Road to the 2022 Kentucky Derby: Points standings
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Last weekend featured the biggest Kentucky Derby points race yet, the Risen Star (G2) at Fair Grounds. The race paid points in increments of 50-20-10-5 to the top four finishers.
Another major points prep is Saturday in the Rebel (G2) at Oaklawn. Below is a look at the Derby prep races so far. Note that horses trained by Bob Baffert are ineligible for points because of his Churchill Downs Inc. ban.
| Date | Race | Track | Distance | 1st-4th (points) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept. 18 | Iroquois | CD | 1 1/16 miles | Major General (10), Tough to Tame (4), Red Knobs (2), Bourbon Heist (1) |
| Oct. 1 | American Pharoah | SA | 1 1/16 miles | Corniche (0), Pappacap (4), Oviatt Class (2), Rockefeller (0) |
| Oct. 2 | Champagne | BEL | One mile | Jack Christopher (10), Commandperformance (4), Wit (2), My Prankster (1) |
| Oct. 9 | Breeders' Futurity | KEE | 1 1/16 miles | Rattle N Roll (10), Double Thunder (4), Classic Causeway (2), American Sanctuary (1) |
| Nov. 5 | Breeders' Cup Juvenile | DMR | 1 1/16 miles | Corniche (0), Pappacap (8), Giant Game (4), Commandperformance (2) |
| Nov. 27 | Kentucky Jockey Club | CD | 1 1/16 miles | Smile Happy (10), Classic Causeway (4), White Abarrio (2), Ben Diesel (1) |
| Dec. 4 | Remsen | AQU | 1 1/8 miles | Mo Donegal (10), Zandon (4), Midnight Chrome (2), Mr Jefferson (1) |
| Dec. 11 | Los Alamitos Futurity | LRC | 1 1/16 miles | Slow Down Andy (10), Messier (0), Barossa (0), Durante (1) |
| Dec. 17 | Springboard Mile | RP | One mile | Make It Big (10), Osbourne (4), Concept (0), Classic Moment (0) |
| Dec. 26 | Gun Runner | FG | 1 1/16 miles | Epicenter (10), Tejano Twist (4), Surfer Dude (2), Kevin's Folly (1) |
| Jan. 1 | Jerome | AQU | One mile | Courvoisier (10), Smarten UP (4), Cooke Creek (2), Unbridled Bomber (1) |
| Jan. 1 | Smarty Jones | OP | One mile | Dash Attack (10), Barber Road (4), Ignitis (2), Kavod (1) |
| Jan. 1 | Sham | SA | One mile | Newgrange (0), Rockefeller (0), Oviatt Class (2), Mackinnon (1) |
| Jan. 22 | Lecomte | FG | 1 1/16 miles | Call Me Midnight (10), Epicenter (4), Pappacap (2), Trafalgar (1) |
| Jan. 29 | Southwest | OP | 1 1/16 miles | Newgrange (0), Barber Road, Ben Diesel (2), Kavod (1) |
| Feb. 5 | Withers | AQU | 1 1/8 miles | Early Voting (10), Un Ojo (4), Gilded Age (2), Grantham (1) |
| Feb. 5 | Holy Bull | GP | 1 1/16 miles | White Abarrio (10), Simplification (4), Mo Deonegal (2), Galt (1) |
| Feb. 6 | Robert B. Lewis | SA | 1 1/16 miles | Messier (0), Cabo Spirit (4), Wharton (0), Sir London (1) |
| Feb. 12 | Sam F. Davis | TAM | 1 1/16 miles | Classic Causeway (10), Shipsational (4), Volcanic (2), Strike Hard (1) |
| Feb. 12 | El Camino Real Derby | GG | 1 1/8 miles | Blackadder (0), Mackinnon (4), Del Mo (2), Il Bellator (1) |
| Feb. 19 | Risen Star | FG | 1 1/8 miles | Epicenter (50), Smile Happy (20), Zandon (10), Pioneer of Medina |
In winning the Risen Star, Epicenter took a large lead in the points standings, with 64. Smile Happy, who finished second, moved to second with 30.
| Rank | Horse | Points | Trainer | Stakes earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Epicenter | 64 | Steve Asmussen | $340,000 |
| 2 | Smile Happy | 30 | Kenny McPeek | $314,410 |
| 3 | Classic Causeway | 16 | Brian Lynch | $246,100 |
| 4 | Pappacap | 14 | Mark Casse | $562,000 |
| 5 | Zandon | 14 | Chad Brown | $90,000 |
| 6 | White Abarrio | 12 | Saffie Joseph Jr. | $186,850 |
| 7 | Mo Donegal | 12 | Todd Pletcher | $161,500 |
| 8 | Rattle N Roll | 10 | Kenny 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 | $184,000 |
| 12 | Major General | 10 | Todd Pletcher | $177,525 |
| 13 | Dash Attack | 10 | Kenny 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 | Pioneer of Medina | 5 | Todd Pletcher | $16,000 |
| 21 | Giant Game | 4 | Dale Romans | $182,500 |
| 22 | Simplification | 4 | Antonio Sano | $140,070 |
| 23 | Cabo Spirit | 4 | George Papaprodromou | $112,000 |
| - | Osbourne | 4 | Ron Moquett | $82,143 |
| 24 | Tough to Tame | 4 | Chris Davis | $57,750 |
| 25 | Un Ojo | 4 | Tony Dutrow | $55,000 |
| 26 | Shipsational | 4 | Ed Barker | $40,000 |
| 27 | Smarten Up | 4 | Alfredo Velazquez | $31,250 |
| 28 | Ben Diesel | 3 | Dallas Stewart | $94,650 |
| 29 | Wit | 2 | Todd Pletcher | $202,500 |
| 30 | Kavod | 2 | Chris Hartman | $198,500 |
| 31 | Cooke Creek | 2 | Jeremiah O'Dwyer | $79,250 |
| 32 | Red Knobs | 2 | Dale Romans | $53,075 |
| 33 | Midnight Chrome | 2 | Tyler Servis | $32,500 |
| 34 | Gilded Age | 2 | Bill Mott | $30,000 |
| 35 | Ignitis | 2 | Wayne Lukas | $29,643 |
| 36 | Volcanic | 2 | Mark Casse | $21,500 |
| - | Surfer Dude | 2 | Dallas Stewart | $12,000 |
| 37 | Del Mo | 2 | Doug O'Neill | $12,000 |
| 38 | My Prankster | 1 | Todd Pletcher | $121,380 |
| 39 | American Sanctuary | 1 | Chris Davis | $104,600 |
| - | Kevin's Folly | 1 | Tom Amoss | $41,250 |
| - | Mr Jefferson | 1 | Mike Trombetta | $17,750 |
| 40 | Grantham | 1 | Mike Maker | $15,000 |
| 41 | Bourbon Heist | 1 | Ian Wilkes | $14,438 |
| 42 | Unbridled Bomber | 1 | Jim Ryerson | $10,250 |
| 43 | Trafalgar | 1 | Al Stall Jr. | $12,000 |
| 44 | Sir London | 1 | Simon Callaghan | $12,000 |
| 45 | Galt | 1 | Bill Mott | $12,000 |
| 46 | Il Belator | 1 | Jose Bautista | $6,000 |
| 47 | Strike Hard | 1 | Matthew Williams | $4,250 |
Last week also included a prep race in Japan, the Hyacinth at Tokyo Racecourse. The 30-12-6-3 points race was won by Combustion, while Geraldo Barows finished second and Sea Vixen completed the trifecta.
Combustion, who is not Triple Crown nominated, is owned by Godolphin. The Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby concludes on March 26 at Nakayama with the Fukuryu, a 40-16-8-4 points prep.
| Points | Horse |
|---|---|
| 38 | Combustion |
| 20 | Dry Stout |
| 14 | Geraldo Barows |
| 10 | Consigliere |
| 6 | Sea Vixen (f) |
| 4 | Cafe Karma |
| 4 | Praelude |
| 3 | El Paso |
| 2 | Sekifu |
| 1 | World Connector |
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