2022 Road to the Kentucky Derby

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The 2022 Road to the Kentucky Derby is a series of races through which horses qualified for the 2022 Kentucky Derby, which was held on May 7.

The field for the Derby is limited to 20 horses, with up to four 'also eligibles' in case of a late withdrawal from the field. There are three separate paths for horses to take to qualify for the Derby: the main Road consisting of races in North America (plus one in Dubai), the Japan Road consisting of four races in Japan, and the European road consisting of seven races in England, Ireland and France. The top four finishers in the specified races receive points, with higher points awarded in the major prep races in March and April. Earnings in non-restricted stakes races act as a tie breaker.

For 2022, the main Road to the Kentucky Derby resembled the 2021 Road to the Kentucky Derby, consisting of 37 races, one more event than in 2021, with 21 races for the Kentucky Derby Prep Season and 16 races for the Kentucky Derby Championship Season with the following changes:[a]

  • The inaugural Gun Runner Stakes at the Fair Grounds was added as part of the Prep season
  • Qualification points were not awarded to any horse trained by any individual who was suspended from racing in the 2022 Kentucky Derby or any trainer directly or indirectly employed, supervised, or advised by a suspended trainer. This rule was introduced in response to Churchill Down's suspension of trainer Bob Baffert following a positive drug test by one of his horses in the 2021 Kentucky Derby.[2]

Standings

The following table shows the points earned in the eligible races for the main series. As none of the offers on the Japan Road or European Road were accepted, all twenty positions in the Derby starting gate will qualify via the main series. The rankings are from the April 25 update of the Kentucky Derby leaderboard,[3] updated for the May 1 announcement that Early Voting would bypass the race.[4]

Rank[3] Horse Points Earnings[b] Trainer Owner Ref
1 Epicenter 164 $940,000 Steven Asmussen Winchell Thoroughbreds [5]
2 Zandon 114 $663,500 Chad C. Brown Jeff Drown [6]
3 White Abarrio 112 $769,650 Saffie Joseph Jr. Racing Stable & La Milagrosa Stable [7]
4 Mo Donegal 112 $561,500 Todd A. Pletcher Donegal Racing [6]
5 Tiz the Bomb 110 $1,012,210 Kenneth G. McPeek Magdelena Racing [8]
6 Cyberknife 100 $752,000 Brad H. Cox Gold Square [9]
7 Crown Pride (JPN) 100 $671,544 Koichi Shintani Teruya Yoshida [10]
8 Taiba 100 $450,000 Tim Yakteen Zedan Racing [11]
9 Simplification 74 $482,150 Antonio Sano Tami Bobo [12]
10 Smile Happy 70 $499,410 Kenneth G. McPeek Lucky Seven Stable [7]
11[c] Classic Causeway 66 $466,100 Brian A. Lynch Kentucky West Racing & Clarke M. Cooper [15]
ill[16] Slow Down Andy 60 $475,000 Doug F. O'Neill Reddam Racing [17]
12 Tawny Port 60 $351,400 Brad H. Cox Peachtree Stable [18]
13 Barber Road 58 $589,700 John Ortiz WSS Racing [19]
injured[20] Un Ojo 54 $661,250 Ricky Courville[d] Cypress Creek Equine [22]
withdrawn[e] Forbidden Kingdom 50 $392,000 Richard E. Mandella MyRacehorse & Spendthrift Farm [23]
bypass[4] Early Voting 50 $277,500 Chad C. Brown Klaravich Stables
injured[24] Morello 50 $242,500 Steven Asmussen Blue Lion Thoroughbreds, Craig Taylor & Diamond T Racing [25]
14 Messier 40[f] $390,000 Tim Yakteen SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables et al. [11]
15 Zozos 40 $200,000 Brad H. Cox Barry & Joni Butzow [26]
16 Summer Is Tomorrow[g] 40 $200,000 Bhupat Seemar Michael Hilary & Negar Burke [10]
17 Charge It 40 $188,000 Todd A. Pletcher Whisper Hill Farm [27]
18 Happy Jack 30 $142,000 Doug F. O'Neill Calumet Farm [23]
19 Pioneer of Medina 25 $116,000 Todd A. Pletcher Sumaya U.S. Stable [28]
bypass Emmanuel 25 $111,700 Todd A. Pletcher WinStar Farm & Siena Farm [29]
bypass Pappacap 24 $609,000 Mark E. Casse Rustlewood Farm [30]
bypass In Due Time 24 $113,800 Kelly Breen Edge Racing, Medallion Racing & Parkland Thoroughbreds [29]
20 Ethereal Road 22 $231,000 D. Wayne Lukas Aaron Sones [31]
bypass Grantham 21 $85,000 Michael J. Maker Three Diamonds Farm [22]
21 Rich Strike 21 $74,500 Eric Reed RED TR-Racing [8]
bypass ƒ Secret Oath 20 $436,707 D. Wayne Lukas Briland Farm [9]
22 Rattle N Roll 20 $344,000 Kenneth G. McPeek Lucky Seven Stable [15]
23 Bye Bye Bobby 20 $176,700 Todd Fincher B4 Farms [32]
bypass Island Falcon (IRE) 20 $100,000 Saeed bin Suroor Godolphin [10]
24 Skippylongstocking 20 $86,350 Saffie Joseph Jr. Daniel Alonso [33]
bypass Dean's List 20 $72,000 Todd A. Pletcher WinStar Farm & Siena Farm [25]
25 Major General 18 $251,525 Todd A. Pletcher WinStar Farm & Siena Farm [34]
26 Golden Glider 15 $87,250 Mark E. Casse Gary Barber, Penny & Manfred Conrad [29]
inactive Shipsational 14 $75,000 Edward Barker Iris Smith Stable [35]
inactive Jack Christopher 10 $275,000 Chad C. Brown Jim Bakke, Gerald Isbister, Coolmore Stud & Peter M. Brant [36]
inactive[h] Make It Big 10 $240,000 Saffie Joseph Jr. Red Oak Stable [37]
bypass Dash Attack 10 $180,834 Kenneth G. McPeek Catalyst Stable, Magdalena Racing, Kevin J. Pollard & Patty Slevin [19]
bypass Doppelganger 10 $154,500 Tim Yakteen SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, et al. [9]
not nominated[38] Pepper Spray 10 $144,956 Edward J. Kereluk Roys Mansur [32]
bypass Call Me Midnight 10 $138,500 J. Keith Desormeaux Peter L. Cantrell [39]
bypass Courvoisier 10 $93,750 Kelly Breen Hill 'n' Dale & James Spry [40]
bypass Dowagiac Chief 10 $93,150 Thomas M. Amoss Michael McLoughlin [18]
bypass O Captain 10 $76,500 Gustavo Delgado OGMA Investments & Towell & Jack Hardin Jr. [29]
not nominated[38] Bendoog 10 $74,500 Bhupat Seemar Mohammed Khaleel Ahmed [10]
bypass Golden Code 10 $36,000 Todd A. Pletcher Calumet Farm [25]
bypass Kavod 7 $286,500 Chris Hartman James Rogers & Michael Robinson [19]
bypass Commandperformance 6 $200,000 Todd A. Pletcher Repole Stable & St. Elias Stable [36]
inactive[i] Mackinnon 5 $296,000 Doug F. O'Neill ERJ Racing, Madaket Stables & Dave Kenney [41]
bypass Life Is Great 5 $48,000 Robert Klesaris E.V. Racing Stable [25]
bypass Fowler Blue 5 $29,250 Luis Mendez William A. Branch & Arnold R. Hill [32]
not nominated[38] Beautiful Art 5 $24,000 Simon Callaghan Kaleem Shah [23]
not nominated[38] Double Thunder 4 $320,350 Todd A. Pletcher Phoenix Thoroughbred [15]
bypassing Giant Game 4 $180,000 Dale L. Romans West Point Thoroughbreds & Albaugh Family Stables [42]
not nominated[38] Tejano Twist 4 $177,070 W. Bret Calhoun Tom R. Durant [5]
bypassing Cabo Spirit 4 $125,300 George Papaprodromou Kretz Racing [43]
bypassing Stolen Base 4 $101,400 Michael J. Maker Three Diamonds Farm & Duece Greathouse [8]
not nominated[38] Oviatt Class 4 $98,000 J. Keith Desormeaux James E. Downe [30]
not nominated[38] Osbourne 4 $82,143 Ron Moquett Southern Springs Stables, The Estate of Floyd Sagely, Mark Tauber & Keith Johnston [37]
bypassing Tough to Tame 4 $57,750 Christopher Davis Rittdiculous Gazmanian Stables [34]
bypassing Smarten Up 4 $31,250 Alfredo Velazquez Happy Tenth Stable [40]
bypassing Ben Diesel 3 $104,233 Dallas Stewart Willis Horton Racing [7]
inactive[j] Wit 2 $312,500 Todd A. Pletcher Repole Stable, St. Elias Stable & Gainesway Stable [36]
inactive[k] Cooke Creek 2 $79,250 Jeremiah O'Dwyer Cheyenne Stable [40]
bypassing Red Knobs 2 $53,075 Dale L. Romans Jim Bakke & Gerald Isbister [34]
bypassing Midnight Chrome 2 $32,500 Tyler Servis Alexandria Stable [6]
bypassing Gilded Age 2 $30,000 William I. Mott Grandview Equine & Don Alberto Stable [22]
bypassing Ignitis 2 $29,643 D. Wayne Lukas Holy Cow Stable [19]
bypassing Volcanic 2 $34,000 Mark E. Casse Breeze Easy [35]
not nominated[38] Grael 2 $13,465 Brendan Walsh Godolphin [8]
not nominated[38] Surfer Dude 2 $12,000 Dallas Stewart Mark H. & Nancy W. Stanley [5]
not nominated[38] Del Mo 2 $12,000 Doug F. O'Neill Glenn Sorgenstein, WC Racing, Train Wreck Al Racing Stables & William Strauss [44]
bypassing My Prankster 1 $121,380 Todd A. Pletcher Lawana L. & Robert E. Low [36]
bypassing American Sanctuary 1 $104,600 Christopher Davis Dare To Dream Stable [15]
bypassing Strike Hard 1 $42,500 Matthew Williams Miracle's International Trading [35]
not nominated[38] Kevin's Folly 1 $41,250 Thomas M. Amoss Michael McLoughlin [5]
bypassing Galt 1 $32,000 William I. Mott OXO Equine [12]
not nominated[38] Durante 1 $24,000 Doug F. O'Neill Roadrunner Racing & William Strauss [17]
not nominated[38] Mr Jefferson 1 $17,750 Michael J. Trombetta R. Larry Johnson [6]
bypassing Bourbon Heist 1 $14,438 Ian R. Wilkes Bourbon Lane Stable [34]
bypassing Trafalgar[l] 1 $12,000 Albert Stall Jr. Columbine Stable [39]
inactive[m] Sir London 1 $12,000 Simon Callaghan AMO Racing USA & Qatar Racing Limited [43]
bypassing Unbridled Bomber 1 $10,250 Jim Ryerson Edward C. Potash, Brad Yankanich & James T. Ryerson [40]
bypassing Il Bellator 1 $6,000 Jose Bautista Edward A. & Theresa DeNike [44]

Legend:
  Nominated
  May bypass the Derby
  Injured/Bypassing/Inactive/Not nominated
ƒ – Filly

Prep season

Note: 1st=10 points; 2nd=4 points; 3rd=2 points; 4th=1 point (except the Breeders' Cup Juvenile: 1st=20 points; 2nd=8 points; 3rd=4 points; 4th=2 points)

Race Distance Purse Track Date 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Ref
Iroquois 1+1⁄16 miles $300,000 Churchill Downs Sep 18 2021 Major General Tough to Tame Red Knobs Bourbon Heist [34]
American Pharoah 1+1⁄16 miles $301,000 Santa Anita Oct 1 2021 Corniche[n] Pappacap Oviatt Class Rockefeller[n] [30]
Champagne 1 mile $500,000 Belmont Oct 2 2021 Jack Christopher Commandperformance Wit My Prankster [36]
Breeders' Futurity 1+1⁄16 miles $500,000 Keeneland Oct 9 2021 Rattle N Roll Double Thunder Classic Causeway American Sanctuary [15]
Breeders' Cup Juvenile 1+1⁄16 miles $2,000,000 Del Mar Nov 5 2021 Corniche[o] Pappacap Giant Game Commandperformance [42]
Kentucky Jockey Club 1+1⁄16 miles $400,000 Churchill Downs Nov 27 2021 Smile Happy Classic Causeway White Abarrio Ben Diesel [7]
Remsen 1+1⁄8 miles $250,000 Aqueduct Dec 4 2021 Mo Donegal Zandon Midnight Chrome Mr Jefferson [6]
Los Alamitos Futurity 1+1⁄16 miles $300,000 Los Alamitos Dec 11 2021 Slow Down Andy Messier[p] Barossa[p] Durante [17]
Springboard Mile 1 mile $401,200 Remington Dec 17 2021 Make It Big Osbourne Concept[q] Classic Moment[q] [37]
Gun Runner Stakes 1+1⁄16 miles $98,000 Fair Grounds Dec 26 2021 Epicenter Tejano Twist Surfer Dude Kevin's Folly [5]
Jerome 1 mile $150,000 Aqueduct Jan 1 2022 Courvoisier Smarten Up Cooke Creek Unbridled Bomber [40]
Smarty Jones 1 mile $250,000 Oaklawn Jan 1 2022 Dash Attack Barber Road Ignitis Kavod [19]
Sham 1 mile $100,000 Santa Anita Jan 1 2022 Newgrange[r] Rockefeller[r] Oviatt Class Mackinnon [41]
Lecomte 1+1⁄16 miles $200,000 Fair Grounds Jan 22 2022 Call Me Midnight Epicenter Pappacap Trafalgar [39]
Southwest 1+1⁄16 miles $750,000 Oaklawn Jan 29 2022 Newgrange[s] Barber Road Ben Diesel Kavod [50]
Withers 1+1⁄8 miles $250,000 Aqueduct Feb 5 2022 Early Voting Un Ojo Gilded Age Grantham [22]
Holy Bull 1+1⁄16 miles $250,000 Gulfstream Feb 5 2022 White Abarrio Simplification Mo Donegal Galt [12]
Robert B. Lewis 1+1⁄16 miles $200,000 Santa Anita Feb 6 2022 Messier[t] Cabo Spirit Wharton[t] Sir London [43]
Sam F. Davis Stakes 1+1⁄16 miles $200,000 Tampa Bay Feb 12 2022 Classic Causeway Shipsational Volcanic Strike Hard [35]
El Camino Real Derby 1+1⁄8 miles $102,700 Golden Gate Feb 12 2022 Blackadder[u] Mackinnon Del Mo Il Bellator [44]
John Battaglia Memorial Stakes 1+1⁄16 miles $125,000 Turfway Park Mar 5 2022 Tiz the Bomb Stolen Base Grael Rich Strike [8]

Championship series events

First leg of series

Note: 1st=50 points; 2nd=20 points; 3rd=10 points; 4th=5 points

Race Distance Purse Grade Track Date 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Ref
Risen Star 1+1⁄8 miles $400,000 2 Fair Grounds Feb 19 2022 Epicenter Smile Happy Zandon Pioneer of Medina [28]
Rebel 1+1⁄16 miles $1,000,000 2 Oaklawn Feb 26 2022 Un Ojo Ethereal Road Barber Road Kavod [31]
Gotham 1 mile $300,000 3 Aqueduct Mar 5 2022 Morello Dean's List Golden Code Life Is Great [25]
San Felipe 1+1⁄16 miles $401,000 2 Santa Anita Mar 5 2022 Forbidden Kingdom Doppelganger Happy Jack Beautiful Art [23]
Fountain of Youth 1+1⁄16 miles $400,000 2 Gulfstream Mar 5 2022 Simplification In Due Time O Captain Emmanuel [29]
Tampa Bay Derby 1+1⁄16 miles $350,000 2 Tampa Bay Mar 12 2022 Classic Causeway Grantham Shipsational Golden Glider [53]
Sunland Derby 1+1⁄8 miles $500,000 3 Sunland Park Mar 27 2022 Slow Down Andy Bye Bye Bobby Pepper Spray Fowler Blue [32]

Second leg of series

Theses races are the major preps for the Kentucky Derby, and are thus weighted more heavily. Note: 1st=100 points; 2nd=40 points; 3rd=20 points; 4th=10 points

Race Distance Purse Grade Track Date 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Ref
Louisiana Derby 1+3⁄16 miles $1,000,000 2 Fair Grounds Mar 26 2022 Epicenter Zozos Pioneer Of Medina Rattle N Roll [26]
UAE Derby 1,900 metres
(~1+3⁄16 miles)		 $2,000,000 2 Meydan Mar 26 2022 Crown Pride Summer Is Tomorrow Island Falcon Bendoog [10]
Florida Derby 1+1⁄8 miles $1,000,000 1 Gulfstream Apr 2 2022 White Abbarrio Charge It Simplification Pappacap [27]
Arkansas Derby 1+1⁄8 miles $1,250,000 1 Oaklawn Park Apr 2 2022 Cyberknife Barber Road Secret Oath Doppelganger [9]
Jeff Ruby 1+1⁄8 miles $600,000 3 Turfway Apr 2 2022 Tiz The Bomb Tawny Port Rich Strike Dowagiac Chief [18]
Blue Grass Stakes 1+1⁄8 miles $1,000,000 1 Keeneland Apr 9 2022 Zandon Smile Happy Emmanuel Golden Glider [54]
Santa Anita Derby 1+1⁄8 miles $750,000 1 Santa Anita Apr 9 2022 Taiba[v] Messier Happy Jack Armagnac [11]
Wood Memorial 1+1⁄8 miles $750,000 2 Aqueduct Apr 9 2022 Mo Donegal Early Voting Skippylongstocking A.P.'s Secret [33]

"Wild Card" events

Note: 1st=20 points; 2nd=8 points; 3rd=4 points; 4th=2 points

Race Distance Purse Grade Track Date 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Ref
Lexington 1+1⁄16 miles $398,750 3 Keeneland Apr 16 2022 Tawny Port Major General In Due Time Ethereal Road [55]

Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby

The Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby is intended to provide a place in the Derby starting gate to the top finisher in the series. If the connections of that horse decline the invitation, their place is offered to the second-place finisher and so on through the top four finishers. As none of the offers were accepted, this place in the starting gate reverts to the horses on the main road to the Derby.[3]

Race Distance Track Date 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Ref
Cattleya Sho 1,600 metres
(~1 mile)		 Tokyo Racecourse Nov 27 2021 Consigliere Café Karma Geraldo Barows World Connector [56]
Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun 1,600 metres
(~1 mile)		 Kawasaki Racecourse Dec 15 2021 Dry Stout Combustion Praelude Sekifu [57][58]
Hyacinth 1,600 metres
(~1 mile)		 Tokyo Racecourse Feb 20 2022 Combustion Geraldo Barows ƒ Sea Vixen El Paso [59][60]
Fukuryu 1,800 metres
(~1+1⁄8 miles)		 Nakayama Racecourse Mar 26 2022 ƒ Delicada Notturno Peisha Es Odilon [61]

Note: Cattleya Sho: 1st=10 points; 2nd=4 points; 3rd=2 points; 4th=1 point
Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun: 1st=20 points; 2nd=8 points; 3rd=4 points; 4th=2 points
Hyacinth: 1st=30 points; 2nd=12 points; 3rd=6 points; 4th=3 points
Fukuyru : 1st=40 points; 2nd=16 points; 3rd=8 points; 4th=4 points
ƒ Filly

Qualification table

The top four horses (colored brown within the standings) are eligible to participate in the Kentucky Derby provided the horse is nominated.[62]

Rank Horse Points Eligible
Earnings		 Trainer Owner Ref
1 Delicada 40 $273,623 Naohiro Yoshida Teruya Yoshida [62]
2 Combustion 38 $557,666 Keizo Ito Godolphin [62]
3 Dry Scout 20 $524,096 Mitsunori Makiura [62]
4 Notturno 16 $179,305 Hidetaka Otonashi Kaneko Makoto Holdings Co. Ltd. [62]
5 Geraldo Barows 14 $191,039 Ryo Terashima Hirotsugu Inokuma [62]
6 Consigliere 10 $357,738 Yukio Inagaki Kazumi Yoshida [62]
7 Piesha Es 8 $157,855 Kazuo Konishi Naoto Kitajo [62]
8 Sea Vixon 6 $150,509 Kazuo Fujisawa Yuji Hasegawa [62]
9 Praelude 4 $191,189 [62]
10 Odilon 4 $170,109 Tamio Hamada Yuki Hashimoto [62]
11 Café Karma 6 $150,470 Masaaki Koga Koichi Nishikawa [62]
12 El Paso 3 $111,006 Ryo Takei Isonami Isamu F Co., Ltd. [62]
13 Sekifu 2 $755,881 [62]
14 World Connector 1 $86,152 Kazuo Fujisawa Mataichiro Yamamoto [62]

Notes:

  • brown highlight – qualified
  • grey highlight – did not qualify

European Road to the Kentucky Derby

Notes

References

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