Here is what you need to know about the postponement of the 146th Kentucky Derby.

Will tickets purchased for May work for new date?

Yes, all tickets already purchased for the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby will be valid for their new dates. Information on a new ticket shipment date will be sent directly to ticket purchasers. For anyone who purchased a ticket for May and cannot attend in September, refund information will be available at KentuckyDerby.com/updates by the end of this week. Refunds for tickets bought through secondary market websites must be pursued through those websites.

How does Kentucky Derby postponement affect the Triple Crown?

Churchill Downs said Tuesday it could only comment on the status of the Kentucky Derby but acknowledged it had "been coordinating with the appropriate representatives in an attempt to properly schedule the Triple Crown." Nick Zangari, Churchill's vice-president of treasury and investor relations, said. Triple Crown broadcaster NBC is in talks to move Preakness and Belmont Stakes to late September and early October.

How will the Kentucky Derby qualification process work after postponement?

Points already earned by horses in Kentucky Derby qualifying races will still count, but Churchill Downs plans to add additional qualifying races to the process this summer to "determine a path to the Derby that enables the horses in the best form to compete." Details on those races have yet to be determined.

More:It's one thing to postpone the Kentucky Derby. Finding a new date was much harder

Why didn't Churchill Downs run the Kentucky Derby in May without fans?

"We believe that the Kentucky Derby is as much about the fans as it is about the race," Churchill Downs wrote in a news release. "Rescheduling the event with fans will allow us to contribute to the local and state economics impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as allow fans that consider the race a time-honored tradition the ability to still be a part of it."

More:When the Kentucky Derby didn't open the Triple Crown: A petty and bombastic visit to 1932

Has the Kentucky Derby been postponed before?

Yes. Horse racing was banned in the United States on Jan. 3, 1945 during World War II but reinstated after Germany surrendered on May 7. The Kentucky Derby was June 9 that year.

More:How did Louisville survive the delayed 1945 Kentucky Derby? With the Kentucky Turtle Derby

What other races will run the week of the Kentucky Derby?

The Kentucky Oaks is now scheduled for Sept. 4, 2020. The remainder of the Kentucky Derby week race schedule has yet to be determined.

How will the Kentucky Derby conflict with college football?

Sept. 5 is also scheduled to be the first full Saturday of the college football season. The University of Louisville opens its season Thursday, Sept. 3 at Cardinal Stadium. NBC broadcasts Notre Dame games in addition to the Kentucky Derby, but the Fighting Irish do not play Sept. 5 because they are scheduled to open their season in Ireland Aug. 29. The University of Kentucky opens its season Sept. 5 versus Eastern Michigan at Kroger Field in Lexington.

Jon Hale: jahale@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @JonHale_CJ. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/jonh.