Each year, horses have the once-in-a-lifetime chance to run in the Kentucky Derby. To earn a spot at the starting gate, they must travel the “Road to the Kentucky Derby,” a 10-week series of 35 designated races at tracks across the country and around the world. A sliding scale of points is awarded to the top-four finishers in each of the 35 races, includes 16 significant events that make up the ”Kentucky Derby Championship Series.” The 20 horses with the most points will be at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May.
The horse to keep an eye on at this year’s Derby is named International Star, the fourth colt since 1992 to sweep the Fair Grounds series of races for three-year-olds on the 2015 Kentucky Derby trail. In capturing the Lecomte Stakes, the Risen Star Stakes and the Louisiana Derby, International Star joins an elite group of colts to win two or more of these Derby preps without a loss.
