Kentucky Derby this weekend

[Blaird]

Top Kentucky Derby 2026 Horses to Watch - 

Renegade (Post 1, 4-1) Renegade is the morning line favorite for the 2026 Kentucky Derby. Todd Pletcher trains him and Irad Ortiz Jr. rides. He won the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park in March, going from last to first and pulling away to win by four lengths. The bad news is he drew Post 1. The rail has not produced a Kentucky Derby winner since Ferdinand in 1986. With his come-from-behind style, Ortiz will likely send him to the back early and hope the pace sets up.

Commandment (Post 6, 6-1) Commandment is Renegade’s half-brother. Both are sons of Into Mischief. He drew Post 6 and enters the Derby on a four-race winning streak that includes the Grade 1 Fountain of Youth in February and the Grade 1 Florida Derby in March, where he edged The Puma by a nose. Brad Cox trains him. With Fulleffort scratched, Cox now has two horses in this race: Commandment and Further Ado.

Further Ado (Post 17, 6-1) Further Ado won the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on April 4 by 11 lengths. That was one of the most eye-catching prep performances of the entire cycle. He draws Post 17 and goes under three-time Derby winner John Velazquez, who won with Animal Kingdom in 2011, Always Dreaming in 2017, and Authentic in 2020. Spendthrift Farm owns him.

Chief Wallabee (Post 12, 8-1) Chief Wallabee has a storyline worth following. Bill Mott trains him and Junior Alvarado rides. That is the same trainer-jockey combination that won the 2025 Kentucky Derby with Sovereignty. Alvarado is trying to win back-to-back Derbies. He draws Post 12, which sits right in the productive middle of the gate. Chief Wallabee will also wear blinkers for the first time in a race on Saturday.

A Few Dark Horses to Keep an Eye On - 

The Puma (Post 9, 10-1) The Puma won the Tampa Bay Derby and finished second by a nose to Commandment in the Florida Derby. He draws Post 9, one of the historically strong starting gates. Gustavo Delgado trains him and Javier Castellano rides. Delgado and Castellano won the 2023 Kentucky Derby together with Mage. He figures to be near the pace early, which could put him in a good spot in the stretch.

So Happy (Post 8, 15-1) So Happy won the Santa Anita Derby by two and three-quarter lengths and has been training well at Churchill Downs in the days leading up to the race. Hall of Famer Mike Smith rides at 60 years old and is trying to make history as the oldest jockey to win the Kentucky Derby. The current record belongs to Bill Shoemaker, who was 54 when Ferdinand won in 1986. Mark Glatt trains him. Post 8 is a clean draw with no traffic concerns.

Potente (Post 13, 20-1) Bob Baffert trains Potente and is trying to set a new record with a seventh Kentucky Derby win, having tied Ben Jones for six official wins. Potente is also a half-brother to Renegade and Commandment. All three are sons of Into Mischief, which makes this a rare Derby where the same sire has three genuine contenders. Juan Hernandez rides. Potente finished second in the Santa Anita Derby behind So Happy in his final prep.

Emerging Market (Post 14, 15-1) Chad Brown trains this Louisiana Derby winner. He is a true closer and needs a fast early pace to get into the race. Post 14 gives him a wide enough draw to settle in without early trouble. Flavien Prat rides.

Great White (Post 19, 50-1) Great White drew into the field Wednesday after Silent Tactic scratched. He is a big gray gelding trained by John Ennis and ridden by Alex Achard. He won the John Battaglia Memorial at Turfway Park earlier this year, beating Fulleffort in that race. Post 19 is an outside draw and he will have to cover extra ground on both turns. In 2022, Rich Strike drew in at the last minute and won at 81-1. Great White gives every longshot bettor a reason to dream.

Ocelli (Post 20, 50-1) Ocelli drew in Thursday after Fulleffort scratched. Trainer D. Whitworth Beckman saddles him and jockey Joseph Ramos rides. Ocelli is 0-for-6 in his career but finished third in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct to earn his 25 qualifying points. The last maiden to win the Kentucky Derby was Brokers Tip in 1933. He is a deep longshot but gives the field an intriguing wildcard at the far outside post.

[Blaird]

Japan is pouring tons of money into everything from breeding to training and racing, with a turn to dirt-track runners over the past decade or so after turf was the focus for so long. Following a near miss with Forever Young in 2024, the investment could soon pay off in the form of a Kentucky Derby winner, with Danon Bourbon and homebred Wonder Dean the country's hopes in the race this year.

“We are getting closer,” racing manager Hiroshi Ando told The Associated Press outside the Japanese horses' barn Thursday. “For Japan, I think we’re able to change Japanese racing history again, like we did with Forever Young in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Our ambition is the Kentucky Derby right now, if possible.”

 

[Blaird]

A little bit of info about the winning trainer - Cherie Devaux

Cherie is from the Saratoga Springs, New York, area, and her family has been involved in Standardbred racing. Her brother Jimmy has won more than 5,000 races as a driver/trainer. 

After studying pre-med in college, Cherie decided to pursue a life with horses. She gravitated toward the Thoroughbred world when she became a stable worker for trainer Chuck Simon at Saratoga. She spent six years working for Simon before transferring to trainer Chad Brown’s operation, where she became an assistant.

Cherie, who spent eight years with Brown, was instrumental in champion Lady Eli’s return to racing after she recovered from laminitis and did not compete for more than a year.

She obtained her trainer’s license in 2018 and sent out her first winner in March 2019.

Cherie is married to Central Kentucky-based bloodstock agent David Ingordo. Her younger sister Adrianne began training in September 2024. Adrianne worked for Cherie for four years.

Has North American career earnings exceed $30 million with 272 wins through Dec. 17, 2025.

[sunlineboy]

American jockeys are truly awful. Watch the ride on Renegade. You can only imagine the winning margin had it not been ridden by a cowboy.

[Blaird]

It was terrible right from the beginning, but this race is quite often like that. Our races aren't too bad after all, are they?

[scooby3051]

16 minutes ago, sunlineboy said:

American jockeys are truly awful. Watch the ride on Renegade. You can only imagine the winning margin had it not been ridden by a cowboy.

Gate 1 is a shocker like crash cars at the start.

[scooby3051]

 

[scooby3051]

8 minutes ago, scooby3051 said:

Gate 1 is a shocker like crash cars at the start.

And the winner was tailed off last...so Renegade actually  had its chance to beat the winner.

[nomates]

Crikey, I'm always going on about the amount of shifting in the straight here, that makes our racing look the best in the world. 

Absolutely shocking riding. 

[Maximus]

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1c1ekoZKEZ/

 

[Tauhei Notts]

I thought this year's Kentucky Derby winner is the most impressive I have seen.  On a remarkable weekend that 2000 Guineas winner looked like a champion miler.  And Wigmore at Adelaide.  He could become anything.

[We're Doomed]

2 hours ago, Tauhei Notts said:

I thought this year's Kentucky Derby winner is the most impressive I have seen.  On a remarkable weekend that 2000 Guineas winner looked like a champion miler.  And Wigmore at Adelaide.  He could become anything.

Interesting story about Wigmore. He was the last horse into the field based on stake earnings, was one of the outsiders and stopped the hot favourite for the race getting a start.

[nomates]

I watched the race and prior to the start I seen his price and what the trainer said the previous start and I considered breaking my no more betting vow . But alas didn't. 

Brave win.

[stodge]

2 hours ago, Tauhei Notts said:

I thought this year's Kentucky Derby winner is the most impressive I have seen.  On a remarkable weekend that 2000 Guineas winner looked like a champion miler.  And Wigmore at Adelaide.  He could become anything.

Some are already calling BOW ECHO the best since Frankel.

He's got a hell of a lot to do to get anywhere near that kind of accolade in my view. 

I've just watched the Kentucky Derby - the first 150m were more like the Palio di Siena on the inside - can that track really handle 22 or 23 starters? It remainds me of the shute at Chester they use for races like the Chester Cup but their maximum is 19 for a 3600m race on grass so very different.

They went like scalded cats - 22.7 seconds for the first 400m - and as so often happens in American races, the pace collapsed completely. Kudos to Jose Ortiz who has forgotten more about riding dirt races than I'll ever know for keeping his head but GOLDEN TEMPO has improved for every step up in trip and he got home while many of those out the front early didn't. 

RENEGADE ran a blinder and would be my idea of the Preakness winner with GOLDEN TEMPO more likely to win the Belmont (not sure where that is being run this year). As for whether the likes of FOREVER YOUNG has anything to fear from the classic generation, as with BOW ECHO, time will tell, it always does.

[chiknsmack]

16 hours ago, stodge said:

Kudos to Jose Ortiz who has forgotten more about riding dirt races than I'll ever know for keeping his head but GOLDEN TEMPO has improved for every step up in trip and he got home while many of those out the front early didn't. 

RENEGADE ran a blinder and would be my idea of the Preakness winner with GOLDEN TEMPO more likely to win the Belmont (not sure where that is being run this year).

A great ride from Ortiz, particularly at the 300m when he could've gone underneath Renegade and the other horse but either saw or anticipated Renegade laying in so went to the outside.

The Belmont will be at Saratoga this year, returning to Belmont Park (along with the Breeders' Cup) next year.