2019 Road to the Kentucky Derby

The 2019 Road to the Kentucky Derby was a series of races through which horses qualified for the 2019 Kentucky Derby, which was held on May 4, 2019. The field for the Derby is limited to 20 horses, with up to four 'also eligibles' in case of a late withdrawal from the field. There are three separate paths for horses to take to qualify for the Derby: the main Road consisting of races in North America (plus one in Dubai), the Japan Road consisting of four races in Japan, and a European Road consisting of seven races in England, Ireland and France.

The main Road to the Kentucky Derby gives points to the top four finishers in specified races. The 2019 season was supposed to remain the same as the 2018 Road to the Kentucky Derby, consisting of 35 races broken down into 19 races for the Kentucky Derby Prep Season and 16 races for the Kentucky Derby Championship Season. Earnings in non-restricted stakes act as a tie breaker.^[1] However, the San Felipe Stakes was not run in 2019 due to difficulties with the track surface at Santa Anita Park in the wake of heavy winter rains, while the Rebel Stakes was run in two divisions with the posts adjusted to 37.5-15-7.5-3.75 for each division.^[2]

For 2019, some small changes were made from 2018 for the other series:^[1]

• Race changes: In the European Road, the Cardinal Stakes replaced the Burradon Stakes. Added a fourth race to the Japan series – the Fukuryu Stakes.
• Points system changes: Fukuryu Stakes in Japan was set at 40-16-8-4 points to the top four placings. The Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun points were doubled to 20-8-4-2.