March is a good time to jump on a bandwagon for a horse in the Kentucky Derby because there is, technically, only 2 preparatory ("prep") races left before the Kentucky Derby and most horses have raced several times for you to get an idea of who the "top horse" is for the Derby. The Kentucky Derby is the start of the Triple Crown* so if you're going to aim for the Triple Crown, a horse MUST start in the Derby. The Derby is only open to 3-year-old horses (male or female). A horse only has 1 chance to race in the Derby in his/her lifetime.
So what does it take to get a horse to the Kentucky Derby and why is it called the "Derby Trail?" Below, I'll give some explanation of what it takes to get into the starting gate of the Kentucky Derby.
THOUSANDS (more than 20k) of Thoroughbred horses are born every year and The Kentucky Derby allows, at max, 20 horses to start in the race (also known as a field size). This field size is the biggest in US racing and, probably, most of the world. Maximum field sizes of 12-16 are more common for races and there are talks every year that the Derby should be reduced in size. Field sizes in the past 1.5 decade or so have been been closer to 20 than not. The chart below only goes till 2012, but you can see the increase in field size as the decades get closer to the present. (20's was kind of a weird decade!)
No one knows for sure why these field sizes are so big nowadays, but it's most likely due to modernization (ease of travel, mass news outlets, prestige, etc). Everyone who enters a horse in the Derby always thinks they have a shot to win the Kentucky Derby. If you didn't, you wouldn't spend the necessary money and time to get your horse into the race.
Fields (the horses who are going to run) are determined by a "point system" that was revealed in 2012 and the 2013 Derby was the first Derby when it was used. ** The point system is called "The Road to the Kentucky Derby." Races for 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds are determined by the Kentucky Derby (Board? Association?) and assigned points for 1st through 4th place finishers. The race schedule is listed here. The 2yo races and the beginning of the 3yo races start at 10 points for 1st, 4 for 2nd, 2 for 3rd and 1 for 4th (exception is the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (2yo race) is 20-8-4-2). The 2yo races are the top races for 2yos at the end of the year. The early 3yo races are like the very early prep races for 3yos and are not the top races. In March, the points move to 50-20-10-5. These races are usually the 2nd to last prep race on the circuit*** or region before the Kentucky Derby. Finally, the last set of races are the FINAL prep races before the Derby and command the highest points at 100-40-20-10. Many times, a horse can have as little as 40 points to make it into the Kentucky Derby, especially if one horse is continually winning. The Kentucky Derby webpage also keeps track of the top point earners here.
Not only do horses have to compete in prep races and win enough points to get into the Kentucky Derby field, but a horse has to be nominated into the Kentucky Derby. The Kentucky Derby is the most prestigious of the Triple Crown races, but the Triple Crown does operate the nominations as a single "unit." If you pre-nominate your horse by mid-January, it is $600 to nominate your horse for all 3 Triple Crown races. If you miss that date, the next nomination fee is $6,000 and ends close to the end of March. After that, you can supplement your horse in at $200,000 (all 3 or $100,000 for Preakness and/or Belmont after the Derby). Several hundred horses get nominated to the Triple Crown in January because of the "cheaper" cost. Horses have been supplemented in at the $200k cost too. Last year it was famously done with Oscar Nominated who finished 17/20.
If you have enough points to start in the Derby, being nominated to the Triple Crown does not mean you are "entered" to start in the Kentucky Derby. All races require a horse to be "entered" into a race. Most races don't have an entry fee, but the Kentucky Derby does. The entry fee costs $25,000. Nominations mostly express "interest" whereas the entry says a horse is committed to the race.**** I'm pretty sure your entry fee is not refunded if you don't run in the race, but entries determine the field size of the race. If the race is over subscribed (i.e., more than the max allowed field size is entered), the Kentucky Derby now has an "also-eligible" list (up to 4 horses) where if a horse in the 20-horse field pulls out of the race, an also-eligible can move into the 20-horse field. If a tie in points occur to see where a horse lands on the also-eligible list (you want to be the 21st horse and not the 24th horse), stakes earnings in non-restricted stakes will determine the order.
Once the horse is entered into the Kentucky Derby, the field is (90%) confirmed for the Derby! Typically, by the time the last prep race is finished, the field is already figured out due to the point system, but injuries happen. A field is never 100% until they're at the gate. After the entries are taken, it's waiting for the post position draw (Wednesday before the Derby) to figure out which gate the horses will start in.
As a side note, the entry fee might mean the field is determined, but it's NOT the end of the money road to start in the Derby. There is also a $25,000 starting fee that is paid for the Kentucky Derby. Starting fees are not unusual for races. If you subtract vets, training and jockey fees, general up-keep, etc, and focus just on the Derby fees, it'll cost you at MINIMUM $50,600 to race in the Derby. Owners are racing for the $1.24 million part of the $2 mil prize and prestige.
There is a lot of effort, money, and time that goes into getting a horse to the Kentucky Derby. How much time a fan wants to spend following the trail is up to the individual. I, personally, tend to ignore the early races of the 2yos and somewhat pay attention at the Breeders' Cup Juvenile race. Horse racing is a year-long sport so January and February I pay less attention, but keep an ear out for any big rumblings. March prep races (the 50 point ones) is when I start to pay attention and try to buckle down who I like. April, of course, is the last time for us to see the horses run before the Kentucky Derby. Training after that is always important to see how the horse trains up to the race. After that, it's mostly a manner of luck and some skill to win the Derby.
The Kentucky Oaks, run the day before the Derby, is a race for only 3yo females (or fillies). Think of it as the Derby equivalent, but for fillies. Fillies CAN race in the Kentucky Derby; however, they have to compete for the same points as the males (or colts) and race in the same races as them. The last filly to run in the Kentucky Derby was in 2010. Forty fillies have run in the Derby in 143 years (I'm counting this year too). The Kentucky Oaks also has a similar point system as the Derby, but the Oaks' prep races are for filly only races.
I'll next blog about race distances, race gradings, and the Triple Crown. Race day, post positions, etc will be a future post after the next one.
Happy 63 days till the Kentucky Derby!
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*The Triple Crown ("TC") is when a horse wins the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont. American Pharoah won it in 2015 after 37 years when Affirmed won it in 1978.
**The old system for determining the field size for the Kentucky Derby was based on non-restricted stakes earnings (i.e., the amount of money a horse had earned from winning prestigious races). It made sense to me (whoever had the most money went to the Derby), but seemed to be confusing to the lay-person and the reason the point system was created and specific races picked.
***Horse racing conducts its racing in "circuits." This means that racing will rotate from one track to another (like a circuit for electricity). In terms of the Derby Trail, circuits are regions where prep races are held that most horses follow to reach the Kentucky Derby. Southern California's tends to go Sham in January, Robert B. Lewis in February, San Felipe in March, and, finally, the Santa Anita Derby in April. There are circuits in CA, FL, NY, AR, LA, and KY. A horse can go to any state for any prep, but most horses stay in one state unless a trainer wants the timing of a race differently, doesn't want his/her horses to compete against each other before the Derby, or money offered.
****A horse can be "cross-entered" in races. This means a trainer has submitted a horse to multiple races on the same day. They do this sometimes to keep their options open if the weather looks bad coming up, if a trainer wants to see what horses are entered, if a horse doesn't make the field, travel issues, training, etc. The Breeders' Cup races are a perfect example of cross-entries. Many horses get cross-entered for the BC. Many times it's because a horse is in the field for a race that is the 2nd option for the trainer, but is on the "also-eligible" list for the 1st option. For BC races, there is a deadline for when trainers have to make their choice of which race they want to start in or "scratch" from (when a horse is removed from a race).
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