KENTUCKY — The Commonwealth of Kentucky is once again on full display for the 151st running of the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby coming up later this week.

Live racing at Churchill Downs started Saturday, April 26, with Opening Night and it continues all the way through this week. But, of course, special attention is placed on the 151st Kentucky Oaks (Friday, May 2) and Kentucky Derby (Saturday, May 3).

Kaitlin Free, reporter and analyst for Churchill Downs, joined this "In Focus Kentucky" segment to talk about some of the contenders to keep an eye on as we march closer to Oaks and Derby. 

"It's really something that begins a couple weeks ahead of the Derby," Free said. "We have a morning work show that we start out doing, kind of watching the contenders and their preparations in the morning when they hit the track, preparing for the Derby and the Oaks. That's definitely something that really gets people excited."

"But the preparation starts way ahead of that. Really, September of the following year, that's when we start having those qualifying races where horses earn the points to get into the Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky Oaks. You just kind of have to set the field based on the point horses arrive here. They train up to the race following their final prep races, and then we get to watch them. And that's when a lot of the fun begins picking your Derby and Oaks horses and kind of getting into that nitty-gritty type of handicapping." 

The 2025 Kentucky Oaks, also referred to as the "Lilies for the Fillies," has a $1.25 million purse. The 2025 Kentucky Derby has a $5 million purse.

You can watch the full In Focus Kentucky segment in the player above.