The Road to the Kentucky Derby points system (Part 1)

Mar 17, 2018 Jennifer Caldwell/Brisnet.com

The next phase of the Road to the Kentucky Derby will begin in about a week, with races bumped from 85 to 170 total points each toward a starting berth in the May 5 Kentucky Derby (G1).

It didn’t used to be this way, though. The points system so familiar to today’s racing fans actually just began for the 2013 Derby.

So how was the field determined prior to that? Who decided which three-year-olds got into the race and which ones were left out?

First of all, it should be noted that historically it wasn’t common for the Derby to attract a crowded field.

In fact, Churchill Downs officials didn’t institute the 20-horse limit for the Kentucky Derby until 1975, though a legal issue resulted in a 21-horse field in 1981.

However, since the late 1990s a surge in Derby popularity has seen the field routinely reach its limit. Scratches leading up to the running have kept the field from reaching 20 horses every single year, but even that was addressed when officials reintroduced also-eligible entrants to the contest in 2012.

Beginning in 1986, a horse’s earnings in graded stakes were the key criteria to secure a spot in the Derby starting gate. To make the Derby field, a runner would run in graded contests and whatever he earned would be totaled. The top 20 money earners would then have first opportunity to enter the race.

Problem is, there was no difference between the earnings from a Grade 3, which is a lower-level event, and a Grade 1, a top-tier race. So if one horse earned $600,000 from a Grade 3 win and another earned $180,000 from a Grade 1 victory, the Grade 3 winner was given preference over the Grade 1 scorer.

In another twist, if a filly wanted to run in the Kentucky Derby, she could do so without ever tackling the boys beforehand. Graded earnings earned in filly-only races were counted as equal to the open races. So a filly with high graded earnings could bump a male counterpart who had been facing much tougher competition but had earned less.

Thus, officials decided to completely overhaul the eligibility requirements. The old graded earnings classification was done away with and a new system came into existence.