 |
| 5 | Zandon | 14 | Chad Brown | $50,000 |
| 6 | White Abarrio | 12 | Saffie Joseph Jr. | $186,850 |
| 7 | Mo Deongal | 12 | Todd Pletcher | $161,500 |
| 8 | Rattle N Roll | 10 | Ken McPeek | $300,000 |
| 9 | Jack Christopher | 10 | Chad Brown | $275,000 |
| 10 | Make It Big | 10 | Saffie Joseph Jr. | $240,000 |
| 11 | Slow Down Andy | 10 | Doug O'Neill | $180,000 |
| 12 | Major General | 10 | Todd Pletcher | $177,525 |
| 13 | Dash Attack | 10 | Ken McPeek | $172,500 |
| 14 | Early Voting | 10 | Chad Brown | $137,500 |
| 15 | Call Me Midnight | 10 | Keith Desormeaux | $123,500 |
| 16 | Courvoisier | 10 | Kelly Breen | $83,750 |
| 17 | Barber Road | 8 | John Ortiz | $239,700 |
| 18 | Commandperformance | 6 | Todd Pletcher | $200,000 |
| 19 | Mackinnon | 5 | Doug O'Neill | $296,000 |
| 20 | Giant Game | 4 | Dale Romans | $182,500 |
| 21 | Simplification | 4 | Antonio Sano | $140,070 |
| 22 | Cabo Spirit | 4 | George Papaprodromou | $112,000 |
| 23 | Tough to Tame | 4 | Chris Davis | $57,750 |
| 24 | Un Ojo | 4 | Tony Dutrow | $55,000 |
| 25 | Shipsational | 4 | Ed Barker | $40,000 |
| 26 | Smarten Up | 4 | Alfredo Velazquez | $31,250 |
| 27 | Ben Diesel | 3 | Dallas Stewart | $94,650 |
| 28 | Wit | 2 | Todd Pletcher | $202,500 |
| 29 | Kavod | 2 | Jim Chapman | $198,500 |
| 30 | Cooke Creek | 2 | Jeremiah O'Dwyer | $79,250 |
| 31 | Red Knobs | 2 | Dale Romans | $53,075 |
| 32 | Midnight Chrome | 2 | Tyler Servis | $32,500 |
| 33 | Gilded Age | 2 | Bill Mott | $30,000 |
| 34 | Ignitis | 2 | D. Wayne Lukas | $29,643 |
| 35 | Volcanic | 2 | Mark Casse | $21,500 |
| 36 | Del Mo | 2 | Doug O'Neill | $12,000 |
| 37 | My Prankster | 1 | Todd Pletcher | $121,380 |
| 38 | American Sanctuary | 1 | Chris Davis | $104,600 |
| 39 | Grantham | 1 | Mike Maker | $15,000 |
| 40 | Bourbon Heist | 1 | Ian Wilkes | $14,438 |
| 41 | Sir London | 1 | Simon Callaghan | $12,000 |
| 42 | Galt | 1 | Bill Mott | $12,000 |
| 43 | Unbridled Bomber | 1 | James Ryerson | $10,250 |
| 44 | Trafalgar | 1 | Al Stall Jr. | $8,000 |
| 43 | Strike Hard | 1 | Matthew Williams | $4,250 |
* Non-restricted stakes earnings