How many points does a participant need for the Kentucky Derby?

This Saturday will be the Kentucky derby, the most famous and important horse race in the world, in which all breeders want to participate, but only a select group can participate.

The participant list for the Kentucky derby 2024 was limited to 20 horses, with a maximum of four eligible in the event of a last-minute withdrawal.

How do you qualify for the race?

There are three different ways horses can qualify for the Derby: The main race, consisting of races in North America (plus one in Dubai); the Japanese, consisting of four races in Japan; and the Europe Route, consisting of seven races in England, Ireland and France.

The top five finishers in the specified races receive points, and the most points were awarded during the major preliminary races in March and April.

Wins in unlimited stakes races acted as a tiebreaker.

Second place points in all qualifying races were increased to create greater separation between second and third places.

Points for third and fourth place in races where 100 points were awarded to a winner reduced from 100-40-30-20-20-10 to 100-50-25-25-15-10.

The numbers of the races

The Grade III Street Sense stakesheld Oct. 29 at Churchill Downs, was added to the early prep season.

The Grade III mock deployments was included in the original list of events, but Santa Anita Park did not schedule the event until 2024.

The distance to the Robert B. Lewis Stakes was reduced from 1 mile to 1 mile.

The Camino Real Derby was removed from the early pre-season.

For the Sunland Park derby at Sunland Parkthe qualifying points were reduced from 50-20-15-10-5 to 20-10-6-4-2 116 miles.

What time is the 2024 Kentucky Derby expected to start?

The gates of Churchill Down are expected to open around 6:45 PM ET. Taking this into account, the big race will likely start around 6:57 PM ET.