Winning a stakes like the Jan. 3 $139,500 Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct may earn a 3-year-old some Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve qualifying points but winning a one-turn mile like the Jerome and the testing 1 1/4-mile Kentucky Derby are light years apart.
The Road to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve heads to Arkansas Saturday with the 19th running of the $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes, the first of four qualifying points preps to be held in the coming weeks at Oaklawn Park. Nine newly turned 3-year-old colts will line up to compete for 21 Kentucky Derby points, distributed to the top five finishers on
While people will be saying “Happy New Year!” on Thursday, all Thoroughbreds will be celebrating their birthdays. Horses that were 2 at the start of the week will turn 3 on Thursday and that’s when the talk about the 2026 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve really begins to intensify.
The North American Thoroughbred racing calendar turns to 2026 with a busy New Year’s Day slate of racing on Thursday, and two days later on Saturday, Jan.
