The COVID-19 pandemic has rocked the sports world, forcing postponement or cancellation of events across the board.
Horse racing was obviously one of them as the Kentucky Derby – the single biggest day of interest for the sport – was shifted from the traditional first Saturday in May, to the first Saturday in September this year – September 5.
The race is scheduled to be run on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. Along with the Derby being moved, many of the prep races where horses earn points to try to secure spot in the Derby were also either canceled or rescheduled.
Because some prep races were lost this year, there has been new ones added, as well as a twist with the other two races that make up the Triple Crown – the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes.
The Preakness traditionally falls two weeks after the Derby, with the Belmont three weeks after the Preakness.
The two races have yet to be rescheduled and if they are not moved to after the Derby, they both will become prep races with the points being 150-60-30-15 to the top four finishers.
There is one prep race scheduled in May and it is the Matt Winn on May 23. The points will be 50-20-10-5.
Here is the rest of the schedule at this point, with the dates to come.
The races and the points for each race are:
West Coast: Santa Anita Derby (100-50-20-10), Los Alamitos Derby (20-8-4-2), and the Shared Belief at Del Mar (50-20-10-5).
Midwest: Matt Winn (50-20-10-5), Indiana Derby (20-8-4-2), Blue Grass (100-40-20-10), and the Ellis Park Derby (50-20-10-5).
East Coast: Haskell (100-40-20-10), and Pegasus (20-8-4-2). Both races are scheduled for Monmouth Park.
We will pass on the dates for the races as soon as we get them.
Prep races scheduled in Europe and Japan will have a schedule in the next couple of weeks.
By Dennis Miller