As the premiere event for three-year-old fillies in the spring, the Kentucky Oaks carries plenty of prestige and a lucrative payday ($600,000 to the winner) for connections. The 1 1/8-mile race can be oversubscribed as a result, with only 14 runners allowed in the starting gate, and Churchill Downs instituted a new format in 2013 to determine eligibility.

Called the “Road to the Kentucky Oaks” series, points are awarded on a sliding scale to the top 4 finishers in designated prep races. The 2016 Road to the Kentucky Oaks kicked off with the Pocahontas Stakes at Churchill Downs on September 12, 2025 and will continue through the Beaumont Stakes at Keeneland on April 17, 2015.

These prep races are divided into two categories – the Kentucky Oaks Prep Season and Kentucky Oaks Championship Series.

The Prep Season runs through the end of January in 2016, awarding points on a 10-4-2-1 basis to the top four respective finishers.

The Championship Series begins in February and is broken into parts. The first eight races on the Championship Series schedule offer 50-20-10-5 points; the next six, which are known as the final round of major prep races, award 100-40-20-10; and the final race, the aforementioned Beaumont, presents 10-4-2-1 points.

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