Small tweaks made for Road to the 2019 Kentucky Derby
The official Road to the 2019 Kentucky Derby will begin Saturday at the home of America’s greatest race as Churchill Downs stages the 37th running of the Grade 3, $150,000 Iroquois Stakes for 2-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles on opening weekend of its September Meet.
The Road to the Derby, a series of select races that award a sliding scale of points to the Top 4 finishers, has determined preference for its 20-horse Kentucky Derby field since 2013.
The total number of races in the primary series is unchanged from last year’s lineup with 35 marquee races scheduled. Saturday’s Iroquois kicks off the 19-race “Prep Season,” which features foundation-building races over a minimum of one mile between mid-September and mid-February. Points awarded during the “Prep Season” are worth 10-4-2-1 to the top four placings, respectively, except for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, which is worth twice as much (20-8-4-2).
The 16-race “Championship Series,” which comprise springboard events that often bring the 3-year-old picture into sharper focus, is the same as it was in 2018. Most first leg races offer 50-20-10-5 points to the Top 4 finishers while the most meaningful races – the UAE Derby (G2), Louisiana Derby (G2), Florida Derby (G1), Wood Memorial (G2), Blue Grass (G2), Santa Anita Derby (G1) and Arkansas Derby (G1) – are worth 100-40-20-10.
Some tweaks were made to the second-year European Road to the Kentucky Derby and third-year Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby, which are separate series that each carve out one spot for a potential horse from Europe and Japan.
The new Cardinal Condition Stakes, to be run April 11 over one mile on Polytrack at England’s Chelmsford City Racecourse, will replace Newcastle’s Burradon as the final race of the seven-race European series.
A fourth race has been added to the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby. The series will now culminate with the 1 1/8-mile Fukuyru on March 31 at Nakayama Racecourse and is worth 40-16-8-4 points to the top four placings. Also, points for the Dec. 19 Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun at Kawasaki Racecourse – the race that often decides Japan’s champion 2-year-old dirt horse – were raised from 10-4-2-1 to 20-8-4-2.
A similar series remains in place to qualify for the Kentucky Derby’s sister race, the Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI) for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/8 miles on Friday, May 3, 2019. As was the case in 2018, there will be 30 races for the “Road to the Kentucky Oaks” series: 15 “Prep Season” races, which starts with Saturday’s 50thrunning of the Grade 2, $200,000 Pocahontas at Churchill Downs, and 15 “Championship Series” races.
2018-19 ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY SCHEDULE
Kentucky Derby Prep Season (19 races)
Date | Race | Racetrack | Distance | 1st (Points) | 2nd (Points) | 3rd (Points) | 4th (Points) |
Sept. 15 | Iroquois | Churchill Downs | 1 1/16 Miles | (10) | (4) | (2) | (1) |
Sept. 29 | American Pharoah | Santa Anita | 1 1/16 Miles | (10) | (4) | (2) | (1) |
Oct. 6 | Champagne | Belmont Park | 1 Mile | (10) | (4) | (2) | (1) |
Oct. 6 | Breeders’ Futurity | Keeneland | 1 1/16 Miles | (10) | (4) | (2) | (1) |
Nov. 2 | Breeders’ Cup Juvenile | Churchill Downs | 1 1/16 Miles | (20) | (8) | (4) | (2) |
Nov. 24 | Kentucky Jockey Club | Churchill Downs | 1 1/16 Miles | (10) | (4) | (2) | (1) |
Dec. 1 | Remsen | Aqueduct | 1 1/8 Miles | (10) | (4) | (2) | (1) |
Dec. 8* | Los Alamitos Futurity | Los Alamitos | 1 1/16 Miles | (10) | (4) | (2) | (1) |
Dec. 16 | Springboard Mile | Remington Park | 1 Mile | (10) | (4) | (2) | (1) |
Jan. 1* | Jerome | Aqueduct | 1 Mile | (10) | (4) | (2) | (1) |
Jan. 5* | Sham | Santa Anita | 1 Mile | (10) | (4) | (2) | (1) |
Jan. 12* | Lecomte | Fair Grounds | 1 Mile 70 Yards | (10) | (4) | (2) | (1) |
Jan. 25 | Smarty Jones | Oaklawn Park | 1 Mile | (10) | (4) | (2) | (1) |
Feb. 2* | Withers | Aqueduct | 1 1/8 Miles | (10) | (4) | (2) | (1) |
Feb. 2* | Robert B. Lewis | Santa Anita | 1 1/16 Miles | (10) | (4) | (2) | (1) |
Feb. 2* | Holy Bull | Gulfstream Park | 1 1/16 Miles | (10) | (4) | (2) | (1) |
Feb. 9* | Sam F. Davis | Tampa Bay Downs | 1 1/16 Miles | (10) | (4) | (2) | (1) |
Feb. 16* | El Camino Real Derby | Golden Gate | 1 1/8 Miles (S) | (10) | (4) | (2) | (1) |
Feb. 18 | Southwest | Oaklawn Park | 1 1/16 Miles | (10) | (4) | (2) | (1) |
Kentucky Derby Championship Series (16 races)
Date | Race | Racetrack | Distance | 1st (Points) | 2nd (Points) | 3rd (Points) | 4th (Points) |
Feb. 16* | Risen Star | Fair Grounds | 1 1/16 Miles | (50) | (20) | (10) | (5) |
March 2* | Fountain of Youth | Gulfstream Park | 1 1/16 Miles | (50) | (20) | (10) | (5) |
March 9* | Tampa Bay Derby | Tampa Bay Downs | 1 1/16 Miles | (50) | (20) | (10) | (5) |
March 9* | Gotham | Aqueduct | 1 Mile | (50) | (20) | (10) | (5) |
March 9* | San Felipe | Santa Anita | 1 1/16 Miles | (50) | (20) | (10) | (5) |
March 16* | Jeff Ruby Steaks | Turfway Park | 1 1/8 Miles (S) | (20) | (8) | (4) | (2) |
March 16 | Rebel | Oaklawn Park | 1 1/16 Miles | (50) | (20) | (10) | (5) |
March 23* | Louisiana Derby | Fair Grounds | 1 1/8 Miles | (100) | (40) | (20) | (10) |
March 24* | Sunland Derby | Sunland Park | 1 1/8 Miles | (50) | (20) | (10) | (5) |
March 30* | UAE Derby | Meydan Racecourse | 1 3/16 Miles | (100) | (40) | (20) | (10) |
March 30* | Florida Derby | Gulfstream Park | 1 1/8 Miles | (100) | (40) | (20) | (10) |
April 6* | Wood Memorial | Aqueduct | 1 1/8 Miles | (100) | (40) | (20) | (10) |
April 6* | Blue Grass | Keeneland | 1 1/8 Miles | (100) | (40) | (20) | (10) |
April 6* | Santa Anita Derby | Santa Anita | 1 1/8 Miles | (100) | (40) | (20) | (10) |
April 13* | Lexington | Keeneland | 1 1/16 Miles | (20) | (8) | (4) | (2) |
April 13 | Arkansas Derby | Oaklawn Park | 1 1/8 Miles | (100) | (40) | (20) | (10) |
Schedule subject to change. … (T) = Turf … (S) = Synthetic … * = race dates and distances to be announced by host track; date based on recent historical placement.
2019 EUROPEAN ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY SCHEDULE
Date | Race | Racetrack | Distance | 1st (Points) | 2nd (Points) | 3rd (Points) | 4th (Points) |
Sept. 29 | Juddmonte Royal Lodge | Newmarket (GB) | 1 Mile (T) | (10) | (4) | (2) | (1) |
Sept. 30 | Juddmonte Beresford | Naas (Ire) | 1 Mile (T) | (10) | (4) | (2) | (1) |
Oct. 7 | Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère | Chantilly (Fr) | 1 Mile (T) | (10) | (4) | (2) | (1) |
Oct. 27 | October Trophy | Doncaster (GB) | 1 Mile (T) | (10) | (4) | (2) | (1) |
March 6 | Road to the Kentucky Derby Condition Stakes | Kempton Park (GB) | 1 Mile (S) | (20) | (8) | (4) | (2) |
March 8 | Patton (Listed) | Dundalk (Ire) | 1 Mile (S) | (20) | (8) | (4) | (2) |
April 11 | Cardinal Condition Stakes | Chelmsford City (GB) | 1 Mile (S) | (30) | (12) | (6) | (3) |
Schedule subject to change. … (T) = Turf … (S) = Synthetic … * = race dates and distances to be announced by host track; date based on recent historical placement.
2019 JAPAN ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY SCHEDULE
Date | Race | Racetrack | Distance | 1st (Points) | 2nd (Points) | 3rd (Points) | 4th (Points) |
Nov. 24 | Cattleya Sho | Tokyo Racecourse | 1 Mile | (10) | (4) | (2) | (1) |
Dec. 19 | Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun | Kawasaki Racecourse | 1 Mile | (20) | (8) | (4) | (2) |
Feb. 17* | Hyacinth | Tokyo Racecourse | 1 Mile | (30) | (12) | (6) | (3) |
March 31* | Fukuyru | Nakayama Racecourse | 1 1/8 Miles | (40) | (16) | (8) | (4) |
Schedule subject to change. … (T) = Turf … (S) = Synthetic … * = race dates and distances to be announced by host track; date based on recent historical placement.