Tis the Holiday Horse Racing Season - Road to the Kentucky Derby

For everyday Americans, the holiday season means hustle, bustle, family get-togethers, good food, and maybe a few presents. For U.S. horse racing fans, it means something completely different.

At this time of the year, the U.S. horse racing community looks to put a cap on another year of great horse racing action. Which horse will win "Horse of the Year? It could be White Abarrio. If not him, maybe Idiomatic will rise out of the filly/mare ranks, or sprinters Elite Power or Cody's Wish will claim the title. It's a question that will be answered in January 2024.

Meanwhile, the holidays also represent the morning of a new horse racing season.

The March to the 2024 Kentucky Derby

Over the past 7-8 months, several thousand two-year-old colts, geldings, and fillies began their racing careers. In the coming months, hundreds of newly turned three-year-olds will be doing the same. From either of these groups will emerge one horse that will move to the pinnacle of U.S. horse racing and claim the Kentucky Derby.

Which horse will be answered on the first Saturday in May, but for now, the leader of the pack has to be Breeders Cup Juvenile Champion Fierceness.

The march to the Kentucky Derby travels a long road that goes through many of the top race tracks from across the nation. Entering the holiday season, the first tracks to host key Kentucky Derby prep races are geared up for horse racing action.

This list of Derby prep tracks that will be open during the holiday season will be:

• Aqueduct (winter meet)
  
• Fairgrounds Racecourse (winter/spring meet)
  
• Gulfstream Park (winter/spring meet)
  
• Oaklawn Park (winter/spring meet)
  
• Santa Anita Park (winter meet)
  
• Turfway Park (winter meet)
  

Qualifying for the Kentucky Derby

Over the last couple of decades, the Kentucky Derby has been oversubscribed with entries. Note: The rules stipulate that no more than 20 horses will be allowed to enter the starting gate on Derby Day.

To fairly determine which horses would be allowed to enter the Derby, The Road to the Kentucky Derby points system was created. The point system allows horses to earn points based on their placings (1st-4th) in designated prep races. It's noteworthy that some prep races are considered more prestigious than others, resulting in higher points being awarded in such races.

There will be a total of 48 designated prep races from which points will be awarded. As of December 7, 2023, points have already been awarded for 12 of those races with another 4 prep races to be run for two-year-olds before the end of the year. The remaining 32 races will be three-year-old events, starting on January 1 and ending on April 13 of 2024.

To ensure fair representation from other countries, points will also be awarded from prep races in Dubai, France, England, Ireland, and Japan.

It's all underway and the excitement will be building. Tis the start of holiday horse racing season that will ultimately lead one horse to historical glory.