Looking Forward to the 2023 Kentucky Derby
This year's Kentucky Derby will be run Saturday, May 6, at Churchill Downs outside of Louisville, Kentucky, with a start time set at 6:45 p.m. (EDT) - or at 4:45 MDT. A field of 20 3-year-old Thoroughbred colts will contend the one and one-quarter mile race over the main dirt track for the 149th time. All colts will carry 126 pounds, including their jockeys. The traditional qualifying factor for a horse to compete in the Kentucky Derby was, for many years, the grand total of their earnings in graded Stakes races. In recent years, Churchill Downs refined the classic earnings method to a points system, based on traditional prep races leading up to the first Saturday in May. Beginning in 2013, the Kentucky Derby prep races were officially bundled together under the title of "The Road to the Kentucky Derby." Now there are four sub-groups under the main umbrella, and the top five finishers are awarded a set number of points, depending o...