The Road to the Kentucky Derby takes the checkered flag on Saturday with the running of the $400,000 dollar, Grade 3 Lexington Stakes at Keeneland.  

Held over 1 1/16 miles, the race awards Kentucky Derby qualification points on a 20-10-6-4-2 basis to the top five finishers.

It’s certainly a diminished prize compared to the past few weeks of 100-50-25-15-10 preps, but it does offer horses on the Derby Bubble a last-ditch opportunity to pick up some additional qualification points.

Although the Lexington isn’t the most lucrative prize on the Derby trail the Keeneland fixture nevertheless holds a special place on the march to the first Saturday in May.

Traditionally one of the final Kentucky Derby preps, even when the Lexington fails to produce a Derby starter, it typically serves as a prominent steppingstone toward the Preakness (G1), the second jewel of the Triple Crown.

The current version of the Lexington was run for the first time in 1984, and the race wasted no time trumpeting its status as a viable steppingstone toward the spring classics.

Inaugural Lexington Stakes runner-up SWALE came right back to Win the Kentucky Derby, while 1985 Lexington Winner STEPHAN’S ODYSSEY parlayed his triumph at Keeneland into Victory in the Belmont Stakes (G1), the final leg of the Triple Crown.

The Lexington Stakes achieved Graded status in 1986, and during the next two decades it produced a steady stream of high-profile horses.

But the momentum of the Lexington slowed considerably after Keeneland transitioned from a dirt track to a synthetic surface in time for the 2007 spring meet.

After cranking out 34 Kentucky Derby starters between 1984 and 2006, the Lexington produced just two Derby contestants during the synthetic era, which lasted through 2014.

The return of dirt racing in 2015 coincided with a shift in the date of the Lexington Stakes, which moved from two weeks before the Kentucky Derby to three weeks out.

These changes triggered a rebound for the Lexington, which now provides one last opportunity for horses in need of qualification points to earn their way into the Derby field.