Road to the Derby

The surest sign that autumn is upon us is that we are already beginning to look ahead to next spring. In the racing world, that means the release of the 2025 Road to the GI Kentucky Derby qualifying schedule, and the list of points-awarding prep races that came out Friday contained a few tweaks. Two stood out--a schedule addition and a rule change. Churchill Downs Inc., the gaming company that controls the Derby and the points system that determines which horses get into the race, locked up a prime piece...

Represented by a trio of well-meant sophomores in Saturday's GII Risen Star S. at Fair Grounds--including the top two favorites--trainer Brad Cox's march to the first Saturday in May continued with an upset victory by the Albaugh Family Stable's Angel of Empire (Classic Empire). Second by three lengths behind his re-opposing and favored stablemate Victory Formation (Tapwrit) in the one-mile Smarty Jones S. Jan. 1, Angel of Empire raced in a ground-saving eighth as the field of 14 rounded the clubhouse turn beneath the lights. The 13-1 chance began to...

The Week in Review by T.D. Thornton Oaklawn Park readjusted its series of prep races for the GI Kentucky Derby this year by moving back the date of its premier stakes, the GI Arkansas Derby, so it now sits five weeks out from the first Saturday in May instead of the traditional three. That changed the overall complexion of the prep-race picture so that the final three nine-furlong stakes that award 100 coveted Derby qualifying points to the winner will all take place Apr. 9. This means that for the...