Churchill wields heavy hand in new Derby grading system

Now that the Triple Crown season is behind us, what is the trending topic in horse racing? The Kentucky Derby.

Churchill Downs just released a new grading system to determine which 20 horses will make the 2013 Derby field. The graded stakes earning criteria system is out, and a point system is in.

This is a radical change from a format that has been in place since 1986. I thought the former system was workable but needed tweaking. Instead, Churchill acted like a major Las Vegas casino company and imploded the old structure and built a brand new one.

The point system will emphasize prep races of a mile or more. This is fair because a lot of precocious 2-year-olds that win sprint stakes don't improve as the races get longer.

It focuses on 15 traditional preps that are run beginning in late February. These power preps offer so many points that they'll shape 95 percent of the field. This will favor late-developing horses.

Fillies now must earn points by facing males. This also is fair so a filly can't bump a colt that might have faced tougher competition.

However, Churchill made some questionable calls that have obscured many good ideas offered by the new system.

The most obvious wrong is deleting the Illinois Derby from the point schedule. This clearly is a political slap to the face of the Carey family, owners of Hawthorne Racecourse.

If there were a commissioner of the sport, he would overrule this item in the best interest of horse racing.

Next is lumping the Breeders' Cup Juvenile with the lowest class of prep races. For example, the Derby Trial now will offer twice as many points as the BC Juvenile. That makes no sense.

Then the UAE Derby, which has yet to develop a horse of any significance to the Kentucky Derby, is now ranked among the top prep races. This is a real head-scratcher. All I can think is there must be a pending deal of some kind between Churchill Downs and Dubai.

Overall, I like most of the new "Road to the Kentucky Derby." However, it clearly shows Churchill Downs is the 2,000-pound gorilla in horse racing. The Kentucky Derby is theirs to do with as they please, and if you don't play nice with them, you can be downgraded - or eliminated - with the stroke of a pen.

■ O'NEILL APPEARANCE - Kentucky Derby and Preakness winning trainer Doug O'Neill and Santa Anita Park CEO Mark Verge are tentatively scheduled to appear at 9 a.m. Monday at Lucky's race book in Primm Valley Casino. O'Neill made a large Derby future book bet on I'll Have Another at the Lucky's book, and he will cash the winning ticket and meet and greet the public.

Richard Eng's horse racing column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick.