I'm Only in it for the Hats!

My favorite day of the year is almost here and you better believe I’m already wearing my Fedora.  The 2025 Kentucky Derby is fast upon us (3 weeks away). The contenders are becoming quite clear and there’s some ponies to keep your eye on. 

How are Qualifications Done?

For those of you interested in keeping track of this epic event early, the horses earn their spots via “The Road to the Kentucky Derby” series.  The series assigns points per each race to top finishers and then the top 20 with the highest total points will find themselves in the Paddock on May 3. In years past the Blue Grass, Stonestreet Lexington, and Keeneland are among some later races that contribute to the field but at this point it’s pretty-well decided: 

Notable Ponies:



The leading contenders:

• Burnham Square: Winner of the Holy Bull, and Blue Grass Stakes, leads the field with 130 qualifying points.
  
  
• Journalism: Notable for victories in Los Alamitos Futurity, San Felipe Stakes, Santa Anita Derby and 122.5 points.
  
  
• Citizen Bull: Turning heads all over the place, has won American Pharoah Stakes, Breeders' Cup Juvenile, Robert B. Lewis Stakes.  If he can compete at 1 ¼-mile he’s a horse to watch out for. 

The final field is not totally decided but these Dams and Sires look ready! For a comprehensive list of contenders and their standings, refer to the Kentucky Derby website.