2024 Kentucky Derby countdown is on. Here is an early look at top contenders for No. 150
The 150th Kentucky Derby is less than three months away, but who's counting? Here is an early look at the top contenders for this year's race, scheduled May 4 at Churchill Downs.
The Derby will feature the top 18 point earners from the United States, the top point earner from Japan and the top point earner from Europe. A total of 20 horses will earn a spot in the starting gate.
Below is the most recent point leaderboard for the Derby, which lists the horse, owner, trainer and total points, according to the Kentucky Derby.
Road to Kentucky Derby Leaderboard
Rank | Horse | Owner | Trainer | Points |
1 | Fierceness | Repole Stable | Todd Pletcher | 36 |
2 | Track Phantom | L and N Racing LLC, Brewster, Clark O., Caroom, Jerry and Breeze Easy LLC | Steve Asmussen | 30 |
3 | Mystik Dan | Lance Gasaway, 4 G Racing LLC & Daniel Hamby III | Kenny McPeek | 21 |
4 | Hades | D.J. Stable LLC & Robert Cotran | Joe Orseno | 20 |
5 | Uncle Heavy | Michael Milam | "Butch" Reid Jr. | 20 |
6 | No More Time | Morplay Racing LLC | Jose D'Angelo | 20 |
7 | Locked | Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners & Walmac Farm | Todd Pletcher | 19 |
8 | Liberal Arts | Evan Ferraro & Stephen Ferraro | Robert Medina | 19 |
9 | West Saratoga | Harry L. Veruchi | Larry Demeritte | 17 |
10 | Timberlake | Siena Farm LLC & WinStar Farm LLC | Brad Cox | 16 |
11 | Just Steel | BC Stables LLC | Wayne Lukas | 15 |
12 | El Grande O | Barry K. Schwartz | Linda Rice | 15 |
13 | Nash | Godolphin LLC | Brad Cox | 13 |
14 | Honor Marie | Ribble Farms LLC | Whit Beckman | 10 |
15 | Agate Road | Repole Stable & St. Elias Stables LLC | Todd Pletcher | 10 |
16 | Otto the Conqueror | Three Chimneys Farm | Steve Asmussen | 10 |
17 | Dornoch | West Paces Racing LLC, R. A. Hill Stable, Belmar Racing and Breeding LLC, Two Eight Racing LLC & Pine Racing Stables | Danny Gargan | 10 |
18 | Catching Freedom | Albaugh Family Stables LLC | Brad Cox | 10 |
19 | Domestic Product | Klaravich Stables Inc. | Chad Brown | 10 |
20 | Moonlight | Town and Country Racing LLC & Madaket Stables LLC | Todd Pletcher | 7 |
Japan Road to Kentucky Derby Leaderboard
Rank | Horse | Owner | Trainer | Points |
1 | Forever Young | Susumu Fujita | Yoshito Yahagi | 20 |
2 | Aigle Noir | Shadai Race Horse Co. | Hidetaka Otonashi | 10 |
3 | Amante Bianco | Silk Racing Co Ltd. | Keisuke Miyata | 10 |
4 | Saint Honore | La Mere Co. Ltd. | Junji Tanaka | 6 |
5 | George Tesoro | Ryotokuji Kenji Holdings Co. Ltd. | Takayuki Kato | 5 |
European Road to Kentucky Derby Leaderboard
Rank | Horse | Owner | Trainer | Points |
1 | Rosallion (IRE) | Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum | Richard Hannon | 10 |
2 | Ancient Wisdom (FR) | Godolphin | Charlie Appleby | 10 |
3 | Deepone (GB) | Vimal Khosla | Paddy Twomey | 10 |
4 | Ghostwriter (IRE) | J.C. Smith | Clive Cox | 10 |
5 | Unquestionable (FR) | Al Shaqab Racing, Coolmore & Westerberg | Aidan O'Brien | 5 |
Kentucky Derby Prep Races Schedule
Date | Race / Winner | Purse |
Jan. 6 | Jerome / Drum Roll Please | $150,000 |
Jan. 20 | Lecomte / Track Phantom | $200,000 |
Feb. 3 (Postponed Jan. 27 because of weather) | Southwest / Mystik Dan | $800,000 |
Feb. 3 | Holy Bull / Hades | $250,000 |
Feb. 3 | Robert B. Lewis / Nysos | $200,000 |
Feb. 3 | Withers / Uncle Heavy | $250,000 |
Feb. 10 | Sam F. Davis / No More Time | $250,000 |
March 2 | John Battaglia Memorial | $150,000 |
Kentucky Derby Championship Series Schedule
Date | Race | Purse |
Feb. 17 | Risen Star | $400,000 |
Feb. 18 | Sunland Derby | $600,000 |
Feb. 24 | Rebel | $1,250,000 |
March 2 | Gotham | $300,000 |
March 2 | San Felipe | $400,000 |
March 2 | Fountain of Youth | $400,000 |
March 9 | Tampa Bay Derby | $400,000 |
March 23 | Jeff Ruby Steaks | $700,000 |
March 23 | Louisiana Derby | $1,000,000 |
March 30 | UAE Derby | $1,000,000 |
March 30 | Florida Derby | $1,000,000 |
March 30 | Arkansas Derby | $1,500,000 |
April 6 | Wood Memorial | $750,000 |
April 6 | Blue Grass | $1,000,000 |
April 6 | Santa Anita Derby | $750,000 |
April 13 | Lexington | $400,000 |
More: When is Kentucky Derby 2024? Everything you need to know ahead of the Run for the Roses
Reach sports reporter Prince James Story at pstory@gannett.com and follow him on X at @PrinceJStory.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Derby: Fierceness, Track Phantom atop early leaderboard
