The Kentucky Derby will be held for the 148th time in 2022 (officially, the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve). It will take place in Louisville, Kentucky on May 7, 2022, the first Saturday in May. The event is open to 20 horses who qualified for it by earning points on the Kentucky Derby Road to 2022. Since its establishment in 1875, the Kentucky Derby has been a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds raced over a distance of 1+14 miles (2.0 km) at Churchill Downs racetrack. The prize pool for 2022 will be $3 million dollars.
The race will be aired on NBC, with undercard races on USA Network starting at 12:30 p.m. EDT and main network coverage of pre-race activities commencing at 2:30 p.m. EDT. The game was also streamed live on NBCSports.com. The expected time of publication is 6:57 p.m.
Because the Kentucky Derby is only open to three-year-old Thoroughbreds, the 2022 race's entrants were largely born in 2019, as part of the North American foal crop of 19,037. The competition is limited to twenty horses who qualified based on their performance in the Kentucky Derby Road to 2021, a series of specified races that began in 2013. The former graded stakes race earnings system was replaced by this point system.
The majority of starting berths in the Derby are won on the main Road, which consists of 36 races in North America and one in Dubai. The UAE Derby, Louisiana Derby, Jeff Ruby Steaks, Florida Derby, Arkansas Derby, Wood Memorial, Blue Grass Stakes, and Santa Anita Derby are the primary Kentucky Derby preps. Each of these races awarded 100 qualifying points to the winner, effectively assuring that horse a spot in the Derby if the owner paid the necessary nomination and entry costs. Crown Pride and Epicenter won the first two of these important preliminaries on March 26. Tiz the Bomb, White Albarrio, and Cyberknife won the next three big prep races on April 2. Mo Donegal, Zandon, and Taiba won the last three important prep races on April 9th.
There was also one qualification spot available on the European Road to the Kentucky Derby and another on the Japan Road. None of these bids were accepted in 2022, owing in part to persistent limitations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On the main Road, these two slots reverted to qualifiers. After winning the UAE Derby, Crown Pride, bred and trained in Japan, qualified via the main Road.
Injury or illness usually forces a few withdrawals in the final weeks before the race, thus the Derby field hasn't been decided yet. On May 3, entries will be accepted, followed by the post position draw. The following are expected to be the top contenders:
Epicenter — Risen Star Stakes and Louisiana Derby winner.
Zandon – winner of the Blue Grass Stakes and second in the Risen Star and Remsen Stakes on the Road to the Kentucky Derby
Taiba – winner of the Santa Anita Derby Smile Happy — second in the Blue Grass Stakes – will mark his third start in the Kentucky Derby.
White Abarrio – winner of the Holy Bull Stakes and Florida Derby
Mo Donegal – winner of the Wood Memorial and Remsen Stakes
Messier – second in the Santa Anita Derby
Cyberknife – winner of the Arkansas Derby
Messier – second in the Santa Anita Derby