The Road to the Kentucky Derby, also referred to as the Kentucky Derby Prep Races, is a points-based system that horses use to earn a spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate. It consists of a series of races where two and three-year-old thoroughbred racehorses participate and earn the points they need.
Each Derby Prep Race awards points only to the top four finishers. The more races a horse finishes within the top four, the more likely they will be included in the lineup of the Kentucky Derby race.
If you want to know who has the high chance of showing up on the starting gate of the Kentucky Derby 2022, you might want to check out these five horses who are now dominating the scene on the derby prep races.
The current top point earner in the Road to the Kentucky Derby 2022 is Steve Asmussen's horse, Epicenter. Although Asmussen is the leading trainer of winners in North America, he is yet to achieve his first-ever win in the Kentucky Derby.
This year is his best chance to finally reach the victory he has been chasing for years with the help of his horse Epicenter. Currently, Epicenter has 64 total points in the Kentucky Derby 2022 leaderboard and is expected to increase as their team enters more upcoming races.
There is no question that Epicenter will probably win the Run for the Roses this year because he has an excellent record of winning races.
Epicenter finished these three races as the winner: the Maiden Special Weight on November 13, 2021, the Gun Runner Stakes, and the latest race he participated in, the Risen Star, which is a Grade 2 race.
He also finished the Lecomte Stakes as second placer and the First MSW race he entered last September 2021 as the sixth placer.
The second on the road to the Kentucky Derby race is Un Ojo, with accumulated points of 54 points. When it comes to experience Un Ojo has quite a list of races he participated in. He has successfully finished most of the races as a first or second placer.
Trainer Ricky Courville is working hard to train Un Ojo to win the Kentucky Derby. Despite having only one eye, Un Ojo is still dominating the Road to the Kentucky Derby, making him one of the contenders you should watch out for.
Un Ojo has put up a great show that gave his fans a stunning performance in his latest race, the Rebel Stakes, a G2 horse race, given he has limited vision.
The third horse on the road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard is Simplification, tied with Un Ojo with 54. Trained by Antonio Sano, this 3-year old colt has performed his best in most of his races since he started his career.
During his race for the Fountain of Youth-G2 last March 5, 2022, Simplification brought pride to his trainer Sano and his owner Tami Bobo with his 3 ½ length victory. The race was a major scare when Galt and High Oak threw away their jockey when they accidentally clipped heels during the race.
Both jockeys landed on them, but are luckily fine. The incident can be scary to the other participating horses, but it didn't affect Simplification, which continues to run for the finish line. Fortunately, his efforts and bravery paid off when he finished the race as the winner.
The undefeated Morello is the next contender that made it to fourth place on our leaderboard. Morello is another entry by Asmussen, who is still undefeated. He prevails at Gotham, which helps him gather 50 points to qualify and ensure his spot on the Kentucky Derby 2022 starting gate.
This horse increases the chance of Asmussen to win his first Run for the Roses win. At this point, Asmussen already has two strong horses in the top five points earner in the Road to the Kentucky Derby.
Morello's team is now pondering on the 50 points and is very careful in entering Morello into a race. With how the horse performed in his previous races, it would not surprise him if he finished the Run for the Roaeet victor.
Obtaining 50 points, the Forbidden Kingdom has made it to the number five spot on the prep race leaderboard. He earned his 50 points easily when he won the San Felipe-G2 race last March 5, 2022.
The Forbidden Kingdom is the son of an American Pharaoh who is also an outstanding racehorse who won the Triple Crown in 2015, making him the 12th Triple Crown winner in history.
Because of his pedigree, Forbidden Kingdom is expected to follow his sire"s footprints and take home the Triple Crown.
There are so many top-of-the-class horses that participated in the derby this year. As you can see, the top five performers of the prep race are strong and have the will to win this year's derby. If you are a punter, it would be hard to choose which horse to bet on. It is why you should constantly check out the live 2022 kentucky derby updates to stay on the loop to help you decide who to bet.
Since we are still a few months away from the Kentucky Derby 2022 race, there are still a lot of changes that can happen in the leaderboard. Therefore, you should watch each race in the Road to the Kentucky Derby. This way, you will know who stayed on the top five and who is out.
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