Photo:

Eclipse Sportswire – edited

The Grade 2, $300,000 San Felipe Stakes that will be run
Saturday became the first Kentucky Derby prep ever to have its points reduced under a
new rule covering small fields.

Berlin Wall, a maiden who had been entered by trainer Steve
Knapp, was scratched Saturday morning, leaving only five 3-year-olds to start
the 1 1/16-mile race at Santa Anita.

Click here for Santa Anita entries and results.

“In the event a championship-series race is run with a
five-horse field, only 75% of the points will be proportionally awarded,” according
to the rule that was written into the Kentucky Derby qualifying rules during
the summer. “In the event a championship-series race is run with a four-horse
field or less, only 50% of the points will be proportionally awarded.”

The championship series takes in races worth 50 or 100 points to the winner.

If trainer Bob Baffert’s trio of Barnes, Rodríguez and Mellencamp
as well as Journalism and Smooth Cruisein go to the post Saturday, the San
Felipe will be worth 37 1/2 points to the winner, 18 3/4 for second, 11 1/4 for
third, 7 1/2 for fourth and 3 3/4 for finishing last.

In the first 12 years of the Derby points system, no horse
with at least 46 points has been denied entry into the run for the roses. Fifty-point
races are virtual win-and-you’re-ins. Journalism and Rodríguez already have 10
points each, so a win Saturday for either colt should be enough to get to
Churchill Downs.

Since morning-line favorite Barnes and Smooth Cruisein do
not have any points, and since Mellencamp has only one, they would not be
assured of a Kentucky Derby berth if they were to win.

The new rule also covers Kentucky Oaks (G1) qualifiers. As
such, the first race affected was the Rachel Alexandra (G2), which had only
four starters Feb. 15 at Fair Grounds. Good Cheer got only 25 points for the
win instead of the 50 that the race originally was worth.