Virginia Derby stays on Kentucky Derby trail for 2027

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger announced Thursday that the Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs Racetrack will remain an official qualifying race for the 2027 Kentucky Derby.

The announcement locks in the Virginia Derby as a 50-point prep race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby for the second consecutive year.

The 2027 Virginia Derby is scheduled for March 13, 2027, at Colonial Downs in New Kent County, Virginia.

The winner of the race will earn 50 qualifying points toward a spot in the 153rd Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 1, 2027.

The Virginia Derby will headline three days of live racing at Colonial Downs from March 11 through March 13, 2027.

“Virginia has a proud and growing tradition in horse racing, and the Virginia Derby has earned its place as an essential stop on the Road to the Kentucky Derby,” Spanberger said in a statement.

The announcement follows a record-setting 2026 season at Colonial Downs.

The track hosted 48 days of live racing in 2026.

Those 48 days included 428 races featuring 3,350 horses.

Colonial Downs reported $29 million in total purse money for the 2026 season.

The track reported $122 million in total wagering for the same season.

Nearly 10,000 spectators attended Virginia Derby Day in 2026, according to the governor's office.

The Virginia Derby’s growing national profile was highlighted by Ocelli, a previous qualifier who finished third in the 2026 Kentucky Derby.

Ocelli earned his Kentucky Derby spot through the Virginia Derby prep race in 2025.

His third-place finish in the 2026 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs gave the Virginia Derby added credibility as a prep race.

The racing industry also supports Virginia’s agricultural economy through horse breeding, training and related businesses, state officials said.

Tickets for the 2027 Virginia Derby will go on sale Tuesday, November 10, 2026, at noon Eastern Time.

Additional information about the racing schedule and tickets will be available at Colonial Downs’ official website.

The full announcement is available on the governor’s website.

THE 50-POINT PREP RACE SYSTEM

The Road to the Kentucky Derby is a points-based qualification system that Churchill Downs uses to determine the 20-horse starting field.

Prep races at various tracks award points on a sliding scale, typically 50-20-10-5 for the winner through fourth place in the major races.

Fifty points is the standard award for the highest tier of prep races, known as the “Kentucky Derby Prep Season” races that run from September through early March.

The Virginia Derby sits in this tier, meaning its winner earns the same number of points as winners of races like the Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds or the Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

A horse that wins the Virginia Derby with 50 points would be virtually guaranteed a spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate, assuming the total points required to make the field stays near historical levels.

In recent years, the cutoff for the 20th and final spot in the Kentucky Derby field has ranged from about 20 to 40 points.

A single 50-point win would put a horse well above that cutoff with several weeks still remaining before the Derby.

THE 2027 KENTUCKY DERBY FUTURES PICTURE

The 153rd Kentucky Derby is scheduled for Saturday, May 1, 2027, at 1 1/4 miles on the dirt at Churchill Downs.

Kentucky Derby 2027 futures opened with U.S.S. Valor as the individual favorite at final odds of 6.92-1 in Pool 1 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager.

Pool 1 closed on October 30, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Hughes, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner, closed at 8.52-1 in Pool 1.

Hughes leads the Kentucky Derby 2027 leaderboard with 40 points earned from his Grade 1 wins, including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

His nearest competitor, American History, has 25 points.

Hughes is trained by Bob Baffert and is by sire Into Mischief, who has sired three Kentucky Derby winners: Authentic (2020), Mandaloun (2021) and Sovereignty (2025).

No stallion has sired four Kentucky Derby winners, but Into Mischief remains active at stud at age 21.

The next betting window, Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, opens Thursday, November 26, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Pool 2 runs through November 29, 2026, closing at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

The Sire Future Wager runs alongside Pool 2 on the same schedule.

There are six total pools for the 2027 Kentucky Derby Future Wager.

Pool 1 ran October 28–30, 2026, and closed before the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

Pools 2 through 6 run on the following schedule: November 26–29, 2026; January 15–17, 2027; February 12–14, 2027; March 12–14, 2027; and April 1–3, 2027.

For the first time, the Longines Kentucky Oaks Future Wager runs twice, alongside Pools 5 and 6.

HOW THE KENTUCKY DERBY FUTURE WAGER WORKS

The Kentucky Derby Future Wager is a pari-mutuel pool run by Churchill Downs.

It allows bettors to place wagers on individual horses months before the Kentucky Derby is run.

Each pool has 40 betting interests: 38 named horses, “All Fillies,” and “All Other Colts and Geldings.”

A bettor’s odds lock when the pool closes.

The bet is settled by the official Kentucky Derby result on May 1, 2027.

Win bets have a $2 minimum.

Exactas have a $2 minimum, or $1 for boxes and wheels, per the 2026-2027 Churchill Downs information sheet.

Takeout is 17.5% on win bets and 22% on exactas.

Post time for the 2027 Kentucky Derby has not yet been announced.

The race will be televised on NBC.

WHERE TO BET

Kentucky Derby futures are available at Churchill Downs and through licensed online racebooks such as BUSR.

Bet and stream Graded Stakes live at BUSR.

New customers only. Min $50 deposit required.

Must be 21+. Terms and conditions apply.

THE VIRGINIA DERBY’S ROLE IN THE 2027 ROAD TO THE DERBY

The Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs is one of several prep races that make up the Road to the Kentucky Derby series.

Colonial Downs Racetrack is located in New Kent County, Virginia, about 30 miles east of Richmond.

The track underwent a major renovation and reopened in 2019 after being closed for several years.

Since reopening, Colonial Downs has steadily increased its racing schedule and purse structure.

The 2026 season’s $29 million in total purse money represents a significant increase from prior years.

The $122 million in total wagering for 2026 also set a record for the track.

Nearly 10,000 spectators attended Virginia Derby Day in 2026, according to the governor's office.

Ocelli’s third-place finish in the 2026 Kentucky Derby provided a direct example of the Virginia Derby’s ability to produce a competitive Derby horse.

Ocelli qualified for the 2026 Kentucky Derby by winning the 2025 Virginia Derby.

His performance at Churchill Downs showed that horses coming out of the Virginia Derby can compete at the highest level of American racing.

The Virginia Derby has been run since 1998 and has produced several notable winners over its history.

Past Virginia Derby winners include English Channel (2005), who went on to become an Eclipse Award winner and a successful sire.

Other notable winners include Gio Ponti (2008), who earned multiple Eclipse Awards and more than $6 million in career earnings.

The race was originally run on turf but was moved to dirt in 2024 to align with the Kentucky Derby qualification system.

Churchill Downs requires prep races for the Kentucky Derby to be run on dirt, so the surface change was necessary for the Virginia Derby to become a qualifying race.

The 2025 Virginia Derby was the first running on dirt, and Ocelli won that edition.

The 2026 Virginia Derby was won by a horse named Sovereignty, who later won the 2026 Kentucky Derby.

Sovereignty’s Kentucky Derby victory made him Into Mischief’s third son to win the Derby.

That victory put Into Mischief in rarified air as only the sixth stallion to sire three Kentucky Derby winners.

He is also the first sire to produce back-to-back Kentucky Derby champions, with Authentic in 2020 and Mandaloun in 2021.

Mandaloun’s win came via the disqualification of Medina Spirit, who crossed the finish line first but was later disqualified for a medication violation.

THE 2027 VIRGINIA DERBY SCHEDULE

The 2027 Virginia Derby will be run on Saturday, March 13, 2027, at Colonial Downs.

It will be the final day of a three-day racing meet that runs from March 11 through March 13, 2027.

Tickets for the 2027 Virginia Derby go on sale Tuesday, November 10, 2026, at noon Eastern Time.

Fans can purchase tickets and find additional information about the racing schedule at Colonial Downs’ official website.

The full announcement from Governor Spanberger’s office is available on the Virginia governor’s website.

For bettors and horse owners, the confirmation that the Virginia Derby remains a 50-point qualifier is significant.

It means that the Road to the Kentucky Derby in 2027 will include a stop in Virginia for the second consecutive year.