It’s already qualifying time for the 150th Kentucky Derby. Here’s the full race schedule.

Come May, the eyes of the sports world will again be fixed on Churchill Downs in Louisville.

The 150th running of the Kentucky Derby is set for May 4, 2024, and will again feature the top 3-year-old thoroughbreds in horse racing in pursuit of a highly coveted prize.

Even more than in most years, the title of winning the 150th edition of the Kentucky Derby will be a coveted honor (although famed trainer Bob Baffert won’t be able to have a horse in the field).

And now, we know the schedule of qualifying races that will determine which 20 horses make the starting gate.

The Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying race schedule begins Saturday, and will continue through April as horses and their connections attempt to secure enough points to participate in the Run for the Roses.

The Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying structured was first used in 2013.

The first qualifying race for the 2024 Kentucky Derby will be the $300,000, Grade 3 Iroquois with a field of nine 2-year-olds on Saturday at Churchill Downs, which is part of opening weekend for the track’s 14-day September meet.

Saturday’s card at Churchill will also feature the $300,000, Grade 3 Pocahontas, which is the first of 32 races as part of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks qualifying series.

The 150th running of the Oaks will take place May 3 at Churchill Downs.

On Tuesday morning, a report issued by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) said it couldn’t find a single issue responsible for the equine fatalities that occurred during the Spring Meet at Churchill Downs. Racing ceased at the Louisville track in early June and the rest of its Spring Meet was moved to Ellis Park in Henderson.

In total, 37 qualifying races will be run in the domestic Road to the Kentucky Derby series.

There are some changes to this year’s qualifying format as well.

Most notably, the amount of qualifying points awarded to second-place finishers in qualifying races has been increased.

In the eight races that award 100 qualifying points to the winning horse (Jeff Ruby Steaks, Louisiana Derby, UAE Derby, Florida Derby, Arkansas Derby, Wood Memorial, Blue Grass Stakes and Santa Anita Derby), the qualifying points given to the third- and fourth-place finishers have decreased.

The number of points awarded to horses that win qualifying races will remain the same: 10 for early prep season races, 30 for Breeders’ Cup races, 20 for late prep season races, 50 for early championship series races and 100 for late championship series races.

The American Road to the Kentucky Derby will award a Derby starting spot to the top 18 point earners.

The only two times the top qualifying points earner went on to win the Kentucky Derby was in 2013 with Orb and 2014 with California Chrome.

European, Japanese horses also have path to Derby

In addition to the American Road to the Kentucky Derby, there will also be pathways in Europe and Japan for potential Derby runners.

One invitation to the Derby will be extended to the top points earner in both the European Road to the Kentucky Derby and the Japanese Road to the Kentucky Derby.

No invitation will be extended to a European horse beyond the top four points earners.

Any points earned by a European horse in the American Road to the Kentucky Derby series will also go toward that horse’s point total in the European qualifying series.

The series of European qualifying races toward the Kentucky Derby began in 2018.

The Japanese Road to the Kentucky Derby debuted in 2017 and consists of four races.

If a Japan-based horse also qualifies through the American Road to the Kentucky Derby series, then a second invite could be extended to another Japanese horse.

Any points earned by a Japanese horse in the American Road to the Kentucky Derby series will also go toward that horse’s point total in the Japanese qualifying series.

Six horses based in Japan have run in the Kentucky Derby, including Derma Sotogake (sixth) and Mandarin Hero (12th) earlier this year.

Changes to Kentucky Oaks qualifying series

In similar fashion to the changes made to the Kentucky Derby qualifying series, alterations also occurred for fillies in the Road to the Kentucky Oaks qualifying series, which features 32 races.

Of note, the 7-furlong Beaumont at Keeneland is no longer a qualifying race for the Kentucky Oaks.

The top 14 in points will earn a spot in the starting gate for the 150th Kentucky Oaks, which features 3-year-old fillies.

Any points earned by a filly in a Road to the Kentucky Derby event will also count toward her qualifying points total for the Road to the Kentucky Oaks.

If a filly earns an invite to the Kentucky Derby via the European or Japanese pathways to the Derby, her ownership may choose to use that invite to compete in the Kentucky Oaks.

No qualifying points toward either the Kentucky Derby or Kentucky Oaks are awarded to a horse trained by someone who is suspended from fielding an entry in the Derby or Oaks (like Baffert).

Points from that horse’s finishing position will be vacated.

Note: If you’re reading the Herald-Leader print edition, please view this article on Kentucky.com to see the full schedules for the Road to the Kentucky Derby and the Road to the Kentucky Oaks.

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