Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby (Getty)
Now that the dust has settled on the second-to-last Saturday before the Kentucky Derby field is revealed, there are several horses who have emerged from the pack and figure to be the favorites entering the first weekend in May.
American Pharoah, trained by Bob Baffert, was the most recent favorite in Kentucky Derby future wagering. The second future wagering choice, Dortmund, another Baffert horse, ran on Saturday, April 4th and won the Santa Anita Derby — one of the three Kentucky Derby prep races from this past weekend — in impressive fashion.
Despite those two horses bringing in money, International Star remains atop the Road to the Kentucky Derby points standings with 171 points, just one more than Dortmund. Behind those two horses are Carpe Diem and Frosted, the two winners of the two other Kentucky Derby prep races — the Wood Memorial and the Blue Grass Stakes. Rounding out the top five is the mysterious Mubtaahij, a horse that won the 2015 UAE Derby by eight lengths to stamp his ticket to Churchill Downs.
Here is the updated Road to the Kentucky Derby points standings as of April 5th:
The Top 20
| Ranking: | Horse: | Points: | Owner: | Trainer: |
| 1 | International Star | 171 | Kenneth L. and Sarah K. Ramsey | Mike Maker |
| 2 | Dortmund | 170 | Kaleem Shah, Inc. | Bob Baffert |
| 3 | Carpe Diem | 164 | WinStar Farm, LLC & Stonestreet Stables LLC | Todd Pletcher |
| 4 | Frosted | 113 | Godolphin | Kiaran McLaughlin |
| 5 | Mubtaahij | 100 | Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum | Mike de Kock |
| 6 | Materiality | 100 | Alto Racing, LLC | Todd Pletcher |
| 7 | El Kabeir | 95 | Zayat Stables | John Terranova II |
| 8 | Upstart | 76 | Ralph M. Evans | Rick Violette Jr. |
| 9 | American Pharoah | 60 | Zayat Stables | Bob Baffert |
| 10 | Itsaknockout | 60 | Starlight Racing | Todd Pletcher |
| 11 | Firing Line | 58 | Arnold Zetcher | Simon Callaghan |
| 12 | Danzig Moon | 45 | John C. Oxley | Mark Casse |
| 13 | War Story | 44 | Christopher T. Dunn and Loooch Racing Stable, Inc. | Tom Amoss |
| 14 | Tencendur | 41 | Philip S. Birsh | George Weaver |
| 15 | Maftool | 40 | Godolphin Racing LLC | Saeed bin Suroor |
| 16 | One Lucky Dane | 40 | Michael Lund Petersen | Bob Baffert |
| 17 | Ami’s Flatter | 40 | Ivan Dalos | Josie Carroll |
| 18 | Stanford | 40 | Stonestreet Stables LLC | Todd Pletcher |
| 19 | Ocho Ocho Ocho | 30 | DP Racing, LLC | Jim Cassidy |
| 20 | Bolo | 30 | Golden Pegasus Racing Inc. & Mack | Carla Gaines |
If the Kentucky Derby field was announced today, these are the 20 horses who would qualify.
Here are the 10 horses that are on the outside looking in right now:
The Next 10
| Ranking: | Horse: | Points: | Owner: | Trainer: |
| 21 | Prospect Park | 30 | Pam & Martin Wygod | Cliff Sise Jr. |
| 22 | Conquest Typhoon | 26 | Conquest Stables LLC | Mark Casse |
| 23 | Far Right | 22 | H T Rosenblum and R V LaPenta | Ron Moquett |
| 24 | Keen Ice | 22 | Donegal Racing | Dale Romans |
| 25 | Daredevil | 20 | Let’s Go Stable | Todd Pletcher |
| 26 | Madefromlucky | 20 | Cheyenne Stables LLC & Mac Nichol | Todd Pletcher |
| 27 | Tiz Shea D | 20 | Wachtel Stable, Brous Stable LLC & Gary Barber | Bill Mott |
| 28 | Frammento | 20 | Mossarosa | Nick Zito |
| 29 | Bold Conquest | 17 | Ackerley Brothers Farm | Steve Asmussen |
| 30 | Mr. Z | 14 | Zayat Stables | D. Wayne Lukas |
Next weekend is the final weekend of prep races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. After the Arkansas Derby and Lexington, the 20-horse field set will be made official.
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Kentucky Derby 2015: Updated Contenders & Points Standings