See also: Kentucky Oaks and Road to the Kentucky Oaks. The 2019 Road to the Kentucky Oaks is a points system by which Thoroughbred fillies will qualify for the 2019 Kentucky Oaks, to be held on May 3. The field for the Kentucky Oaks, the filly equivalent of the Kentucky Derby, is limited to fourteen horses, with up to four "also eligible" horses in case of a late withdrawal from the field. The 29 races in the Road to the Kentucky Oaks will be held from September 2018 (when the fillies are age two) through April 2019 (when they have turned three). The top four finishers in the specified races earn points, with the highest point values awarded in the major preparatory races held in late March or early April. Earnings in non-restricted stakes act as a tie breaker.
Fillies who instead wish to enter the Kentucky Derby have to earn the necessary points in the races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby: points earned on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks are not transferable. However, if a filly does earn qualifying points for the Derby by racing in open company, those points also count towards qualifying for the Oaks.
The Delta Princess Stakes, which was previously the 31st race in the series, had the 2017 running cancelled in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.[1] It will not be part of the 2019 series.[2]
The Santa Ysabel Stakes, which had previously been on the schedule, had the 2019 running cancelled in the aftermath of Santa Anita Park being closed as a result of an investigation into 22 equine fatalities at the track.[3]
The following table shows the points earned in the eligible races.[4] Entries were taken on April 29. Bellafina was the leading points earner after winning the Santa Anita Oaks and went off as the heavy favorite. However, she was upset by Serengeti Empress, who had qualified by winning the Pocahontas and Rachel Alexandra Stakes.[5]
| Rank | Horse | Points | Owner | Trainer | Eligible Earnings | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bellafina | 132 | Kaleem Shah | Simon Callaghan | $1,060,000 | |
| 2 | Champagne Anyone | 113 | Six Column Stables & Randy Bloch et al. | Ian Wilkes | $197,150 | |
| bypassing | Always Shopping | 110 | Repole Stable | Todd Pletcher | $220,000 | |
| 3 | Street Band | 105 | Larry & Cindy Jones, Ray Francis | Larry Jones | $248,000 | |
| 4 | Lady Apple | 100 | Phoenix Thoroughbred III & KatieRich Stables | Steve Asmussen | $336,000 | |
| 5 | Out for a Spin | 100 | Commonwealth Stable | Dallas Stewart | $300,000 | |
| bypassing | Chasing Yesterday | 80 | Summer Wind Equine | Bob Baffert | $452,650 | |
| 6 | Liora | 71 | Coffeepot Stables | Wayne Catalano | $246,280 | |
| 7 | Restless Rider | 62 | Fern Circle Racing & Three Chimneys Farm | Kenny McPeek | $849,560 | |
| 8 | Serengeti Empress | 60 | Joel Politi | Tom Amoss | $313,270 | |
| 9 | Motion Emotion | 60 | Mark DeDomenico LLC | Thomas L. Van Berg | $140,000 | |
| 10 | Jaywalk | 55 | Cash is King & Leonard Green | John Servis | $1,409,800 | |
| 11 | Chocolate Kisses | 51 | Debby Oxley | Mark Casse | $152,000 | |
| 12 | Jeltrin | 51 | ADR Racing Stable, LLC | Alexis Delgado | $128,720 | |
| not nominated | Divine Image | 50 | Godolphin Racing | Charles Appleby | $380,372 | |
| 13 | Positive Spirit | 50 | Michael Ryan | Rodolphe Brisset | $199,500 | |
| bypassing | Espresso Shot | 50 | NY Final Furlong Racing Stable, Maspeth Stables and Parkland Thoroughbreds | Jorge Abreu | $156,875 | |
| 14 | Flor De La Mar | 40 | Godolphin, LLC | Bob Baffert | $80,000 | |
| 15 | Cookie Dough | 40 | Arindel | Stanley I. Gold | $63,950 | |
| 16 | Dunbar Road | 40 | Peter M. Brant | Chad Brown | $49,500 | |
| 17 | Eres Tu | 24 | Seltzer, Edward A. and Anderson, Beverly S. | Steve Asmussen | $66,000 | |
| 18 | Brill | 22 | OXO Equine | Jerry Hollendorfer | $104,000 | |
| 19 | Sweet Diane | 22 | Stallionaire Enterprises | Mike Stidham | $64,700 | |
| 20 | Oxy Lady | 21 | Calumet Farm | Jack Sisterson | $154,166 | |
| not nominated | Swift Rose | 10 | Godolphin | Saaed bin Suroor | $175,000 | |
| 21 | Point of Honor | 20 | Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Stetson Racing, LLC | George Weaver | $72,375 | |
| 22 | Naughty Joker | 20 | Ramsey, Kenneth L. and Sarah K | Wesley A. Ward | $58,250 | |
| 23 | Bizwhacks | 20 | Reddam Racing LLC | Doug F. O'Neill | $57,000 | |
| 24 | Orra Moor | 20 | StarLadies Racing | Todd A. Pletcher | $55,000 | |
| 25 | Off Topic | 20 | Paul P. Pompa Jr. | Todd Pletcher | $36,000 | |
| bypassing | Feedback | 12 | Klaravich Stables, Inc. | Chad Brown | $104,280 | |
| bypassing | Mother Mother | 11 | G. Bolton, B. Hall, B. Lipman, M. Mathiesen & A. Molasky | Bob Baffert | $241,161 | |
| bypassing | Fancy Dress Party | 10 | LNJ Foxwoods | Ben Colebrook | $90,000 | |
| bypassing | Power Gal (JPN) | 10 | Gary Barber | Mark Casse | $75,800 | |
| bypassing | Backflash | 10 | Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC (Ron Winchell) | Steve Asmussen | $40,400 | |
| bypassing | Slewgoodtobetrue | 10 | Alesia, Sharon, Ciaglia Racing, LLC, ERJ Racing, LLC and Burns Racing, LLC | Peter Eurton | $28,000 | |
| bypassing | Razeena | 10 | Sheikh Rashid Bin Humaid al Nuaimi | Doug Watson | $25,000 | |
| bypassing | Proud Emma | 10 | Gem Inc., Tom Kagele & Steven Tartaglione | Peter Miller | $18,000 | |
| bypassing | Vibrance | 8 | Eclipse Thoroughbred, Donna & Jim Daniell | Michael McCarthy | $240,000 | |
| bypassing | Enaya Alrabb | 8 | Enaya Racing | Doug O'Neill | $100,000 | |
| bypassing | Fun Finder | 6 | Magdalena Racing (Sherri McPeek) | Kenny McPeek | $20,300 | |
| bypassing | Afleet Destiny | 6 | Uriah St. Lewis | Uriah St. Lewis | $62,000 | |
The dates for some races shown below are based on the placement in the racing calendar from 2017/2018. Similarly, the purses shown for upcoming races are based on the amounts from the previous year and will be updated when finalized.
| Kentucky Oaks prep season | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race | Distance | Purse | Track | Date | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Ref | |
| Pocahontas | miles | $200,000 | Churchill Downs | Sep 15, 2018 | Serengeti Empress | Splashy Empress | Lightscameraaction | My Wynter Rose | [6] | |
| Chandelier | miles | $300,000 | Santa Anita | Sep 29, 2018 | Bellafina | Vibrance | Brill | Der Lu | [7] | |
| Alcibiades | miles | $400,000 | Keeneland | Oct 5, 2018 | Restless Rider | Reflect | Meadow Dance | Chocolate Kisses | [8] | |
| Frizette | 1 mile | $400,000 | Belmont | Oct 7, 2018 | Jaywalk | Brucia La Terra | Cassies Dreamer | Covfefe | [9] | |
| Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies | miles | $2,000,000 | Churchill Downs | Nov 3, 2018 | Jaywalk | Restless Rider | Vibrance | Bellafina | [10] | |
| Golden Rod | miles | $200,000 | Churchill Downs | Nov 24, 2018 | Liora | Restless Rider | High Regard | Champagne Anyone | [11] | |
| Demoiselle | miles | $250,000 | Aqueduct | Dec 1, 2018 | Positive Spirit | Afleet Destiny | Filly Joel | Molto Bella | [12] | |
| Starlet | miles | $300,000 | Los Alamitos | Dec 8, 2018 | Chasing Yesterday | Enaya Alrabb | Mother Mother | Oxy Lady | [13] | |
| Santa Ynez | furlongs | $125,000 | Santa Anita | Jan 6, 2019 | Bellafina | Mother Mother | Tomlin | Reflect | [14] | |
| Silverbulletday | 1 mile 70 yards | $150,000 | Fair Grounds | Jan 19, 2019 | Needs Supervision | Eres Tu | Grandaria | Liora | [15] | |
| Forward Gal | 7 furlongs | $200,000 | Gulfstream | Feb 2, 2019 | Feedback | Bye Bye J | Champagne Anyone | Jeltrin | [16] | |
| Martha Washington | 1 mile | $125,000 | Oaklawn | Feb 2, 2019 | Power Gal | Marathon Queen | Taylor's Spirit | Sunset Wish | [17] | |
| Busanda | 1 mile 70 yards | $100,000 | Aqueduct | Feb 3, 2019 | Always Shopping | Filly Joel | Afleet Destiny | Miss Marilyn | [18] | |
| Las Virgenes | 1 mile | $300,000 | Santa Anita | Feb 9, 2019 | Bellafina | Enaya Alrabb | Calf Moon Bay | Mother Mother | [19] | |
| Suncoast Stakes | 1 mile 40 yards | $150,000 | Tampa Bay | Feb 9, 2019 | Point of Honor | Lady Kate | Sweet Diane | Winning Envelope | [20] | |
| Note: 1st=10 points; 2nd=4 points; 3rd=2 points; 4th=1 point, except the Juvenile Fillies, for which the points are doubled | ||||||||||
| Kentucky Oaks Championship Series | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First leg of series | ||||||||||
| Race | Distance | Purse | Track | Date | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Ref | |
| Rachel Alexandra | miles | $200,000 | Fair Grounds | Feb 16, 2019 | Serengeti Empress | Liora | Eres Tu | Street Band | [21] | |
| UAE Oaks | 1,900 metres (~ miles) | $250,000 | Meydan | Feb 21, 2019 | Divine Image | Swift Rose | Razeena | Habah | [22] | |
| Davona Dale | miles | $200,000 | Gulfstream | Mar 2, 2019 | Jeltrin | Cookie Dough | Champagne Anyone | Jaywalk | [23] | |
| Busher | miles | $125,000 | Aqueduct | Mar 9, 2019 | Espresso Shot | Oxy Lady | Orra Moor | Please Flatter Me | [24] | |
| Honeybee | miles | $200,000 | Oaklawn | Mar 9, 2019 | Chocolate Kisses | Motion Emotion | Bizwhacks | Sunset Wish | [25] | |
| Sunland Park Oaks | miles | $200,000 | Sunland | Mar 24, 2019 | Chasing Yesterday | K P Slickem | Backflash | Figure | [26] | |
| Note: 1st=50 points; 2nd=20 points; 3rd=10 points; 4th=5 points | ||||||||||
| Second leg of series | ||||||||||
| Race | Distance | Purse | Track | Date | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Ref | |
| Fair Grounds Oaks | miles | $400,000 | Fair Grounds | Mar 23, 2019 | Street Band | Liora | Sweet Diane | Eres Tu | [27] | |
| Gulfstream Oaks | miles | $250,000 | Gulfstream | Mar 30, 2019 | Champagne Anyone | Dunbar Road | Cookie Dough | Point of Honor | [28] | |
| Ashland | miles | $500,000 | Keeneland | Apr 6, 2019 | Out for a Spin | Restless Rider | Jaywalk | Bizwhacks | [29] | |
| Santa Anita Oaks | miles | $400,000 | Santa Anita | Apr 6, 2019 | Bellafina | Flor de La Mar | Chasing Yesterday | Slewgoodtobetrue | [30] | |
| Gazelle | miles | $300,000 | Aqueduct | Apr 6, 2019 | Always Shopping | Positive Spirit | Off Topic | Proud Emma | [31] | |
| Fantasy | miles | $400,000 | Oaklawn | Apr 12, 2019 | Lady Apple | Motion Emotion | Brill | Orra Moor | [32] | |
| Note: 1st=100 points; 2nd=40 points; 3rd=20 points; 4th=10 points | ||||||||||
| "Wild Card" | ||||||||||
| Race | Distance | Purse | Track | Date | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Ref | |
| Bourbonette Oaks | 1 mile | $100,000 | Turfway | Mar 9, 2019 | Naughty Joker | Fun Finder | New Roo | Diva Day | [33] | |
| Beaumont | 7 furlongs | $150,000 | Keeneland | Apr 7, 2019 | Fancy Dress Party | Mother Mother | Feedback | Another Time | [34] | |
| Bourbonette Oaks: 1st=20 points; 2nd=8 points; 3rd=4 points; 4th=2 points Beaumont Stakes: 1st=10 points; 2nd=4 points; 3rd=2 points; 4th=1 points | ||||||||||