The Kentucky Derby is horse racing’s crown jewel and one of the biggest social events of the year. In addition to the race being limited to 3-year-old horses only you have to be in the top 20 in points. How you get into the top 20 is by earning points through certain races called Prep Races. Each prep race is weighted differently in points and there are multiple to choose from. The more prestige the race the more points that will be given out. This past weekend was the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park, First place in that race was worth 50 points, Second was worth 20 Third was 10 and Fourth was 5.
[MikeE]
Currently, as it stands there have been 27 prep races run and 10 left to run. Yet the field is nowhere near ready to be set as 7 out of the next 10 races award 100 points to first place. Currently here are the standings for the Derby.
- Gunnevera 64 Points
- Tapwrit 54 Points
- J Boys Echo 53 Points
- Malagacy 50 Points
- Girvin 50 Points
- Practical Joke 34 Points
- Untrapped 34 Points
- Classic Empire 32 Points
- El Areeb 30 Points
- Gormley 25 Points
- State Of Honor 22 Points
- McCracken 20 Points
- Iliad 20 Points
- Sonneteer 20 Points
- Cloud Computing 20 Points
- Wild Shot 17 Points
- Guest Suite 15 Points
- Petrov 13 Points
- Looking at Lee 12 Points
- Term Of Art 11 Points
- -28. A Couple of horses are at 10 Points
On March 25th there are two races scheduled first one is the UAE Derby at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai. First place in that race is worth 100 Points so therefore the winner will be an almost lock for the Kentucky Derby. In addition to that race, there is another race at Turf-way Park in Kentucky by the name of the Spiral Stakes. First Place in that one is worth 40 Points so not as good of a race. In addition, you do not have to enter the Kentucky Derby to enter any of the races on the trail. Therefore you may see horses that are in these races that will get points but may not race in the Kentucky Derby.
The UAE Derby that runs this Saturday will see 16 horses enter the gate. The distance of the race will be 1 Mile and 3/16 and will be on the dirt track. Thunder Snow is the favorite currently at 2-1 and the second choice is Epicharis at 5-1. In addition to the favorites, there are some great long shot plays as 2 horses are currently at 100-1. Alternatively, the other race that is going off this weekend is the Spiral Stakes.
Favorite Kitten’s Cat will be expected to make the start in the Spiral Stakes. Alongside Blueridge Traveler and Soglio will join 9 other horses to make a full field of 12. Here is the list of the other 9 horses that will be making the start this Saturday.
- Bronson
- Colonel Samsen
- Convict Pike
- En Hanse
- Fast and Accurate
- Giant Payday
- Hot Dad
- Impressive Edge
- Parlor
- Sailing Home
- Star Empire
Barring any setbacks or scratches (this is what the horse racing industry calls it when a horse can’t race) both races should be star-studded. Hence the winners of these races will be surely set up to be in the top 20 and racing on May 6th, 2017 at the Kentucky Derby.