Churchill Downs Releases Points Races for Road to 2020 Kentucky Derby, Oaks

LOUISVILLE, KY – The official “Road to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve” will begin Saturday, Sept. 14 at the home of America’s greatest race as Churchill Downs stages the $200,000 Iroquois (G3) for 2-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles on opening weekend of its 11-day September Meet.

The “Road to the Kentucky 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 (G1) field since 2013. The 1 ¼-mile classic for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds –which featured a $3 million purse in 2019 – will be run at the historic Louisville, Ky. racetrack for the 146^th consecutive year on Saturday, May 2, 2020.

The total number of races in the primary “Road to the Kentucky Derby” series is unchanged from last year’s lineup with 35 marquee races scheduled. The Iroquois will again kick 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 (G1), which is worth twice as much (20-8-4-2).

In addition to the Iroquois and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, “Prep Season” races include the American Pharoah, Breeders’ Futurity, Champagne, Kentucky Jockey Club, Remsen, Los Alamitos Futurity, Springboard Mile, Jerome, Sham, Lecomte, Smarty Jones, Withers, Holy Bull, Robert B. Lewis, Sam F. Davis, El Camino Real Derby and Southwest.

The 16-race “Championship Series” comprise springboard events that often bring the 3-year-old picture into sharper focus. Most first leg races offer 50-20-10-5 points to the Top 4 finishers: the Risen Star, Fountain of Youth, Gotham, Tampa Bay Derby, San Felipe, Rebel and Sunland Derby. The most meaningful races are worth 100-40-20-10: the Louisiana Derby, UAE Derby, Florida Derby, Wood Memorial, Blue Grass, Santa Anita Derby and Arkansas Derby. Additionally, the Jeff Ruby Steaks and Lexington offer points on a scale of 20-8-4-2 to the first four placings.

In addition to the primary “Road to the Kentucky Derby” series, there are two separate series that each carve out one spot for a potential horse from Europe and Japan.

The fourth year Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby series again features four races: the Cattleya Sho (10-4-2-1), Zen-Nippon NisaiYushun (20-8-4-2), Hyacinth (30-12-6-3) and Fukuryu (40-16-8-4).

The third-year European Road to the Kentucky Derby again showcases seven races: the Juddmonte Royal Lodge (10-4-2-1), Beresford (10-4-2-1), Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère (10-4-2-1), Vertem Futurity Trophy (10-4-2-1), Road to the Kentucky Derby Condition Stakes (20-8-4-2), Patton Stakes (20-8-4-2) and Cardinal Condition Stakes (30-12-6-3).

This is the eighth consecutive year that Churchill Downs has used a point system to determine entrants for its famed Kentucky Derby. At least 20 horses have entered the “Run for the Roses” every year since 2014, and 19 of the last 21 years.

A similar series remains in place to qualify for the Kentucky Derby’s sister race, the $1.25 million Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/8 miles on Friday, May 1, 2020. As was the case last year, there will be 30 races for the “Road to the Kentucky Oaks” series – 15 “Prep Season” races, which starts with the $200,000 Pocahontas (G2) on Sept. 14 at Churchill Downs, and 15 “Championship Series” races.

2019-20 ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY SCHEDULE

35 Races

Kentucky Derby Prep Season (19 races)

Date	Race	Racetrack	Distance	1^st (Points)	2^nd (Points)	3^rd (Points)	4^th (Points)
Sept. 14	Iroquois	Churchill Downs	1 1/16 Miles	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Sept. 27	American Pharoah	Santa Anita	1 1/16 Miles	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Oct. 5	Breeders’ Futurity	Keeneland	1 1/16 Miles	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Oct. 5	Champagne	Belmont Park	1 Mile	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Nov. 1	Breeders’ Cup Juvenile	Santa Anita	1 1/16 Miles	(20)	(8)	(4)	(2)
Nov. 30	Kentucky Jockey Club	Churchill Downs	1 1/16 Miles	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Dec. 2019	Remsen	Aqueduct	1 1/8 Miles	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Dec. 2019	Los Alamitos Futurity	Los Alamitos	1 1/16 Miles	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Dec. 15	Springboard Mile	Remington Park	1 Mile	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Jan. 2020	Jerome	Aqueduct	1 Mile	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Jan. 2020	Sham	Santa Anita	1 Mile	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Jan. 2020	Lecomte	Fair Grounds	1 Mile 70 Yards	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Jan. 24	Smarty Jones	Oaklawn Park	1 Mile	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Feb. 2020	Withers	Aqueduct	1 1/8 Miles	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Feb. 2020	Holy Bull	Gulfstream Park	1 1/16 Miles	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Feb. 2020	Robert B. Lewis	Santa Anita	1 1/16 Miles	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Feb. 2020	Sam F. Davis	Tampa Bay Downs	1 1/16 Miles	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Feb. 2020	El Camino Real Derby	Golden Gate	1 1/8 Miles (AW)	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Feb. 17	Southwest	Oaklawn Park	1 1/16 Miles	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)

Kentucky Derby Championship Series (16 races)

Date	Race	Racetrack	Distance	1^st (Points)	2^nd (Points)	3^rd (Points)	4^th (Points)
Feb. 2020	Risen Star	Fair Grounds	1 1/16 Miles	(50)	(20)	(10)	(5)
March 2020	Fountain of Youth	Gulfstream Park	1 1/16 Miles	(50)	(20)	(10)	(5)
March 2020	Gotham	Aqueduct	1 Mile	(50)	(20)	(10)	(5)
March 2020	Tampa Bay Derby	Tampa Bay Downs	1 1/16 Miles	(50)	(20)	(10)	(5)
March 2020	San Felipe	Santa Anita	1 1/16 Miles	(50)	(20)	(10)	(5)
March 2020	Jeff Ruby Steaks	Turfway Park	1 1/8 Miles (AW)	(20)	(8)	(4)	(2)
March 14	Rebel	Oaklawn Park	1 1/16 Miles	(50)	(20)	(10)	(5)
March 2020	Louisiana Derby	Fair Grounds	1 1/8 Miles	(100)	(40)	(20)	(10)
March 2020	Sunland Derby	Sunland Park	1 1/8 Miles	(50)	(20)	(10)	(5)
March 28	UAE Derby	Meydan Racecourse	1 3/16 Miles	(100)	(40)	(20)	(10)
March 2020	Florida Derby	Gulfstream Park	1 1/8 Miles	(100)	(40)	(20)	(10)
April 2020	Wood Memorial	Aqueduct	1 1/8 Miles	(100)	(40)	(20)	(10)
April 2020	Blue Grass	Keeneland	1 1/8 Miles	(100)	(40)	(20)	(10)
April 2020	Santa Anita Derby	Santa Anita	1 1/8 Miles	(100)	(40)	(20)	(10)
April 2020	Lexington	Keeneland	1 1/16 Miles	(20)	(8)	(4)	(2)
April 11	Arkansas Derby	Oaklawn Park	1 1/8 Miles	(100)	(40)	(20)	(10)

2018-19 EUROPEAN ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY SCHEDULE

7 Races

Date	Race	Racetrack	Distance	1^st (Points)	2^nd (Points)	3^rd (Points)	4^th (Points)
Sept. 28	Juddmonte Royal Lodge	Newmarket (GB)	1 Mile (T)	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Sept. 29	Beresford	Curragh (Ire)	1 Mile (T)	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Oct. 6	Qatar Prix Jean-LucLagardère	Longchamp (Fr)	1 Mile (T)	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Oct. 26	Vertem Futurity Trophy	Doncaster (GB)	1 Mile (T)	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
March 2020	Road to the Kentucky Derby Condition Stakes	Kempton Park (GB)	1 Mile (AW)	(20)	(8)	(4)	(2)
March 2020	Patton (Listed)	Dundalk (Ire)	1 Mile (AW)	(20)	(8)	(4)	(2)
April 2020	Cardinal Condition Stakes	Chelmsford City (GB)	1 Mile (AW)	(30)	(12)	(6)	(3)

2019-20 JAPAN ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY SCHEDULE

4 Races

Date	Race	Racetrack	Distance	1^st (Points)	2^nd (Points)	3^rd (Points)	4^th (Points)
Nov. 23	Cattleya Sho	Tokyo Racecourse	1 Mile	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Dec. 18	Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun	Kawasaki Racecourse	1 Mile	(20)	(8)	(4)	(2)
TBA 2020	Hyacinth	Tokyo Racecourse	1 Mile	(30)	(12)	(6)	(3)
TBA 2020	Fukuryu	Nakayama Racecourse	1 1/8 Miles	(40)	(16)	(8)	(4)

2019-20 ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY OAKS SCHEDULE

30 Races

Kentucky Oaks Prep Season (15 races)

Date	Race	Racetrack	Distance	1^st	2^nd	3^rd	4^th
Sept. 14	Pocahontas	Churchill Downs	1 1/16 Miles	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Sept. 27	Chandelier	Santa Anita	1 1/16 Miles	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Oct. 4	Alcibiades	Keeneland	1 1/16 Miles	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Oct. 6	Frizette	Belmont Park	1 Mile	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Nov. 1	BC Juvenile Fillies	Santa Anita	1 1/16 Miles	(20)	(8)	(4)	(2)
Nov. 30	Golden Rod	Churchill Downs	1 1/16 Miles	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Dec. 2019	Demoiselle	Aqueduct	1 1/8 Miles	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Dec. 2019	Starlet	Los Alamitos	1 1/16 Miles	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Jan. 2020	Santa Ynez	Santa Anita	7 Furlongs	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Jan. 2020	Silverbulletday	Fair Grounds	1 Mile 70 Yards	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Feb. 2020	Forward Gal	Gulfstream Park	7 Furlongs	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Feb. 1	Martha Washington	Oaklawn Park	1 Mile	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Feb. 2020	Busanda	Aqueduct	1 1/8 Miles	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Feb. 2020	Suncoast	Tampa Bay Downs	1 Mile 40 Yards	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
Feb. 2020	Las Virgenes	Santa Anita	1 Mile	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)

Kentucky Oaks Championship Series (15 races)

Date	Race	Racetrack	Distance	1^st	2^nd	3^rd	4^th
Feb. 2020	Rachel Alexandra	Fair Grounds	1 1/16 Miles	(50)	(20)	(10)	(5)
Feb. 2020	UAE Oaks	Meydan Racecourse	1 3/16 Miles	(50)	(20)	(10)	(5)
March 2020	Davona Dale	Gulfstream Park	1 Mile	(50)	(20)	(10)	(5)
March 2020	Busher Invitational	Aqueduct	1 Mile	(50)	(20)	(10)	(5)
March 2020	Bourbonette Oaks	Turfway Park	1 Mile (AW)	(20)	(8)	(4)	(2)
March 7	Honeybee	Oaklawn Park	1 1/16 Miles	(50)	(20)	(10)	(5)
March 2020	Santa Ysabel	Santa Anita	1 1/16 Miles	(50)	(20)	(10)	(5)
March 2020	Fair Grounds Oaks	Fair Grounds	1 1/16 Miles	(100)	(40)	(20)	(10)
March 2020	Sunland Park Oaks	Sunland Park	1 1/16 Miles	(50)	(20)	(10)	(5)
March 2020	Gulfstream Park Oaks	Gulfstream Park	1 1/16 Miles	(100)	(40)	(20)	(10)
April 2020	Santa Anita Oaks	Santa Anita	1 1/16 Miles	(100)	(40)	(20)	(10)
April 2020	Gazelle	Aqueduct	1 1/8 Miles	(100)	(40)	(20)	(10)
April 2020	Ashland	Keeneland	1 1/16 Miles	(100)	(40)	(20)	(10)
April 2020	Beaumont	Keeneland	7 Furlongs	(10)	(4)	(2)	(1)
April 10	Fantasy	Oaklawn Park	1 1/16 Miles	(100)	(40)	(20)	(10)

Schedule subject to change. … (T) = Turf … (AW) = Synthetic … Race dates and distances to be announced by host track; date based on recent historical placement.