Road to 2022 Kentucky Derby: Points standings after 22 races
An unlikely candidate punched his ticket to the 2022 Kentucky Derby with his 75-1 win Saturday in the Grade 2, $1 million Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn. As a result, Un Ojo soared into second place in the Road to the Kentucky Derby standings.
With 54 points, the one-eyed gelding trained by Ricky Courville is second only to Risen Star (G2) winner Epicenter in qualifying to determine the 20 starters May 7 at Churchill Downs.
These are the 48 active candidates, according to Churchill Downs, with ties broken by earnings, first in non-restricted stakes and then career totals.
| Rk. | Horse | Pts. | Trainer | *Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Epicenter | 64 | Steve Asmussen | $340,000 |
| 2 | Un Ojo | 54 | Ricky Courville | $655,000 |
| 3 | Smile Happy | 30 | Kenny McPeek | $314,410 |
| 4 | Ethereal Road | 20 | D. Wayne Lukas | $200,000 |
| 5 | Barber Road | 18 | John Ortiz | $339,700 |
| 6 | Classic Causeway | 16 | Brian Lynch | $246,100 |
| 7 | Pappacap | 14 | Mark Casse | $562,000 |
| 8 | Zandon | 14 | Chad Brown | $90,000 |
| 9 | White Abarrio | 12 | Saffie Joseph Jr. | $186,850 |
| 10 | Mo Donegal | 12 | Todd Pletcher | $161,500 |
| 11 | Rattle N Roll | 10 | Kenny McPeek | $300,000 |
| 12 | Make It Big | 10 | Saffie Joseph Jr. | $240,000 |
| 13 | Slow Down Andy | 10 | Doug O'Neill | $184,000 |
| 14 | Major General | 10 | Todd Pletcher | $177,525 |
| 15 | Dash Attack | 10 | Kenny McPeek | $175,834 |
| 16 | Early Voting | 10 | Chad Brown | $137,500 |
| 17 | Call Me Midnight | 10 | Keith Desormeaux | $123,500 |
| 18 | Courvoisier | 10 | Kelly Breen | $83,750 |
| 19 | Kavod | 7 | Chris Hartman | $248,500 |
| 20 | Commandperformance | 6 | Todd Pletcher | $200,000 |
| 21 | Mackinnon | 5 | Doug O'Neill | $296,000 |
| 22 | Pioneer of Medina | 5 | Todd Pletcher | $16,000 |
| 23 | Giant Game | 4 | Dale Romans | $182,500 |
| 24 | Simplification | 4 | Antonio Sano | $140,070 |
| 25 | Cabo Spirit | 4 | George Papaprodromou | $112,000 |
| 26 | Tough to Tame | 4 | Chris Davis | $57,750 |
| 27 | Shipsational | 4 | Ed Barker | $40,000 |
| 28 | Smarten Up | 4 | Alfredo Velazquez | $31,250 |
| 29 | Ben Diesel | 3 | Dallas Stewart | $97,983 |
| 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 | Wayne Lukas | $29,643 |
| 35 | Volcanic | 2 | Mark Casse | $21,500 |
| x-Surfer Dude | 2 | Dallas Stewart | $12,000 | |
| x-Del Mo | 2 | Doug O'Neill | $12,000 | |
| 36 | My Prankster | 1 | Todd Pletcher | $121,380 |
| 37 | American Sanctuary | 1 | Chris Davis | $104,600 |
| 38 | Kevin's Folly | 1 | Tom Amoss | $42,250 |
| x-Mr Jefferson | 1 | Mike Trombetta | $17,750 | |
| 39 | Grantham | 1 | Mike Maker | $15,000 |
| 40 | Bourbon Heist | 1 | Ian Wilkes | $14,438 |
| 41 | Trafalgar | 1 | Al Stall Jr. | $12,000 |
| 42 | Sir London | 1 | Simon Callaghan | $12,000 |
| 43 | Galt | 1 | Bill Mott | $12,000 |
| 44 | Unbridled Bomber | 1 | Jim Ryerson | $10,250 |
| 45 | Il Belator | 1 | Jose Bautista | $6,000 |
| *Non-restricted stakes. | ||||
| x-Not nominated. |
Since the current prep system was established nine years ago, the cut line never has been higher than 40 points, meaning Epicenter and Un Ojo are all but assured of their places in the Derby.
Horses who have not been nominated for the Triple Crown may be made eligible with a $6,000 payment by March 28.
There have been 22 prep races on the main road to the Derby.
| Date | Race | Track | Distance | Top 4 (with points) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept. 18 | Iroquois | CD | 1 1/16 mi | Major General (10), Tough to Tame (4), Red Knobs (2), Bourbon Heist (1) |
| Oct. 1 | American Pharoah | SA | 1 1/16 mi | Corniche (0), Pappacap (4), Oviatt Class (2), Rockefeller (0) |
| Oct. 2 | Champagne | BEL | 1 mile | Jack Christopher (10), Commandperformance (4), Wit (2), My Prankster (1) |
| Oct. 9 | Breeders' Futurity | KEE | 1 1/16 mi | Rattle N Roll (10), Double Thunder (4), Classic Causeway (2), American Sanctuary (1) |
| Nov. 5 | Breeders' Cup Juvenile | DMR | 1 1/16 mi | Corniche (0), Pappacap (8), Giant Game (4), Commandperformance (2) |
| Nov. 27 | Kentucky Jockey Club | CD | 1 1/16 mi | Smile Happy (10), Classic Causeway (4), White Abarrio (2), Ben Diesel (1) |
| Dec. 4 | Remsen | AQU | 1 1/8 mi | Mo Donegal (10), Zandon (4), Midnight Chrome (2), Mr Jefferson (1) |
| Dec. 11 | Los Alamitos Futurity | LRC | 1 1/16 mi | Slow Down Andy (10), Messier (0), Barossa (0), Durante (1) |
| Dec. 17 | Springboard Mile | RP | 1 mile | Make It Big (10), Osbourne (4), Concept (0), Classic Moment (0) |
| Dec. 26 | Gun Runner | FG | 1 1/16 mi | Epicenter (10), Tejano Twist (4), Surfer Dude (2), Kevin's Folly (1) |
| Jan. 1 | Jerome | AQU | 1 mile | Courvoisier (10), Smarten UP (4), Cooke Creek (2), Unbridled Bomber (1) |
| Jan. 1 | Smarty Jones | OP | 1 mile | Dash Attack (10), Barber Road (4), Ignitis (2), Kavod (1) |
| Jan. 1 | Sham | SA | 1 mile | Newgrange (0), Rockefeller (0), Oviatt Class (2), Mackinnon (1) |
| Jan. 22 | Lecomte | FG | 1 1/16 mi | Call Me Midnight (10), Epicenter (4), Pappacap (2), Trafalgar (1) |
| Jan. 29 | Southwest | OP | 1 1/16 mi | Newgrange (0), Barber Road, Ben Diesel (2), Kavod (1) |
| Feb. 5 | Withers | AQU | 1 1/8 mi | Early Voting (10), Un Ojo (4), Gilded Age (2), Grantham (1) |
| Feb. 5 | Holy Bull | GP | 1 1/16 mi | White Abarrio (10), Simplification (4), Mo Donegal (2), Galt (1) |
| Feb. 6 | Robert B. Lewis | SA | 1 1/16 mi | Messier (0), Cabo Spirit (4), Wharton (0), Sir London (1) |
| Feb. 12 | Sam F. Davis | TB | 1 1/16 mi | Classic Causeway (10), Shipsational (4), Volcanic (2), Strike Hard (1) |
| Feb. 12 | El Camino Real Derby | GG | 1 1/8 mi* | Blackadder (0), Mackinnon (4), Del Mo (2), Il Belator (1) |
| Feb. 19 | Risen Star | FG | 1 1/8 mi | Epicenter (50), Smile Happy (20), Zandon (10), Pioneer of Medina (5) |
| Feb. 26 | Rebel | OP | 1 1/16 mi | Un Ojo (50), Ethereal Road (20), Barber Road (10), Kavod (5) |
| *Synthetic. |
Top-four finishers shown with zero points either were trained by Bob Baffert, who is ineligible to send horses to the Derby, or were on Lasix, which points earners may not use in their preps.
No fewer than 18 places in the starting gate are reserved for the main Road to the Kentucky Derby. One horse from Japan and one horse from Europe may claim invitations on their separate paths to the race. If their connections do not accept those berths, those places revert to the main Derby trail.