LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Churchill Downs simplified the path leading to the Kentucky Derby on Thursday, announcing a new points system pegged to three dozen races that will set the field for the country’s most famous thoroughbred race.

The track scrapped a more complicated system in place since 1986 based on graded stakes earnings that determined which horses reached the Derby starting gate. The discarded system was tied to 185 stakes races worldwide that confounded many casual fans, track officials said. The Derby is limited to 20 horses.