The last stop on the road is within sight. After 44 points-scoring races over 11 months, those desirous of running at Churchill Downs in the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5, and their rankings on the points list, are set. As of Wednesday, there were just 21 horses still under consideration for the Derby, with at least two of those not certain to run in the race, leading to the very real possibility that fewer than the maximum of 20 will enter, let alone run. Several horses who could have run are taking a pass, including Pneumatic and Jesus’ Team, the one-two finishers from the Pegasus last Saturday at Monmouth, which was the final points-scoring race of the elongated series. Pneumatic will await the Preakness at Pimlico on Oct. 3, while Jesus’ Team will run in the Jim Dandy at Saratoga on Sept. 5. Kiss Today Goodbye, who has 10 points from his third-place finish in the Shared Belief, will work on turf this weekend at Del Mar with the hope he’ll like it and thus run in the Del Mar Derby on Sept. 6, trainer Eric Kruljac said Wednesday. As a result, a horse with zero points could get into the race. Of the 21 still under consideration for the Derby, two – Shirl’s Speight and Money Moves – have earned zero points. By virtue of having earned $55,896 in non-restricted stakes, the first tie-breaker, Shirl’s Speight is ranked above Money Moves, and thus occupies the final spot in the prospective field. Money Moves is now the first, in fact only, horse on the outside looking in. He would need a defection from the 20 horses ranked above him to get into the Derby. But that all may be moot. Money Moves is not certain to point for the Derby, according to his trainer, Todd Pletcher, who said the Jim Dandy is his other option. Pletcher also will run Happy Saver in the Jim Dandy. In addition, Rushie, who has 40 points, is not certain to run in the Derby. He is being considered for the Pat Day Mile, which also will be run Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs, with a decision to be made closer to entry day Sept. 1. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2020: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more Numerous jockeys are taking a pass on this year’s Derby, owing to restrictions in place at Saratoga and Del Mar that would prohibit jockeys who leave from returning for the final two days of those meets; both close Sept. 7. Irad Ortiz Jr., Jose Ortiz, and Joel Rosario are remaining at Saratoga, and on Wednesday agent Derek Lawson said Flavien Prat would stay at Del Mar. Prat had been riding Storm the Court. His trainer, Pete Eurton, on Wednesday said he had lined up Julien Leparoux to take over. Rosario had been riding Max Player. Ricardo Santana Jr. now has that mount, trainer Steve Asmussen said Wednesday. Enforceable, most recently ridden by Rosario, will have Adam Beschizza, trainer Mark Casse said Wednesday. The lure of the Derby still holds. Winning Impression has finished seventh in both the Indiana Derby and Ellis Park Derby in his last two starts, but the 20 points he earned in a division of the Arkansas Derby have him high enough on the points list to get in. He’s running. But having sufficient points was not enough to convince trainer Jose Francisco D’Angelo to press on with Jesus’ Team, who earned eight points on Saturday in the Pegasus to give him 18 overall, enough to put him in the top 20. D’Angelo, 30, has 17 horses in his care. A native of Venezuela, he came to this country in May 2019 after being the champion trainer in his native land, and following in the footsteps of his father, Francisco, who arrived here in 2015. “This experience is like a dream in real life,” he said Tuesday afternoon of having a horse who could run in the Derby. D’Angelo, though, does not think running in the Derby is the right move right now. He believes Jesus’ Team would benefit by adding blinkers. “The Kentucky Derby is not the race to try, with 20 horses in the starting gate,” he said. So, D’Angelo is putting the horse ahead of his own self-interest of running in a race with the high profile of the Derby. “This is my first full year in America. I do not want to make a mistake with the first good horse I have here,” he said. “You must go in the race you think you can win. Tiz the Law, Caracaro, Honor A. P., Authentic, Art Collector – the Derby would be hard for my horse. It could ruin my horse. It is a very hard decision, but the owner agrees with me. We do not want him in a race where he does not have any chance.” – additional reporting by David Grening