Road to Kentucky Derby 2025 has 36 races, new wrinkles
Churchill Downs has made several changes for the 2024-25 road to the Kentucky Derby series.
Championship series races, defined as races that offer 50 or 100 points to the winner, will offer fewer points to fields of five or fewer. And the Group 2 UAE Derby has been moved from the main road to the Kentucky Derby and instead combined with races in England, France and Ireland to create a revamped Europe-Middle East road to the Kentucky Derby.
The road to the Kentucky Derby, which debuted in 2013, annually awards a sliding scale of points to the top five finishing positions in select qualifying races. At the conclusion of the series, the leaderboard will determine the preference list for entries into the Kentucky Derby, the 1 1/4-mile classic for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds annually held on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs.
At least 20 horses have entered the run for the roses in 23 of the last 26 years. As many as 20 horses can run, and up to four can enter on the also-eligible list.
The road to the Kentucky Derby begins Sept. 14 as Churchill Downs stages the 43rd running of the $300,000 Iroquois (G3) for 2-year-olds at one mile on opening weekend of its 14-day September meet.
In addition to the primary 36-race road to the Kentucky Derby series, two separate series carve out potential spots for international horses from Japan, Europe and the United Arab Emirates.
The Europe road to the Kentucky Derby has been rebranded as the Euro/Mideast road to the Kentucky Derby. The UAE Derby (G2) on April 5 has been removed from the primary road to the Kentucky Derby and will now conclude this newly rebranded stand-alone series that will carve out two Kentucky Derby invitations to the top point earners. Also, the Cardinal Condition Stakes at Chelmsford City has been removed from the series. Instead, the winner will receive an automatic berth in the starting gate for the American Turf (G2) on the Kentucky Derby undercard.
No changes were made to the stand-alone Japan road to the Kentucky Derby. Six horses based in Japan have competed in the Derby since the series debuted in 2017, including 2024 third-place finisher Forever Young.
Two other rule changes have been instituted. In the event a championship series race on the road to the Kentucky Derby or Kentucky Oaks is run with a five-horse field, only 75 percent of the points will be proportionally awarded. A championship series race field with four or fewer horses will be proportionally awarded 50 percent of the total points.
Last year, two races in the championship series would have been affected. The Fountain of Youth (G2) had nine entered, but only five ran after scratches. And the San Felipe (G2) had five entered, but only four ran.
The road to the Kentucky Derby and the road to the Kentucky Oaks also added races at Colonial Downs for the first time. The $500,000 Virginia Derby at 1 1/8 miles on dirt on March 15 during a four-day spring meet at Colonial Downs has been added to the road to the Kentucky Derby championship series.
The Virginia Derby will be staged seven weeks in advance of the Kentucky Derby, a spot on the racing calendar that previously was void of any qualifying races. The race will award 105 points to the top five finishers, including 50 points to the winner.
The 1 1/16-mile Virginia Oaks will be run on the Virginia Derby undercard. The race will be a qualifier on the 33-race road to the Kentucky Oaks series, which awards points to 3-year-old fillies to qualify for the 151st Kentucky Oaks (G1) at 1 1/8 miles on May 2.
Kentucky Derby prep season
| Date | Race | Racetrack | Grade | Purse | Distance | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept. 14 | Iroquois | Churchill Downs | 3 | $300,000 | 1 M | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Oct. 5 | Champagne | Aqueduct | 1 | $500,000 | 1 M | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Oct. 5 | Breeders' Futurity | Keeneland | 1 | $600,000 | 1 1/16 M | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Oct. 5 | American Pharoah | Santa Anita | 1 | $300,000 | 1 1/16 M | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Oct. 27 | Street Sense | Churchill Downs | 3 | $200,000 | 1 1/16 M | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Nov. 1 | Breeders' Cup Juvenile | Del Mar | 1 | $2,000,000 | 1 1/16 M | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 3 |
| Nov. 30 | Kentucky Jockey Club | Churchill Downs | 2 | $400,000 | 1 1/16 M | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Dec. 7 | Remsen | Aqueduct | 2 | $250,000 | 1 1/8 M | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Dec. 13 | Remington Springboard Mile | Remington Park | $300,000 | 1 M | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| *Dec. 14 | Los Alamitos Futurity | Los Alamitos | 2 | *$200,000 | 1 1/16 M | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Dec. 21 | Gun Runner | Fair Grounds | $100,000 | 1 1/16 M | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| Jan. 4 | Smarty Jones | Oaklawn Park | $250,000 | 1 1/16 M | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| *Jan. 4 | Jerome | Aqueduct | *$150,000 | 1 M | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| Jan. 18 | Lecomte | Fair Grounds | 3 | $250,000 | 1 1/16 M | 20 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| Jan. 25 | Southwest | Oaklawn Park | 3 | $1,000,000 | 1 1/16 M | 20 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| Feb. 1 | Holy Bull | Gulfstream Park | 3 | $250,000 | 1 1/16 M | 20 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| *Feb. 1 | Robert B. Lewis | Santa Anita | 3 | *$200,000 | 1 M | 20 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| *Feb. 1 | Withers | Aqueduct | 3 | *$250,000 | 1 1/8 M | 20 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| *Feb. 8 | Sam F. Davis | Tampa Bay Downs | 3 | *$250,000 | 1 1/16 M | 20 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| Feb. 22 | John Battaglia Memorial | Turfway Park | *$150,000 | 1 1/16 M (AW) | 20 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
Kentucky Derby championship series
| Date | Race | Racetrack | Grade | Purse | Distance | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb. 15 | Risen Star | Fair Grounds | 2 | $500,000 | 1 1/8 M | 50 | 25 | 15 | 10 | 5 |
| *Feb. 16 | Sunland Derby | Sunland Park | 3 | *$400,000 | 1 1/16 M | 20 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| Feb. 22 | Rebel | Oaklawn Park | 2 | $1,250,000 | 1 1/16 M | 50 | 25 | 15 | 10 | 5 |
| *March 1 | Gotham | Aqueduct | 3 | *$300,000 | 1 M | 50 | 25 | 15 | 10 | 5 |
| March 1 | Fountain of Youth | Gulfstream Park | 2 | $400,000 | 1 1/16 M | 50 | 25 | 15 | 10 | 5 |
| *March 2 | San Felipe | Santa Anita | 2 | *$400,000 | 1 1/16 M | 50 | 25 | 15 | 10 | 5 |
| March 8 | Tampa Bay Derby | Tampa Bay Downs | 3 | $400,000 | 1 1/16 M | 50 | 25 | 15 | 10 | 5 |
| March 15 | Virginia Derby | Colonial Downs | $500,000 | 1 1/8 M | 50 | 25 | 15 | 10 | 5 | |
| March 22 | Jeff Ruby Steaks | Turfway Park | 3 | *$700,000 | 1 1/8 M (AW) | 100 | 50 | 25 | 15 | 10 |
| March 22 | Louisiana Derby | Fair Grounds | 2 | $1,000,000 | 1 3/16 M | 100 | 50 | 25 | 15 | 10 |
| March 29 | Florida Derby | Gulfstream Park | 1 | $1,000,000 | 1 1/8 M | 100 | 50 | 25 | 15 | 10 |
| March 29 | Arkansas Derby | Oaklawn Park | 1 | $1,500,000 | 1 1/8 M | 100 | 50 | 25 | 15 | 10 |
| *April 5 | Wood Memorial | Aqueduct | 2 | *$750,000 | 1 1/8 M | 100 | 50 | 25 | 15 | 10 |
| *April 5 | Blue Grass | Keeneland | 1 | *$1,000,000 | 1 1/8 M | 100 | 50 | 25 | 15 | 10 |
| *April 5 | Santa Anita Derby | Santa Anita | 1 | *$750,000 | 1 1/8 M | 100 | 50 | 25 | 15 | 10 |
| *April 12 | Lexington | Keeneland | 3 | *$400,000 | 1 1/16 M | 20 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
* = Race dates, distances and purses will be announced by host track. Dates are based on recent historical placement.
AW = Artificial turf