2025 Road to the Kentucky Derby

The 2025 Road to the Kentucky Derby is a series of races through which horses qualified for the 2025 Kentucky Derby, which will be held on May 3. The field for the Derby was limited to 20 horses, with up to four 'also eligibles' in case of a late withdrawal from the field. There were three separate paths for horses to take to qualify for the Derby: the main Road consisting of races in North America, the Japan Road consisting of four races in Japan, and the Euro/MidEast road consisting of seven races in England, Ireland, United Arab Emirates and France. The top five finishers in the specified races received points, with higher points awarded in the major prep races in March and April. Earnings in non-restricted stakes races acted as a tie breaker.

For 2025, the main Road to the Kentucky Derby resembled the 2024 Road to the Kentucky Derby, consisting of 36 races, with 20 races for the Kentucky Derby Prep Season and 16 races for the Kentucky Derby Championship Season with the following changes:^[a]

The Grade III Virginia Derby to be held on March 15 at Colonial Downs has been added to the Championship Season
The UAE Derby has been moved from the main North American road and placed in the rebranded Euro/Mideast road
The Cardinal Stakes has been removed from the Euro/Mideast road

Also there has been an adjustment of points in Championship Series races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. A minimum of six horses is required for full points to be awarded. Reduced points will be offered if fewer than six horses start. Three-fourth points will be available when five horses start, and half points if four or fewer horses start.

Standings

The following table shows the points earned in the eligible races for the main series.^[2]

As of February 2, 2025

Rank^[2]	Horse	Points	Earnings^[b]	Trainer	Owner	Ref
1	Citizen Bull	60	$1,376,000	Bob Baffert	SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert E. Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Tom J. Ryan, Waves Edge Capital & Catherine Donovan	^[3]
2	Speed King	25	$600,000	Ron Moquett	Triton Thoroughbreds	^[4]
3	Coal Battle	20	$434,500	Lonnie Briley	Norman Stables	^[4]
4	Burnham Square	20	$151,900	Ian R. Wilkes	Whitham Thoroughbreds	^[5]
5	Disco Time	20	$150,000	Brad H. Cox	Juddmonte Farms	^[6]
6	Captain Cook	20	$137,500	Richard Dutrow Jr.	St. Elias Stable	^[7]
7	Built	20	$110,000	Wayne M. Catalano	Eclipse Thoroughbreds Partners	^[8]
8	Gaming	18	$569,000	Bob Baffert	Karl Watson, Michael E. Pegram & Paul Weitman	^[9]
9	Getaway Car	16	$308,000	Bob Baffert	SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert E. Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Tom J. Ryan, Waves Edge Capital & Catherine Donovan	^[3]
10	Jonathan's Way	15	$213,530	Philip Bauer	Rigney Racing	^[10]
11	Tiztastic	14	$755,800	Steven M. Asmussen	Winchell Thoroughbreds, Derrick Smith, Mrs. John Magnier & Michael Tabor	^[11]
12	Sandman	14	$207,995	Mark E. Casse	D. J. Stable, St. Elias Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds & CJ Stables	^[10]
13	Ferocious	12	$244,500	Gustavo Delgado	JR Ranch, Ramiro Restrepo, High Step Racing & OGMA Investments	^[12]
14	Omaha Omaha	11	$60,000	Michael Gorman	Nathan J. Nelson, Gary T. Carlson and Shawn M. Sullivan	^[13]
15	Chancer McPatrick	10	$480,000	Chad C. Brown	Flanagan Racing	^[14]
16	East Avenue	10	$368,750	Brendan P. Walsh	Godolphin	^[12]
17	First Resort	10	$296,776	Eoin G. Harty	Godolphin	^[15]
18	Poster	10	$137,500	Eoin G. Harty	Godolphin	^[16]
19	Journalism	10	$120,000	Michael W. McCarthy	Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Elayne Stables 5 & Robert V. LaPenta	^[17]
20	Sovereignty	10	$119,280	William I. Mott	Godolphin	^[11]
21	Cyclone State	10	$82,500	Chad Summers	Gold Square, George Messina & Michael Lee	^[13]
22	Surfside Moon	10	$56,000	James Lawrence II	Manor Stable & Mair Lee Stables	^[7]
23	Tappan Street	10	$49,000	Brad H. Cox	China Horse Club, WinStar Farm & Cold Press Racing	^[5]
24	Rodriguez	10	$40,000	Bob Baffert	SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert E. Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Tom J. Ryan, Waves Edge Capital & Catherine Donovan	^[18]
25	Hill Road	9	$180,000	Adrian Murray	Arno Racing	^[9]
26	Mo Quality	9	$63,750	Christopher Davis	Walmac Farm	^[19]
27	Innovator	6	$66,250	D. Wayne Lukas	BC Stables	^[6]
28	Dapper Moon	6	$46,238	Dallas Stewart	Valene Farms	^[12]
29	Madaket Road	6	$44,000	Bob Baffert	SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert E. Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Tom J. Ryan, Waves Edge Capital & Catherine Donovan	^[18]
30	Burning Glory	6	$24,500	William I. Mott	Juddmonte Farms	^[5]
31	Owen Almighty	5	$163,060	Brian A. Lynch	Flying Dutchmen	^[10]
32	Tip Top Thomas	5	$100,000	Todd A. Pletcher	James J. Bakke & Gerald Isbister	^[14]
33	Aviator Gui	5	$59,000	Chad C. Brown	Three Chimneys Farm	^[16]
34	Magnitude	5	$25,005	Steven M. Asmussen	Winchell Thoroughbreds	^[8]
35	Studlydoright	4	$256,360	John Robb	David R. Hughes	^[16]
36	Clock Tower	4	$103,938	Wesley A. Ward	Mrs. Fitriani Hay	^[18]
37	Patch Adams	4	$54,000	Brad H. Cox	China Horse Club & WinStar Farm	^[20]
38	Golden Afternoon	4	$41,938	Nicholas Vaccarezza	Pat & Eddie Greco, Scott Jaffe, Michael P. Cloonan & Vaccarezza Racing	^[6]
39	Render Judgment	4	$21,610	Kenneth G. McPeek	Baccari Racing Stable	^[15]
40	Mo Plex	3	$156,250	Jeremiah C. Englehart	R and H Stable	^[14]
41	Kale's Angel	3	$112,625	Pete Miller	Tom Kagele & Ernest Marchosky	^[19]
42	McKinzie Street	3	$100,000	Tim Yakteen	Leslie A. & Pierre Jean Amestoy Jr. & Roger K. Beasley	^[3]
43	Filoso	3	$59,875	Chad Summers	Gold Square	^[12]
44	Dominant Spirit	3	$48,000	W. Bret Calhoun	Martin Racing Stable, Bob Gorsky, Circustown Racing Stables, D and B Racing & Luke Brown	^[4]
45	Giocoso	3	$33,025	J. Keith Desormeaux	Rocker O Ranch	^[10]
46	Mesero	3	$31,200	Dale L. Romans	CJ Thoroughbreds & Delia Nash	^[10]
47	Tux	3	$30,000	William I. Mott	LNJ Foxwoods	^[16]
48	Ican	3	$18,000	Richard Dutrow Jr.	FMQ Stables	^[13]
49	Smoken Wicked	2	$109,200	Dallas Stewart	Valene Farms	^[14]
50	He's Not Joking	2	$79,113	Josie Carroll	Gianni Di Scola	^[5]
51	Bon Temps	2	$39,625	D. Wayne Lukas	Calumet Farm	^[19]
52	Monet's Magic	2	$36,000	Ben Colebrook	Midway Racing	^[20]
53	Emerald Bay	2	$18,000	Bob Baffert	Karl Watson, Michael E. Pegram & Paul Weitman	^[3]
54	Dr Ruben M^[c]	2	$18,000	Doug F. O'Neill	The Del Mar Group	^[4]
55	Rank	2	$12,500	Doug F. O'Neill	Calumet Farm	^[17]
56	Uncle Jim	2	$10,000	Brad H. Cox	Robert V. LaPenta & Madaket Stables	^[7]
57	Maximum Promise	2	$5,000	Kenneth G. McPeek	Back Racing & Run for LaRoses	^[6]
58	Admiral Dennis^[d]	2	$4,000	Brad H. Cox	Albaugh Family Stables	^[8]
59	Valentines Candy	2	$4,000	Jesus Mendoza	Dale Brewer	^[18]
60	Jolly Samurai	1	$101,500	Danny Pish	Jake Brown	^[4]
61	Vekoma Rides	1	$20,000	John C. Kimmel	Nedlaw Stable, Denholtz Stables, Dennis A. Drazin & Jerold L. Zaro	^[14]
62	Keewaydin	1	$10,000	Chad C. Brown	OXO Equine	^[16]
63	Hot Property	1	$9,750	Brad H. Cox	Gary & Mary West	^[19]
64	Show of Force	1	$8,000	Todd W. Fincher	Triple V Racing	^[3]
65	Mansetti	1	$7,100	Kevin Attard	Al & Bill Ulwelling	^[13]
66	Bracket Buster	1	$5,820	Victoria Oliver	BBN Racing	^[11]
67	Mellencamp	1	$4,000	Bob Baffert	SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert E. Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Tom J. Ryan, Waves Edge Capital & Catherine Donovan	^[17]
68	Chris's Revenge	1	$2,000	Brittany Russell	Nice Guys Stables	^[8]

Prep season

Initial prep events

Note: 1st=10 points; 2nd=5 points; 3rd=3 points; 4th=2 points; 5th=1 point (except the Breeders' Cup Juvenile: 1st=30 points; 2nd=15 points; 3rd=9 points; 4th=6 points; 5th=3 points)

The dates for most races shown below are based on the placement in the racing calendar from 2023/2024. Similarly, the purses shown below are based on the amounts from the previous year and will be updated when finalized.

Race	Distance	Purse	Track	Date	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Ref
Iroquois	1 mile	$254,745	Churchill Downs	Sep 14 2024	Jonathan's Way	Owen Almighty	Giocoso	Mesero	Sandman	^[10]
Champagne	1 mile	$500,000	Aqueduct	Oct 5 2024	Chancer McPatrick	Tip Top Thomas	Mo Plex	Smoken Wicked	Vekoma Rides	^[14]
American Pharoah	1+1⁄16 miles	$301,000	Santa Anita	Oct 5 2024	Citizen Bull	Getaway Car	McKinzie Street	Emerald Bay	Show of Force	^[3]
Breeders' Futurity	1+1⁄16 miles	$594,063	Keeneland	Oct 5 2024	East Avenue	Ferocious	Filoso	Dapper Moon	Mesero	^[12]
Street Sense	1+1⁄16 miles	$197,500	Churchill Downs	Oct 27 2024	Sovereignty	Tiztastic	Sandman	Dapper Moon	Bracket Buster	^[11]
Breeders' Cup Juvenile	1+1⁄16 miles	$2,000,000	Del Mar	Nov 1 2024	Citizen Bull	Gaming	Hill Road	Getaway Car	Ferocious	^[9]
Kentucky Jockey Club	1+1⁄16 miles	$381,250	Churchill Downs	Nov 30 2024	First Resort	Jonathan's Way	Tiztastic	Dapper Moon	Render Judgment	^[15]
Remsen	1+1⁄8 miles	$250,000	Aqueduct	Dec 7 2024	Poster	Aviator Gui	Tux	Studlydoright	Keewaydin	^[16]
Springboard Mile	1 mile	$300,000	Remington	Dec 13 2024	Coal Battle	Speed King	Dominant Spirit	Dr Ruben M	Jolly Samurai	^[4]
Los Alamitos Futurity	1+1⁄16 miles	$200,000	Los Alamitos	Dec 14 2024	Journalism	Getaway Car	Gaming	Rank	Mellencamp	^[17]
Gun Runner Stakes	1+1⁄16 miles	$96,000	Fair Grounds	Dec 21 2024	Built	Magnitude	Render Judgment	Admiral Dennis	Chris's Revenge	^[8]
Smarty Jones	1 mile	$250,000	Oaklawn	Jan 4 2025	Coal Battle	Mo Quality	Kale's Angel	Bon Temps	Hot Property	^[19]
Jerome	1 mile	$150,000	Aqueduct	Jan 4 2025	Cyclone State	Omaha Omaha	Ican	Studlydoright	Mansetti	^[13]

Select prep events

Note: 1st=20 points; 2nd=10 points; 3rd=6 points; 4th=4 points; 5th=2 points

Race	Distance	Purse	Track	Date	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Ref
Lecomte	1+1⁄16 miles	$250,000	Fair Grounds	Jan 18 2025	Disco Time	Built	Innovator	Golden Afternoon	Maximum Promise	^[6]
Southwest	1+1⁄16 miles	$1,000,000	Oaklawn	Jan 25 2025	Speed King	Sandman	Tiztastic	Patch Adams	Monet's Magic	^[20]
Holy Bull	1 mile	$250,000	Gulfstream	Feb 1 2025	Burnham Square	Tappan Street	Burning Glory	Ferocious	He’s Not Joking	^[5]
Robert B. Lewis	1 mile	$200,000	Santa Anita	Feb 1 2025	Citizen Bull	Rodriguez	Madaket Road	Clock Tower	Valentines Candy	^[18]
Withers^[e]	1+1⁄8 miles	$250,000	Aqueduct	Feb 1 2025	Captain Cook	Surfside Moon	Omaha Omaha	Mo Quality	Uncle Jim	^[7]
Sam F. Davis Stakes^[f]	1+1⁄16 miles	$250,000	Tampa Bay	Feb 8 2025
John Battaglia Memorial Stakes	1+1⁄16 miles	$150,000	Turfway	Feb 22 2025

Championship series events

First leg of series

Note: 1st=50 points; 2nd=25 points; 3rd=15 points; 4th=10 points; 5th=5 points
with the exception of the Sunland Derby; 1st=20 points; 2nd=10 points; 3rd=6 points; 4th=4 points; 5th=2 points

Race	Distance	Purse	Grade	Track	Date
Risen Star	1+1⁄8 miles	$500,000	2	Fair Grounds	Feb 15 2025
Sunland Derby^[g]	1+1⁄16 miles	$500,000		Sunland Park	Feb 16 2025
Rebel	1+1⁄16 miles	$1,250,000	2	Oaklawn	Feb 22 2025
Fountain of Youth	1+1⁄16 miles	$400,000	2	Gulfstream	Mar 1 2025
Gotham	1 mile	$300,000	3	Aqueduct	Mar 1 2025
San Felipe	1+1⁄16 miles	$400,000	2	Santa Anita	Mar 2 2025
Tampa Bay Derby	1+1⁄16 miles	$350,000	2	Tampa Bay	Mar 8 2025
Virginia Derby	1+1⁄8 miles	$500,000	3	Colonial Downs	Mar 15 2025

Second leg of series

These races are the major preps for the Kentucky Derby, and are thus weighted more heavily.
Note: 1st=100 points; 2nd=50 points; 3rd=25 points; 4th=15 points; 5th=10 points
with the exception of the Lexington Stakes; 1st=20 points; 2nd=10 points; 3rd=6 points; 4th=4 points; 5th=2 points

Race	Distance	Purse	Grade	Track	Date
Louisiana Derby	1+3⁄16 miles	$1,000,000	2	Fair Grounds	Mar 22 2025
Jeff Ruby	1+1⁄8 miles	$700,000	3	Turfway	Mar 22 2025
Florida Derby	1+1⁄8 miles	$1,000,000	1	Gulfstream	Mar 29 2025
Arkansas Derby	1+1⁄8 miles	$1,500,000	1	Oaklawn Park	Mar 29 2025
Blue Grass Stakes	1+1⁄8 miles	$1,000,000	1	Keeneland	Apr 5 2025
Santa Anita Derby	1+1⁄8 miles	$750,000	1	Santa Anita	Apr 5 2025
Wood Memorial	1+1⁄8 miles	$750,000	2	Aqueduct	Apr 5 2025
Lexington	1+1⁄8 miles	$400,000	3	Keeneland	Apr 12 2025

Euro/Mideast Road to the Kentucky Derby

The Euro/Mideast Road to the Kentucky Derby is designed on a similar basis to the Japan Road and 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. If neither of the top four accept, this place in the starting gate reverts to the horses on the main road to the Derby.

The series consists of seven races – four run on the turf in late 2024 when the horses are age two, plus two races run on a synthetic surface in early 2025 and the UAE Derby which has been moved to this rebranded Road to the Kentucky Derby for the first time.

Race	Distance	Track	Date	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Ref
Beresford Stakes	1 mile	The Curragh	Sep 28 2024	Hotazhell	Tennessee Stud	Windlord	Trinity College	Lambourn	^[22]
Royal Lodge Stakes	1 mile	Newmarket	Sep 28 2024	Wimbledon Hawkeye	Royal Playwright	Angelo Buonarroti	Puppet Master	Luther	^[23]
Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère	1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs)	Longchamp	Oct 6 2024	Camille Pissarro	Rashabar	Misunderstood	Field Of Gold	Henri Matisse	^[24]
William Hill Futurity Trophy	1 mile	Doncaster	Oct 26 2024	Hotazhell	Delacroix	Wimbledon Hawkeye	Seaplane	Anno Domini	^[25]
European Road to the Kentucky Derby Conditions Stakes	1 mile	Kempton Park	Feb 26 2025
Patton Stakes	1 mile	Dundalk	Feb 28 2025
UAE Derby	1,900 metres (about 1+3⁄16 miles)	Meydan	Apr 5 2025

Note:

the four races in 2024 for two-year-olds: 1st=10 points; 2nd=5 points; 3rd=3 points; 4th=2 points; 5th=1 point
the first two races in 2025: 1st=20 points; 2nd=10 points; 3rd=6 points; 4th=4 points; 5th=2 points
The UAE Derby: 1st=100 points; 2nd=50 points; 3rd=25 points; 4th=15 points; 5th=10 points

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 five finishers.

Race	Distance	Track	Date	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Ref
Cattleya Stakes	1,600 metres (~1 mile)	Tokyo Racecourse	Nov 23	Natural Rise	Clay King	T O Elvis	Snappy Dresser	Kanreiski	^[26]
Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun	1,600 metres (~1 mile)	Kawasaki Racecourse	Dec 11	ƒ Myriad Love	Happy Man	Soldier Field	Natural Rise	Jugemoon	^[27]
Hyacinth	1,600 metres (~1 mile)	Tokyo Racecourse	Feb 16
Fukuryu	1,800 metres (~1+1⁄8 miles)	Nakayama Racecourse	Mar 22