The Road to the Kentucky Oaks is a points system to qualify for the

Kentucky Oaks The Kentucky Oaks is a Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred Filly, fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers at Churchill Downs; the horses carry . The Kentucky O ...

, one of the most important races for three-year-old

fillies A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

and held the day before the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was ...

. It features roughly 30 stakes races for

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

fillies between September (when the horses are age two) and April (when they are three) – the number and specific races have varied slightly over the years. The point system replaces the previous qualifying system which was based on graded stakes earnings.

Qualifying for the Kentucky Oaks

If more than 14 horses wish to enter the

, positions will be reserved for the top 14 point earners from the Road to the Kentucky Oaks qualifying series. If any of the top 14 does not enter the Oaks, their position is given to the next ranked horses on the list. Up to 18 horses may enter the race, with the bottom four point-earners listed as "also eligible". If any of the top 14 is scratched after entries are taken but before betting begins, the next ranked horse on the also eligible list will be eligible to run. If two or more horses have the same number of points, the tiebreaker to get into the race will be earnings in non-restricted stakes races, whether or not they are graded. In the event of a tie, those horses will divide equally the points they would have received jointly had one beaten the other. The series is divided into two phases, the Kentucky Oaks Prep Season and the Kentucky Oaks Championship Series. The prep season consists of races of one mile or longer that are run between September (when the fillies are age two) and February (when the fillies are age three). Points are awarded to the top 4 finishers in each race on a 10-4-2-1 scale. The championship season consists of two legs and a "wild card" round. The first leg includes minor prep races with a 50-20-10-5 scale. The second leg includes major prep races, often

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, with a 100-40-20-10 scale. The "wild card" consists of one race and has a 10-4-2-1 scale. Fillies who earn points as part of the

Road to the Kentucky Derby The Road to the Kentucky Derby is a points system by which horses qualify for a position in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby. It features dozens of stakes races for 2 and 3-year-old Thoroughbreds – the number and specific races have chang ...

will be credited with them as part of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks. However, points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks are ''not'' credited towards qualifying for the Derby. The Super Six Prep races are worth 100 Point Races to the winner, they include such historic races as the

Santa Anita Oaks Santa Anita Oaks is an American Grade II Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Open to three-year-old fillies willing to race 8.5 furlongs ( miles) on the dirt. The race is a Grade II even ...

(G1) at Santa Anita Park, the

Gulfstream Park Oaks The Gulfstream Park Oaks is a Graded stakes race, Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three year old filly, fillies, over a distance of one and one-eighth miles on the dirt held annually in March at Gulfstream Park, Hallandale Beach, Flo ...

(G2) at Gulfstream Park, the

Ashland Stakes The Ashland Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early April at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. It and the Ashland Oaks, the Kentucky Association racetrack's predecessor race, were named for ...

(G1) at Keeneland Race Course, the

Fair Grounds Oaks The Fair Grounds Oaks is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt run annually in March, usually on Louisiana Derby day at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orle ...

(G2) at Fair Ground Race Course, the

Gazelle Stakes The Gazelle Stakes (formerly Gazelle Handicap until 2004) is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, New York. It is a Grade III event run over a distance of miles on dirt that is open to three-year- ...

(G2) at Aqueduct Racetrack and the

Fantasy Stakes The Fantasy Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt run annually usually in early April at Oaklawn Park Race Track in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The ...

(G3) at Oaklawn Park. To be eligible to run in the Kentucky Oaks, a filly must earn sufficient points via the Road to the Kentucky Oaks and the owner must pay certain fees: specifically, a nomination fee, an entry fee and a starter fee. For example, in 2016 the nomination fee was $200 which was to be paid by February 20, 2016. If the February date was missed, a late nomination fee of $1,500 could be paid by April 13, 2016. In addition, owners with qualifying horses were required to pay $5,000 to enter the Oaks and an additional $5,000 to start. If a qualifying horse was not nominated in either February or April, it could be supplemented to the Oaks for $30,000.

History

The ''Road to the Kentucky Oaks'' was created in 2012 as a companion race season to the

season series. The point system was created to establish a "clear, practical and understandable path" to qualify for the Kentucky Oaks, according to the official website of

. The previous graded stakes earning criteria were poorly understood by the public, based on a poll conducted by Churchill Downs which showed 83% of respondents stating they did not understand how horses became starters for the race.

2013 series

The 2013 season consisted of 35 races, 20 races for the Kentucky Oaks Prep Season and 15 races for the Kentucky Oaks Championship Season. Beholder was the leading qualifier for the 2013 Oaks, having earned a total of 164 points by winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (10 points), Las Virgenes (50 points) and Santa Anita Oaks (100 points), plus a 2nd-place finish in the Santa Ynez (4 points). She would finish second in the race to Princess of Sylmar, who qualified with 50 points.

2014 series

The number of races was originally reduced to 29 for the 2014 season (15 prep races and 14 championship season races). Due to a scheduling change of Las Virgenes, the Santa Ysabel replaced its spot in the first leg of the Kentucky Oaks Championship Series. The Las Virgenes was then added as a Kentucky Oaks Prep Season race bringing the total number of races in the entire series to 30.

Untapable Untapable (foaled 13 February 2011) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. She showed promise as a two-year-old in 2013 when she won two of her four races including the Pocahontas Stakes and was placed in the Starlet Stakes. In 2014 she emerge ...

was both the leading qualifier for and winner of the 2014 Oaks. Untapable earned a total of 160 points by winning the

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

(10 points),

Rachel Alexandra Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...

(50 points) and

(100 points).

2015 series

The 2015 season consisted of 31 races, 17 for the Kentucky Oaks Prep Season and 14 for the Kentucky Oaks Championship Series. Condo Commando was the leading qualifier with 161 points, earned by winning the Demoiselle (10 points), Busher (50 points) and

Gazelle A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . This article also deals with the seven species included in two further genera, ''Eudorcas'' and ''Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third f ...

(100 points), plus a fourth-place finish in the Frizette. I'm a Chatterbox also finished with 161 points, earned by winning the

Silverbulletday Silverbulletday (foaled January 22, 1996 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred champion racehorse. Bred in Kentucky, she was sired by Silver Deputy and out of the GII winning mare Rokeby Rose. Her damsire was Tom Rolfe, the 1965 Preakness Sta ...

(10 points),

(50 points) and

(100 points), plus finishing fourth in the Golden Rod (1 point). The Oaks was won by Lovely Maria, who qualified with 120 points, earned by winning the

(100 points) and finishing second in the Rachel Alexandra (20 points).

2016 series

For the 2016 series, the points awarded to the top 4 finishers of the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies were doubled to a 20-8-4-2 basis. Otherwise the series was supposed to remain the same as 2015, with 31 total races. However, due to an outbreak of equine herpesvirus at Sunland Parks, the Sunland Park Oaks was not run, reducing the number of races to 30.

Songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 500 ...

was the highest ranked filly with 190 points, earned by winning the

Chandelier A chandelier (; also known as girandole, candelabra lamp, or least commonly suspended lights) is a branched ornamental light fixture designed to be mounted on ceilings or walls. Chandeliers are often ornate, and normally use incandescent li ...

(10 points), Juvenile Fillies (20 points), Las Virgenes (10 points), Santa Ysabel (50 points) and

(100 points). She would have been the heavy favorite for the Oaks but developed a fever and did not race.

Cathryn Sophia Cathryn Sophia (foaled April 2, 2013) is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2016 Kentucky Oaks. After wide-margin wins on both her starts as a juvenile, the filly won the Forward Gal Stakes on her first appearance of 2016 and ...

, the winner of the 2016 Oaks, qualified for the race with 80 points, earned by winning the

Forward Gal Stakes The Forward Gal Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies, over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt held annually in late January or early February at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Th ...

(10 points) and

Davona Dale Stakes The Davona Dale Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three year old fillies, over a distance of one mile on the dirt held annually in late February or early March at Gulfstream Park, Hallandale Beach, Florida. The event ...

(50 points) plus finishing 3rd in the Ashland (20 points).

2017 series

Churchill Downs announced the schedule for the 2017 Road to the Kentucky Oaks on September 13, 2016. The only change from the 2016 season is that the

Mazarine Stakes The Mazarine Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A Grade III race, it is open to two-year-old fillies. Contested over a distance of miles (8.5 furlongs) on Polytrack synthetic dirt, it currently ...

is no longer included, bringing the total number of races down to 30. Farrell qualified first with 170 points, earned by winning the Golden Rod,

and

. The Kentucky Oaks was won by

Abel Tasman Abel Janszoon Tasman (; 160310 October 1659) was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was the first known European explorer to reach New Z ...

, who qualified with 70 points by finishing second in the Santa Ysabel and

2018 series

For 2018, Churchill Downs added the Suncoast Stakes to the series and reduced the points awarded for the Bourbonette Stakes to 20-8-4-2. The Delta Princess Stakes, which would have been the 31st race in the series, was cancelled in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

2019 series

2020 series

2021 series

;Notes

References

{{reflist, colwidth=30em

External links

Churchill Downs official website

Road to the Kentucky Oaks Point System
Kentucky Oaks Racing series for horses 2012 establishments in Kentucky Recurring sporting events established in 2012