The Road to the 2027 Kentucky Derby is a 36-race North American points series that decides who fills the 20-horse starting gate for the 153rd Kentucky Derby (G1) on Saturday, May 1, 2027, at Churchill Downs. After six races, Hughes leads with 40 points for trainer Bob Baffert, and the next Derby points race is the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs on November 28, 2026.
Points go to the top five finishers in each race. Dates are per the official Churchill Downs schedule and are subject to change. Championship Series races are marked with an asterisk (*).
| Date | Race | Track | Points (1st-2nd-3rd-4th-5th) | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept. 12, 2026 | Iroquois Stakes (G3) | Churchill Downs | 10-5-3-2-1 | Salahudin |
| Oct. 3, 2026 | American Pharoah Stakes (G1) | Santa Anita Park | 10-5-3-2-1 | Hughes |
| Oct. 3, 2026 | Champagne Stakes (G1) | Belmont Park | 10-5-3-2-1 | U.S.S. Valor |
| Oct. 3, 2026 | Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (G1) | Keeneland | 10-5-3-2-1 | American History |
| Oct. 25, 2026 | Street Sense Stakes (G3) | Churchill Downs | 10-5-3-2-1 | Jas |
| Oct. 30, 2026 | Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) | Keeneland | 30-15-9-6-3 | Hughes |
| Nov. 28, 2026 | Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes | Churchill Downs | 10-5-3-2-1 | TBA |
| Dec. 5, 2026 | Remsen Stakes | Belmont Park | 10-5-3-2-1 | TBA |
| Dec. 12, 2026 | Los Alamitos Futurity | Los Alamitos Race Course | 10-5-3-2-1 | TBA |
| Dec. 19, 2026 | Remington Springboard Mile Stakes | Remington Park | 10-5-3-2-1 | TBA |
| Dec. 19, 2026 | Gun Runner Stakes | Fair Grounds Race Course | 10-5-3-2-1 | TBA |
| Jan. 2, 2027 | Smarty Jones Stakes | Oaklawn Park | 10-5-3-2-1 | TBA |
| Jan. 16, 2027 | Lecomte Stakes | Fair Grounds Race Course | 20-10-6-4-2 | TBA |
| Jan. 16, 2027 | Leonatus Stakes | Turfway Park | 10-5-3-2-1 | TBA |
| Jan. 16, 2027 | Withers Stakes | Belmont Park | 20-10-6-4-2 | TBA |
| Jan. 23, 2027 | Holy Bull Stakes | Gulfstream Park | 20-10-6-4-2 | TBA |
| Feb. 6, 2027 | Robert B. Lewis Stakes | Santa Anita Park | 20-10-6-4-2 | TBA |
| Feb. 6, 2027 | Sam F. Davis Stakes | Tampa Bay Downs | 20-10-6-4-2 | TBA |
| Feb. 6, 2027 | Southwest Stakes | Oaklawn Park | 20-10-6-4-2 | TBA |
| Feb. 13, 2027 | Risen Star Stakes* | Fair Grounds Race Course | 50-25-15-10-5 | TBA |
| Feb. 20, 2027 | Gotham Stakes* | Belmont Park | 50-25-15-10-5 | TBA |
| Feb. 20, 2027 | John Battaglia Memorial Stakes | Turfway Park | 20-10-6-4-2 | TBA |
| Feb. 21, 2027 | Sunland Park Derby | Sunland Park | 20-10-6-4-2 | TBA |
| Feb. 27, 2027 | Fountain of Youth Stakes* | Gulfstream Park | 50-25-15-10-5 | TBA |
| Mar. 6, 2027 | Tampa Bay Derby* | Tampa Bay Downs | 50-25-15-10-5 | TBA |
| Mar. 6, 2027 | San Felipe Stakes* | Santa Anita Park | 50-25-15-10-5 | TBA |
| Mar. 13, 2027 | Rebel Stakes* | Oaklawn Park | 50-25-15-10-5 | TBA |
| Mar. 13, 2027 | Virginia Derby* | Colonial Downs | 50-25-15-10-5 | TBA |
| Mar. 20, 2027 | Jeff Ruby Steaks* | Turfway Park | 100-50-25-15-10 | TBA |
| Mar. 20, 2027 | Louisiana Derby* | Fair Grounds Race Course | 100-50-25-15-10 | TBA |
| Mar. 27, 2027 | Florida Derby* | Gulfstream Park | 100-50-25-15-10 | TBA |
| Apr. 3, 2027 | Blue Grass Stakes* | Keeneland | 100-50-25-15-10 | TBA |
| Apr. 3, 2027 | Santa Anita Derby* | Santa Anita Park | 100-50-25-15-10 | TBA |
| Apr. 3, 2027 | Wood Memorial Stakes* | Belmont Park | 100-50-25-15-10 | TBA |
| Apr. 10, 2027 | Arkansas Derby* | Oaklawn Park | 100-50-25-15-10 | TBA |
| Apr. 10, 2027 | Lexington Stakes* | Keeneland | 20-10-6-4-2 | TBA |
| Horse | Trainer | Last race and result | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hughes | Bob Baffert | 1st, Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), Keeneland, Oct. 30, 2026 | TBA |
| American History | Todd Pletcher | 2nd, Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), Keeneland, Oct. 30, 2026 | TBA |
| Salahudin | Bob Baffert | 3rd, Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), Keeneland, Oct. 30, 2026 | TBA |
| U.S.S. Valor | Claude "Shug" McGaughey III | 1st, Champagne Stakes (G1), Belmont Park, Oct. 3, 2026 | TBA |
| Jas | TBA | 1st, Street Sense Stakes (G3), Churchill Downs, Oct. 25, 2026 | TBA |
The Road to the 2027 Kentucky Derby awards points to the top five finishers in 36 North American races from September 12, 2026, to April 10, 2027. The leaderboard sets the preference order for the 20-horse field, with up to three more spots reserved for the Japan Road and the Euro/Mideast Road winners.
The North American series splits into a 21-race Prep Season and a 15-race Championship Series that opens with the Risen Star Stakes on February 13, 2027. Prep Season races pay 10 or 20 points to the winner, except the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at 30. Championship Series races pay 50 or 100 points to the winner, except the Lexington Stakes at 20.
Two changes from the 2026 series: the Leonatus Stakes at Turfway Park was added on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale, and the Jerome Stakes is off the schedule because the New York Racing Association will not run it in 2027, according to Daily Racing Form.
There is no fixed number, because the cutoff depends on how points split across the 36 races. For the 2026 Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs' media team calculated an 89 percent chance that the cutoff for the top 17 spots would be 50 points, four weeks before the race. A Championship Series win worth 100 points locks a horse in.
Ties are broken by earnings in non-restricted stakes races. The leaderboard has had at least 20 entries in 25 of the last 28 years, per Churchill Downs.
Hughes is the early favorite for the 2027 Kentucky Derby after winning the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) by 2 1/4 lengths at Keeneland on October 30, 2026, per the Associated Press. The Bob Baffert-trained son of Into Mischief is unbeaten and leads the leaderboard with 40 points.
Ridden by Flavien Prat, Hughes went off as the even-money favorite, ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.27 and paid $3.64 to win. American History, trained by Todd Pletcher, finished second by a head over Baffert's Salahudin, winner of the Iroquois Stakes.
The Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby runs four races and can send one horse: the Cattleya Stakes on November 28, 2026, the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun on December 16, 2026, the Hyacinth Stakes on February 21, 2027 and the Fukuryu Stakes on March 27, 2027. The Euro/Mideast Road ends with the UAE Derby (G2) on March 27, 2027, and can send up to two horses.
Fillies qualify for the $1.5 million Kentucky Oaks (G1), run at 1 1/8 miles on Friday, April 30, 2027, through the separate Road to the Kentucky Oaks points series, which caps the field at 14. Emphatic, trained by Brendan Walsh, won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) unbeaten in four starts. Full Oaks schedule and odds on our Kentucky Oaks page.
Hughes deserves his place at the top, but history works against short futures prices on Breeders' Cup Juvenile winners: only Street Sense in 2006 and Nyquist in 2015 have won the Juvenile and then the Kentucky Derby. Six months of races remain, and a short price now leaves little room if he stalls at 1 1/4 miles.
The value case sits with horses whose style should improve with distance. American History rallied from last to win the Claiborne Breeders' Futurity, then closed to second in the Juvenile. U.S.S. Valor ran the Champagne Stakes mile in 1:34.84 and won by 6 1/2 lengths for Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey, closing his final furlong in :12.36, according to America's Best Racing.
Futures win bets are the play at this stage. Odds are TBA until BUSR posts its 2027 Kentucky Derby futures board, so compare each price against the points a horse still needs before you bet.
The 153rd Kentucky Derby is Saturday, May 1, 2027, at Churchill Downs. Post time is TBA.
36 North American races: 21 in the Prep Season and 15 in the Championship Series. The Japan Road and Euro/Mideast Road run separately.
The Iroquois Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs on September 12, 2026, won by Salahudin for Bob Baffert.
The Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs on November 28, 2026, on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale.
The Jeff Ruby Steaks, Louisiana Derby, Florida Derby, Blue Grass Stakes, Santa Anita Derby, Wood Memorial Stakes and Arkansas Derby each pay 100-50-25-15-10.
A maximum of 20. Up to three spots can go to horses from the Japan Road and the Euro/Mideast Road.
Kentucky Derby futures and race-day bets are available at BUSR. See our Kentucky Derby odds page for the latest prices.
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
