‘ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY’ BEGINS SATURDAY WITH IROQUOIS AT CHURCHILL DOWNS

By Darren Rogers —-

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2018) – The official “Road to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve” will begin Saturday at the home of America’s greatest race as Churchill Downs stages the 37th running of the Grade III, $150,000 Iroquois 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 (Grade I) field since 2013. The 1 ¼-mile classic for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds will be run at the historic Louisville, Ky. racetrack for the 145th consecutive year on Saturday, May 4, 2019.

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. Saturday’s Iroquois kicks 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 (GI), which is worth twice as much (20-8-4-2). This year’s 1 1/16-mile Breeders’ Cup Juvenile will be held at Churchill Downs for a ninth time on Future Stars Friday, Nov. 2.

The 16-race “Championship Series,” which comprise springboard events that often bring the 3-year-old picture into sharper focus, is the same as it was in 2018. Most first leg races offer 50-20-10-5 points to the Top 4 finishers while the most meaningful races – the UAE Derby (GII), Louisiana Derby (GII), Florida Derby (GI), Wood Memorial (GII), Blue Grass (GII), Santa Anita Derby (GI) and Arkansas Derby (GI) – are worth 100-40-20-10.

Some tweaks were made to the second-year European Road to the Kentucky Derby and third-year Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby, which are separate series that each carve out one spot for a potential horse from Europe and Japan.

The new Cardinal Condition Stakes, to be run April 11 over one mile on Polytrack at England’s Chelmsford City Racecourse, will replace Newcastle’s Burradon as the final race of the seven-race European series.

A fourth race has been added to the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby. The series will now culminate with the 1 1/8-mile Fukuyru on March 31 at Nakayama Racecourse and is worth 40-16-8-4 points to the top four placings. Also, points for the Dec. 19 Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun at Kawasaki Racecourse – the race that often decides Japan’s champion 2-year-old dirt horse – were raised from 10-4-2-1 to 20-8-4-2.

This is the seventh 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 18 of the last 20 years.

A similar series remains in place to qualify for the Kentucky Derby’s sister race, the Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI) for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/8 miles on Friday, May 3, 2019. As was the case in 2018, there will be 30 races for the “Road to the Kentucky Oaks” series – 15 “Prep Season” races, which starts with Saturday’s 50th running of the $200,000 Pocahontas (GII) at Churchill Downs, and 15 “Championship Series” races.

Churchill Downs’ 11-day September Meet opens Friday with a 10-race program at 12:45 p.m. ET and will continue for three weeks through Sunday, Sept. 30. Following a 17-day run at Keeneland (Oct. 5-27) in Lexington, racing on the Kentucky circuit will return to Churchill Downs for the 21-day Fall Meet from Oct. 28-Nov. 25, which includes the two-day Breeders’ Cup World Championships on Friday, Nov. 2 and Saturday, Nov. 3.

2018-19 ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY SCHEDULE
35 Races

Date Race Racetrack Distance 1st (Points) 2nd (Points) 3rd (Points) 4th (Points)

Sept. 15 Iroquois Churchill Downs 1 1/16 Miles (10) (4) (2) (1)
Sept. 29 American Pharoah Santa Anita 1 1/16 Miles (10) (4) (2) (1)
Oct. 6 Champagne Belmont Park 1 Mile (10) (4) (2) (1)
Oct. 6 Breeders’ Futurity Keeneland 1 1/16 Miles (10) (4) (2) (1)
Nov. 2 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Churchill Downs 1 1/16 Miles (20) (8) (4) (2)
Nov. 24 Kentucky Jockey Club Churchill Downs 1 1/16 Miles (10) (4) (2) (1)
Dec. 1 Remsen Aqueduct 1 1/8 Miles (10) (4) (2) (1)
Dec. 8* Los Alamitos Futurity Los Alamitos 1 1/16 Miles (10) (4) (2) (1)
Dec. 16 Springboard Mile Remington Park 1 Mile (10) (4) (2) (1)
Jan. 1* Jerome Aqueduct 1 Mile (10) (4) (2) (1)
Jan. 5* Sham Santa Anita 1 Mile (10) (4) (2) (1)
Jan. 12* Lecomte Fair Grounds 1 Mile 70 Yards (10) (4) (2) (1)
Jan. 25 Smarty Jones Oaklawn Park 1 Mile (10) (4) (2) (1)
Feb. 2* Withers Aqueduct 1 1/8 Miles (10) (4) (2) (1)
Feb. 2* Robert B. Lewis Santa Anita 1 1/16 Miles (10) (4) (2) (1)
Feb. 2* Holy Bull Gulfstream Park 1 1/16 Miles (10) (4) (2) (1)
Feb. 9* Sam F. Davis Tampa Bay Downs 1 1/16 Miles (10) (4) (2) (1)
Feb. 16* El Camino Real Derby Golden Gate 1 1/8 Miles (S) (10) (4) (2) (1)
Feb. 18 Southwest Oaklawn Park 1 1/16 Miles (10) (4) (2) (1)

Kentucky Derby Championship Series (16 races)

Date Race Racetrack Distance 1st (Points) 2nd (Points) 3rd (Points) 4th (Points)

Feb. 16* Risen Star Fair Grounds 1 1/16 Miles (50) (20) (10) (5)
March 2* Fountain of Youth Gulfstream Park 1 1/16 Miles (50) (20) (10) (5)
March 9* Tampa Bay Derby Tampa Bay Downs 1 1/16 Miles (50) (20) (10) (5)
March 9* Gotham Aqueduct 1 Mile (50) (20) (10) (5)
March 9* San Felipe Santa Anita 1 1/16 Miles (50) (20) (10) (5)
March 16* Jeff Ruby Steaks Turfway Park 1 1/8 Miles (S) (20) (8) (4) (2)
March 16 Rebel Oaklawn Park 1 1/16 Miles (50) (20) (10) (5)
March 23* Louisiana Derby Fair Grounds 1 1/8 Miles (100) (40) (20) (10)
March 24* Sunland Derby Sunland Park 1 1/8 Miles (50) (20) (10) (5)
March 30* UAE Derby Meydan Racecourse 1 3/16 Miles (100) (40) (20) (10)
March 30* Florida Derby Gulfstream Park 1 1/8 Miles (100) (40) (20) (10)
April 6* Wood Memorial Aqueduct 1 1/8 Miles (100) (40) (20) (10)
April 6* Blue Grass Keeneland 1 1/8 Miles (100) (40) (20) (10)
April 6* Santa Anita Derby Santa Anita 1 1/8 Miles (100) (40) (20) (10)
April 13* Lexington Keeneland 1 1/16 Miles (20) (8) (4) (2)
April 13 Arkansas Derby Oaklawn Park 1 1/8 Miles (100) (40) (20) (10)

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

2018-19 EUROPEAN ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY SCHEDULE
7 Races

Date Race Racetrack Distance 1st (Points) 2nd (Points) 3rd (Points) 4th (Points)

Sept. 29 Juddmonte Royal Lodge Newmarket (GB) 1 Mile (T) (10) (4) (2) (1)
Sept. 30 Juddmonte Beresford Naas (Ire) 1 Mile (T) (10) (4) (2) (1)
Oct. 7 Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère Chantilly (Fr) 1 Mile (T) (10) (4) (2) (1)
Oct. 27 October Trophy Doncaster (GB) 1 Mile (T) (10) (4) (2) (1)
March 6 Road to the Kentucky Derby Condition Stakes Kempton Park (GB) 1 Mile (S) (20) (8) (4) (2)
March 8 Patton (Listed) Dundalk (Ire) 1 Mile (S) (20) (8) (4) (2)
April 11 Cardinal Condition Stakes Chelmsford City (GB) 1 Mile (S) (30) (12) (6) (3)

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

2018-19 JAPAN ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY SCHEDULE
3 Races

Date Race Racetrack Distance 1st (Points) 2nd (Points) 3rd (Points) 4th (Points)

Nov. 24 Cattleya Sho Tokyo Racecourse 1 Mile (10) (4) (2) (1)
Dec. 19 Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun Kawasaki Racecourse 1 Mile (20) (8) (4) (2)
Feb. 17* Hyacinth Tokyo Racecourse 1 Mile (30) (12) (6) (3)
March 31* Fukuyru Nakayama Racecourse 1 1/8 Miles (40) (16) (8) (4)

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

2018-19 ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY OAKS SCHEDULE
30 Races

Date Race Racetrack Distance 1st 2nd 3rd 4th

Sept. 15 Pocahontas Churchill Downs 1 1/16 Miles (10) (4) (2) (1)
Sept. 29 Chandelier Santa Anita 1 1/16 Miles (10) (4) (2) (1)
Oct. 5 Alcibiades Keeneland 1 1/16 Miles (10) (4) (2) (1)
Oct. 7 Frizette Belmont Park 1 Mile (10) (4) (2) (1)
Nov. 2 BC Juvenile Fillies Churchill Downs 1 1/16 Miles (20) (8) (4) (2)
Nov. 24 Golden Rod Churchill Downs 1 1/16 Miles (10) (4) (2) (1)
Dec. 1 Demoiselle Aqueduct 1 1/8 Miles (10) (4) (2) (1)
Dec. 8* Starlet Los Alamitos 1 1/16 Miles (10) (4) (2) (1)
Jan. 6* Santa Ynez Santa Anita 7 Furlongs (10) (4) (2) (1)
Jan. 12* Silverbulletday Fair Grounds 1 Mile 70 Yards (10) (4) (2) (1)
Jan. 20* Busanda Aqueduct 1 1/8 Miles (10) (4) (2) (1)
Feb. 2* Forward Gal Gulfstream Park 7 Furlongs (10) (4) (2) (1)
Feb. 2 Martha Washington Oaklawn Park 1 Mile (10) (4) (2) (1)
Feb. 3* Las Virgenes Santa Anita 1 Mile (10) (4) (2) (1)
Feb. 9* Suncoast Tampa Bay Downs 1 Mile 40 Yards (10) (4) (2) (1)

Kentucky Oaks Championship Series (15 races)

Date Race Racetrack Distance 1st 2nd 3rd 4th

Feb. 16* Rachel Alexandra Fair Grounds 1 1/16 Miles (50) (20) (10) (5)
Feb. 28* UAE Oaks Meydan Racecourse 1 3/16 Miles (50) (20) (10) (5)
March 2* Davona Dale Gulfstream Park 1 Mile (50) (20) (10) (5)
March 2* Busher Aqueduct 1 Mile (50) (20) (10) (5)
March 2* Santa Ysabel Santa Anita 1 1/16 Miles (50) (20) (10) (5)
March 9 Honeybee Oaklawn Park 1 1/16 Miles (50) (20) (10) (5)
March 16* Bourbonette Oaks Turfway Park 1 Mile (S) (20) (8) (4) (2)
March 23* Fair Grounds Oaks Fair Grounds 1 1/16 Miles (100) (40) (20) (10)
March 24* Sunland Park Oaks Sunland Park 1 1/16 Miles (50) (20) (10) (5)
March 30* Gulfstream Park Oaks Gulfstream Park 1 1/16 Miles (100) (40) (20) (10)
April 6* Gazelle Aqueduct 1 1/8 Miles (100) (40) (20) (10)
April 6* Ashland Keeneland 1 1/16 Miles (100) (40) (20) (10)
April 6* Santa Anita Oaks Santa Anita 1 1/16 Miles (100) (40) (20) (10)
April 7* Beaumont Keeneland 7 Furlongs (10) (4) (2) (1)
April 12 Fantasy Oaklawn Park 1 1/16 Miles (100) (40) (20) (10)

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

Churchill Downs, the world’s most legendary racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America’s greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ: CHDN) offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs will conduct the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve on May 4, 2019. The track’s 2018 September Meet is set for Sept. 14-30 and its Fall Meet will run from Oct. 28-Nov. 25. An eight-time host to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, Churchill Downs will again be the site of that event on Nov. 2-3, 2018. Information is available at www.ChurchillDowns.com