Road to the 2027 Kentucky Derby: Points, Prep Races and Past Winners

This page explains how the points work, lists the 2026-27 prep schedule published by KentuckyDerby.com, shows how to follow the leaderboard as a bettor, and records the Derby winners since 2010, the years the old pages on this site used to cover race by race.

2027 Kentucky Derby: the essentials

How the points system works

Churchill Downs moved to points for the 2013 Derby. Before that, horses were ranked by their earnings in graded stakes, which rewarded early juvenile success and rich races that had little to do with a 1¼-mile test in May. Points shift the weight towards the spring races, run at longer distances closer to the Derby.

For the 2026-27 season KentuckyDerby.com sets four tiers. The first five finishers in each race score; nobody else does.

The arithmetic makes the spring decisive. A horse that wins two autumn preps has 20 points; a single second place in a 100-point race is worth 50. In practice, owners of juvenile stars still have to prove their horse at three.

Tie-breaks

When two horses finish level on points around the cut-off, the first tie-breaker is earnings in non-restricted stakes races. If that is also equal, lifetime earnings decide, and the final resort is a draw by lot, which KentuckyDerby.com calls a “shake”.

The international roads

The Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby offers one invitation, with preference to the horse with most points in its series; if a Japan Road horse also qualifies on the US points, an extra invitation can follow. The European-Middle East Road, which since 2025 includes the UAE Derby, works on similar lines: KentuckyDerby.com says up to two invitations can be extended in order of points, never beyond the top four. Owners can decline an invitation, and many European connections do, because the Derby comes early in a three-year-old’s season and is run on dirt.

2026-27 prep race schedule

Dates and point values below are from the KentuckyDerby.com schedule for the 2026-27 season. Race names are shortened where they carry a sponsor.

Autumn and early winter (prep season)

January and February (prep season)

European-Middle East Road (published races)

KentuckyDerby.com describes the European Road as a seven-race series, four of them in England, and since 2025 the European-Middle East Road has also included the UAE Derby in Dubai. These races build the standings used for the European-Middle East invitations.

Championship Series to the end of March

The series ends with the April preps, including the Santa Anita Derby, Arkansas Derby, Wood Memorial and Blue Grass at 100 points and the Lexington Stakes at 20. KentuckyDerby.com updates the leaderboard after each race.

Worked example: three ways to reach the gate

Points reward different campaigns, and it helps to see them side by side. The three horses below are invented for illustration, but every result uses the 2026-27 point values.

The late bloomer, with one stakes win, sits far above the other two. The early star and the consistent placer have similar totals and would both be near the bubble in many years, which is why connections of horses on 50 to 60 points often look for one more start. A fifth place in a 100-point race (10 points) can be the difference between a Derby start and the also-eligible list.

The prep circuits and what they tell you

Most Derby horses come through one of a handful of winter bases, and each has its own sequence of races building to a 100-point final prep.

• Louisiana (Fair Grounds): Gun Runner in December, Lecomte in January, Risen Star in February, Louisiana Derby in March. The longest single-track ladder on the road.
• Florida (Gulfstream Park): Holy Bull, Fountain of Youth, then the Florida Derby at the end of March, which has long been one of the most productive final preps.
• Arkansas (Oaklawn Park): Smarty Jones, Southwest, Rebel and the Arkansas Derby, run at a track that suits horses who handle a deep dirt surface.
• California (Santa Anita): American Pharoah in the autumn, then the Robert B. Lewis, San Felipe and Santa Anita Derby.
• New York (Belmont Park): Champagne and Remsen as two-year-olds, the Gotham in winter and the Wood Memorial in April.
• Kentucky: Iroquois, Street Sense and Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs as juveniles, then the Jeff Ruby Steaks on Turfway Park’s synthetic surface and the Blue Grass at Keeneland.

Comparing circuits is part of handicapping the Derby. A horse that dominated a weak division may be flattered by its record, while a third-place finisher in a strong prep can improve. Watching replays of the final preps, rather than just reading results, is the best way to judge it. The Jeff Ruby Steaks is a special case: horses that run well on synthetic do not always reproduce that form on Churchill’s dirt.

Does juvenile form matter?

Two-year-old champions often fail to train on to the Derby, because the race demands stamina that many early-maturing horses lack. There are exceptions. Nyquist won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in 2015 and the Derby in 2016, and Street Sense did the same double in 2006 and 2007. The points structure reflects the mixed record: the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile is worth 30 points, a third of a 100-point spring prep.

For bettors that means juvenile reputations can make some horses poor value in the futures pools, while lightly raced late developers may be underpriced until they win in the spring.

The Kentucky Oaks road in brief

Fillies have a separate series, the Road to the Kentucky Oaks, using the same principle. The Oaks, run on the Friday before the Derby over 1⅛ miles, takes up to 14 starters, according to KentuckyDerby.com. A filly can also be nominated to the Derby and earn Derby points by running against colts, which is rare today; most top fillies stay on the Oaks road.

Reading the leaderboard as a bettor

The points table is a qualification list, not a ranking of ability. A horse in 25th place in March may be the most talented colt in the country if it has had only one start; a horse with 60 points may have collected them against weak fields. Three habits help.

1. Weight the 100-point races most. Most are run at 1⅛ miles in late March and April, against the best rivals, so they are the closest form guide to the Derby.
2. Look at how the race was run, not just the result. A closer who made up ground into a slow pace may be more interesting than the winner who led all the way unchallenged.
3. Watch the bubble. Horses around 18th to 22nd may change plans late, run in the Lexington Stakes for the last points, or be withdrawn. Every change moves the cut-off and reshapes the also-eligible list.

Future pools reward early judgement. Churchill Downs offers Kentucky Derby Future Wagers before the field is set, where odds are fixed when the pool closes but there is no refund if your horse misses the race. Our guide to betting the Derby legally covers futures and the ADW platforms that carry them.

Why qualified horses sometimes skip the Derby

Holding enough points does not oblige an owner to run. Every year some qualified horses stay home, and each withdrawal lets the next horse on the list move up. The usual reasons are practical. A minor injury or a missed week of training in April can make a 1¼-mile race against 19 rivals a poor idea. Some trainers judge that their horse needs more time and target the Preakness or a summer race instead. Others doubt that a pedigree built for a mile will last the trip. European and Japanese connections weigh a long journey and a dirt surface their horse may never have raced on.

For anyone holding a futures ticket, those decisions are a hidden risk, because there is no refund if your horse is not entered. For anyone handicapping the race, they are a clue: a horse whose connections chose the Derby over easier options usually has the confidence of the people who know it best.

Where to follow the road

KentuckyDerby.com publishes the official points leaderboard and the prep schedule, updated after each qualifying race. Equibase, the racing industry’s official database, carries result charts for every US race, including fractional times and trip notes, and the host tracks post replays on their own sites. ADW platforms such as TwinSpires show past performances for runners in each prep. Checking at least two of those sources before forming a view keeps you away from rumours that spread quickly in Derby season. Workout reports from Churchill Downs in the final week add one more layer: they show how each horse is handling the track, although a fast morning work is no guarantee of a good race on Saturday afternoon.

Entry week: draw, scratches and also-eligibles

In the week of the race, connections enter their horses and the post positions are drawn. Up to 20 horses get a place in the gate, and further entrants, known as also-eligibles, wait in order of points. In 2026 the race had four also-eligibles. If a horse in the main field is scratched before the deadline the day before the race, the first also-eligible draws in. Rich Strike did exactly that in 2022 and went on to win at 80-1.

Scratches after the deadline are not replaced, so the field can drop below 20. In 2026, 18 horses went to post. For bettors, late scratches matter because they change the pace of the race and refund straight bets on the scratched horse; exotic tickets have their own refund rules, which we explain on the bet types page.

The post-position draw gets heavy coverage because a 20-horse field cannot all reach the first turn in a good spot. Horses breaking from the outside have further to run unless they drop back, and those on the rail risk being squeezed. Still, Golden Tempo drew post 19 in 2026 and won after breaking from stall 16 once scratches had moved the outside horses in, a reminder that ability and racing luck count for more than any draw statistic.

Kentucky Derby winners since 2010

Names come from KentuckyDerby.com’s past-winners list. Art Sherman was 77 when California Chrome won in 2014, which makes him the oldest trainer to win the race according to Churchill Downs’ trainer records.

2010 and 2011, the years this site first covered

Super Saver won the 2010 Derby on a sloppy track, giving Calvin Borel his third win in four years after Street Sense (2007) and Mine That Bird (2009), and giving Todd Pletcher his first Derby after many attempts. Borel’s habit of hugging the rail earned him the nickname “Bo-rail”.

A year later Animal Kingdom won for trainer Graham Motion. John Velazquez picked up the ride after the colt’s regular jockey, Robby Albarado, was injured in the days before the race. Animal Kingdom had never raced on dirt before the Derby, having run on turf and synthetic surfaces. Both editions show how unpredictable the race can be when the qualifying form comes from different surfaces and circuits.

What the road told us in 2026

The 2026 edition showed both sides of the points system. Golden Tempo came from far back at 23-1, and Renegade, an early favorite ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., ran second. The longshot Ocelli was third, and Chief Wallabee and Danon Bourbon completed the top five on the Action Network’s order of finish. The lesson for 2027 is the same as every year: points get a horse into the gate, but the race itself is decided over 1¼ miles that most of the field has never run before.

2027 timeline at a glance

• September to December 2026: US prep season races and the autumn legs of the European Road in Ireland, England and France; Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Keeneland on 30 October.
• January to mid-February 2027: 20-point enhanced preps at Fair Grounds, Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Tampa Bay, Oaklawn and Sunland.
• Mid-February to March 2027: 50-point Championship Series races, then the first 100-point preps on 20 and 27 March.
• April 2027: the final 100-point preps and the Lexington Stakes; the points list closes.
• Derby week: entries and post-position draw, Kentucky Oaks on Friday 30 April, Kentucky Derby on Saturday 1 May.

For the race’s longer history and records, see our Kentucky Derby history page; for the track itself, the Churchill Downs guide; and for how to judge the contenders, horse racing basics. The home page sums up the 2027 race in one place.

Road to the Derby FAQ