The lead up to the Kentucky Derby consists of 36 races that award points to the Top 4 finishers in each race. The top 20 point earners will earn a spot in the starting gate for the 147th running of the first leg of the Triple Crown on Saturday, May 1st, 2021 at Churchill Downs. One invitation will be extended to the top point earners in the Europe Road to the Kentucky Derby and one invitation will be extended to the top point earners in the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby. The field has been limited to 20 starters since 1975. We will update this page every weekend and you can see our predictions for every race on our Free Horse Picks page.
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Kentucky Derby Points Standings
as of January 24th, 2021| # | Horse | Trainer | Points | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Essential Quality | Brad Cox | 30 | $1,280,000 |
| 2 | Keepmeinmind | Robertino Diodoro | 18 | $379,040 |
| 3 | Midnight Bourbon | Steve Asmussen | 16 | $190,000 |
| 4 | Spielberg | Bob Baffert | 12 | $206,000 |
| 5 | Jackie's Warrior | Steve Asmussen | 12 | $457,500 |
| 6 | Brooklyn Strong | Daniel Velazquez | 10 | $80,500 |
| 7 | Sittin On Go | Dale Romans | 10 | $137,800 |
| 8 | Get Her Number | Peter Miller | 10 | $186,000 |
| 9 | Life is Good | Bob Baffert | 10 | $60,000 |
| 10 | Capo Kane | Harold Wyner | 10 | $82,500 |
| 11 | Hot Rod Charlie | Doug O'Neill | 8 | $340,000 |
| 12 | Proxy | Michael Stidham | 6 | $40,000 |
| 13 | The Great One | Doug O'Neill | 4 | $40,500 |
| 14 | Rombauer | Mike McCarthy | 4 | $120,500 |
| 15 | Reinvestment Risk | Chad Brown | 4 | $120,000 |
| 16 | Super Stock | Steve Asmussen | 4 | $59,000 |
| 17 | Smiley Sobotka | Dale Romans | 4 | $38,400 |
| 18 | Ten for Ten | Shug McGaughey | 4 | $30,000 |
| 19 | Medina Spirit | Bob Baffert | 4 | $20,000 |
| 20 | Eagle Orb | Rudy Rodriquez | 4 | $30,000 |
| 21 | Known Agenda | Todd Pletcher | 2 | $18,000 |
| 22 | Arabian Prince | Dallas Stewart | 2 | $19,200 |
| 23 | Petruchio | Richard Mandella | 2 | $24,000 |
| 24 | Swill | Brad Cox | 2 | $9,600 |
| 25 | Hold the Salsa | Richard Lugovich | 2 | $19,125 |
| 26 | Waspirant | John Shirreffs | 2 | $24,000 |
| 27 | Mandaloun | Brad Cox | 2 | $20,000 |
| 28 | Santa Cruiser | Keith Desormeaux | 1 | $8,000 |
| 29 | Upstriker | Ron Moquett | 1 | $20,000 |
| 30 | Therideofalifetime | Ignacio Correas | 1 | $39,500 |
| 31 | Pickin' Time | Kelly Breen | 1 | $9,000 |
| 32 | Red Flag | John Shirreffs | 1 | $72,000 |
| 33 | Parnelli | John Shirreffs | 1 | $12,000 |
| 34 | Civil War | Tom Albertrani | 1 | $15,000 |
