Road to Kentucky Derby 2023: Standings after 22 points preps
Saturday's Grade 2 Rebel Stakes moved four horses into the top 20 on the Kentucky Derby 2023 leaderboard.
Confidence Game picked up 50 points for the upset win and now is in first place on the board with 57. Runner-up Red Route One now is in fourth place, Reincarnate is No. 14 and Verifying, the favorite for the Rebel who finished fourth, now is No. 16 on the list.
Bourbon Bash, who picked up 5 points for finishing fifth, joins the list at No. 30.
The road to the Kentucky Derby has moved into what might be called the knockout stage.
With most of the remaining points qualifiers offering 50 or 100 points to the winners, the top of the leaderboard will be changing from week to week. Winners of those races, and runners-up in the biggest points preps, will be virtually guaranteed a slot in the Derby field.
So attention will turn to the horses ranked in the vicinity of No. 20, the capacity of the Churchill Downs gate for the Derby. Each new arrival near the top means another hopeful will drop out of contention.
Four Derby points preps are scheduled for Saturday. The Fountain of Youth, Gotham and San Felipe offer 50 points to the winner, and the John Battaglia Memorial offers 20.
Preps such as the Bettaglia that offer fewer points can't be disregarded. Last year's upset winner of the Kentucky Derby, Rich Strike, earned 20 points for finishing third in the Jeff Ruby Steaks last year, but he wouldn't have been running for the roses if he hadn't finished fourth in the Battaglia.
| Rank | Horse | Points | Trainer | Earnings * |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Confidence Game | 57 | Keith Desormeaux | $610,480 |
| 2 | Angel of Empire | 54 | Brad Cox | $287,000 |
| 3 | Forte | 40 | Todd Pletcher | $1,545,650 |
| 4 | Red Route One | 33 | Steve Asmussen | $398,375 |
| 5 | Instant Coffee | 32 | Brad Cox | $385,065 |
| 6 | Sun Thunder | 24 | Kenny McPeek | $115,250 |
| 7 | Two Phil's | 23 | Larry Rivelli | $235,850 |
| 8 | Rocket Can | 20 | Bill Mott | $150,350 |
| 9 | Hit Show | 20 | Brad Cox | $137,500 |
| 10 | Litigate | 20 | Todd Pletcher | $120,000 |
| 11 | Curly Jack | 17 | Tom Amoss | $348,120 |
| 12 | Blazing Sevens | 16 | Chad Brown | $411,000 |
| 13 | Arctic Arrogance | 16 | Linda Rice | $130,000 |
| 14 | Reincarnate | 15 | Tim Yakteen | $149,500 |
| 15 | Jace's Road | 15 | Brad Cox | $100,350 |
| 16 | Verifying | 14 | Brad Cox | $184,750 |
| 17 | Victory Formation | 10 | Brad Cox | $152,750 |
| 18 | Dubyhnell | 10 | Danny Gargan | $137,500 |
| 19 | Practical Move | 10 | Tim Yakteen | $132,000 |
| 20 | Lugan Knight | 10 | Michael McCarthy | $82,500 |
| x-Chase the Chaos | 10 | Ed Moger Jr. | $81,000 | |
| 21 | Tapit's Conquest | 10 | Brad Cox | $16,000 |
| 22 | General Banker | 9 | James Ferraro | $48,000 |
| 23 | Shadow Dragon | 8 | Bill Mott | $48,500 |
| 24 | Denington | 8 | Kenny McPeek | $43,110 |
| x-Groveland | 8 | Eoin Harty | $40,000 | |
| 25 | Hayes Strike | 7 | Kenny McPeek | $95,750 |
| 26 | Andiamo a Firenze | 7 | Kelly Breen | $72,000 |
| 27 | Frosted Departure | 6 | Kenny McPeek | $207,112 |
| 28 | West Coast Cowboy | 6 | Saffie Joseph Jr. | $24,250 |
| 29 | Classic Car Wash | 6 | Mark Casse | $20,000 |
| 30 | Bourbon Bash | 5 | D. Wayne Lukas | $15,000 |
| 31 | Single Ruler | 5 | Keith Desormeaux | $8,000 |
| 32 | Loggins | 4 | Brad Cox | $106,500 |
| 33 | Honed | 4 | Kenny McPeek | $65,700 |
| 34 | Legacy Isle | 4 | Rohan Crichton | $40,325 |
| 35 | Raise Cain | 4 | Ben Colebrook | $39,750 |
| 36 | Classic Legacy | 4 | Bill Mott | $10,000 |
| 37 | Gulfport | 3 | Steve Asmussen | $267,070 |
| 38 | Tuskegee Airmen | 3 | John Servis | $90,000 |
| x-Echo Again | 3 | Steve Asmussen | $46,625 | |
| 39 | Determinedly | 3 | Mark Casse | $20,500 |
| x-Harcyn | 3 | Steve Sherman | $12,000 | |
| x-Packs a Wahlop | 2 | Jeff Mullins | $196,000 | |
| x-Zydeceaux | 2 | Ramon Minguet | $111,000 | |
| x-Passarando | 2 | Steven Specht | $64,450 | |
| x-Prove Right | 2 | James Chapman | $37,375 | |
| 40 | Western Ghent | 2 | D. Wayne Lukas | $35,110 |
| x-Gunflash | 2 | Karl Broberg | $24,000 | |
| x-Quick to Accuse | 2 | Horacio De Paz | $15,000 | |
| 41 | Il Miracolo | 2 | Antonio Sano | $12,535 |
| 42 | Tall Boy | 2 | Leandro Mora | $12,000 |
| 43 | Neural Network | 2 | Chad Brown | $9,000 |
| x-Bromley | 2 | Paulo Lobo | $4,000 | |
| x-Andthewinnneris | 1 | Wayne Catalano | $248,363 | |
| x-Campfire Creed | 1 | Danny Pish | $77,000 | |
| x-How Did He Do That | 1 | Steve Asmussen | $50,400 | |
| x-Midnight Trouble | 1 | Peter Walder | $35,000 | |
| x-Man Child | 1 | Ryan Hanson | $30,000 | |
| 44 | Champions Dream | 1 | Danny Gargan | $20,000 |
| * Non-restricted stakes | ||||
| x-Not an early Triple Crown nominee |