Happy Easter! We are less than 3 weeks shy of the 143rd running of the 2017 Grade 1 Kentucky Derby. The final two prep races were held yesterday so we have come to the end of the road to the KY Derby. We now have our roster of eligible contenders in the Run for the Roses.
In the Summer of 2012, Churchill Downs established a system to award points to the top four finishers in select graded stakes races. For the 5th year, the field of KY Derby horses will be selected using this point scale. 35 races at various tracks awarded between 1 and 100 points to rank the best dirt running Thoroughbreds now at age 3. Ties in the points are broken based on the earnings collected in non-restricted stakes races.
For the first time Churchill Downs had a special agreement with the Japan Racing association. Two additional races were assigned points from which the top scoring horse could enter the KY Derby. These races were the Cattleya Sho and the Hyacinth. However, the connections of the Japan based horses did not accept a KY Derby entry for 2017. It is unfortunate that Epicharis won’t start in the race.
I first saw Classic Empire win the Bashford Manor Stakes on 7/2/16 and I was already impressed. Then on September 17, 2016 the 1st prep race for the initial jewel of the Triple Crown took place. Not This Time won the Iroquois at Churchill Downs and collected 10 KY Derby points that day. When Classic Empire won the Breeders’ Futurity on 10/8/16 at Keeneland, he got his 1st 10 KY Derby points. Next, in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, 11/5/16, gathering 20 points, Classic Empire jumped to the top of the leaderboard and he quickly became my favorite. I was so excited to see another son of Pioneerof the Nile as a graded stakes winner. He is the sire of the Triple Crown winner, American Pharoah. Classic Empire’s next race was the Holy Bull at Gulfstream Park on 2/4/17. He finished 3rd with a foot abscess that threatened to ruin his KY Derby chances. Since then many other highly regarded horses have ranked on the leaderboard. Yesterday, 4/15/17, the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland and the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park were the last 2 chances for KY Derby points. The Lexington only awarded between 1 and 10 points which wasn’t enough to make a change in the top 20 contenders. Senior Investment was the winner and I was present to see him shine. Later that day, the AK Derby rewarded 10 to 100 points and Classic Empire won in his 1st return to racing, grabbing enough points to place him 2nd in KY Derby standings!
The top 20 horses according to Churchill Downs are as follows by rank, horse and points though 3 weeks of decision making, by the connections, remain.
- Girvin 150
- Classic Empire 132
- Gormley 125
- Irap 113
- Irish War Cry 110
- Thunder Snow 100
- Always Dreaming 100
- Gunnevera 84
- Practical Joke 74
- J Boys Echo 63
- State of Honor 62
- Tapwrit 54
- Malagacy 50
- Hence 50
- Fast and Accurate 50
- McCraken 40
- Battle of Midway 40
- Patch 40
- Battalion Runner 40
- Cloud Computing 40
Some anticipated changes may be the omission of Thunder Snow because he may be aimed at the English 2000 Guineas instead. We also may see the connections of Conquest Mo Money, with 60 points, put up the late fee of $200,000 to make their horse Triple Crown eligible.
Please, enjoy some of the photos I collected at Keeneland on Saturday. I wish the Lexington Stakes had awarded more points to give those horses a chance in the KY Derby. I made a special visit to get some photos of Irap who won 100 points the previous weekend in Keeneland’s Bluegrass Stakes to earn the 4th place in rank on the leaderboard.
I’ll be making several more trips back to Keeneland before the meet ends. Let me know if there is a special race or horse racing there this Spring. Check back for the latest stories and I hope you had a very Happy Easter.
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