Entries are complete, post positions have been drawn, and the field is set for the 152nd running of the $5 million Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve Saturday at Churchill Downs. This year’s run for the roses will showcase 20 of the world’s most talented 3-year-old colts and geldings all aiming to secure their place in racing history. Contested at 1 ¼ miles beneath Churchill’s iconic Twin Spires, the Kentucky Derby is one of the most prestigious and demanding tests for 3-year-olds, where pace, pedigree, and preparation converge on the sport’s biggest stage. With a full field and a wide range of running styles, this year’s edition shapes up as a highly competitive and compelling wagering event.
The 2026 Kentucky Derby field from the inside (rail) post position out:
Renegade, the 4-1 morning-line favorite, drew the 1 post for trainer Todd Pletcher with Irad Ortiz Jr. opting to stay on the colt after his Arkansas Derby win. One of three sons of Into Mischief in the race, Renegade took the Sam F. Davis Stakes early this year before going on to romp in the Arkansas Derby by four lengths, earning a 107 Equibase Speed Figure. That 107 ties the highest Equibase figure achieved by any horse in this field. Wood Memorial Stakes Presented by Resorts World Casino winner Albus is one of two entrants trained by Riley Mott, who is making his first Kentucky Derby appearance. The Yaupon colt will have Manny Franco in the irons for the first time. Intrepido has hefty morning-line odds of 50-1 for trainer Jeff Mullins with regular rider Hector Berrios back aboard. He won the American Pharoah Stakes Presented by DK Horse as a 2-year-old and will be making his fifth consecutive graded stakes start. Litmus Test also has 50-1 morning-line odds as the first of two entrants for six-time Kentucky Derby winning trainer Bob Baffert. The son of 2016 Derby winner Nyquist will have Martin Garcia riding for the first time. Right to Party is fresh off a runner-up finish in the Wood Memorial for 2024 Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Kenny McPeek with Christopher Elliott (son of 2004 Derby-winning rider Stewart Elliott) aboard for his first Derby mount. Commandment, winner of the Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes and Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms at Xalapa, is one of three Brad Cox-trained entrants and comes into the Derby on a four-race winning streak. Jockey Luis Saez gets the assignment on Commandment. Danon Bourbon, bred in Kentucky and purchased for $450,000 as a yearling, will be making his first start outside of his base in Japan for trainer Manabu Ikezoe with Atsuya Nishimura aboard. The Maxfield colt is undefeated from three career starts posting a combined winning margin of 18 ½ lengths. Trainer Mark Glatt will make his first start in the Kentucky Derby with So Happy, who won the Santa Anita Derby last time out by 2 ¾ lengths. Regular rider Mike Smith will be back aboard and at the age of 59, would become the oldest jockey to ever win the Derby if he can notch his third overall victory in the race. The Puma won the ESMARK Tampa Bay Derby and finished runner-up by just a nose last time out in the Florida Derby. Trainer Gustavo Delgado and jockey Javier Castellano, who together won the 2023 Kentucky Derby with Mage, team up once again.
Wonder Dean, bred in Japan, is fresh off a 2 ½ length victory in the UAE Derby Sponsored by Jumeirah at Meydan Racecourse at the end of March. Ryusei Sakai, the primary jockey for Forever Young, will be aboard for trainer Daisuke Takayanagi. Incredibolt, the second entrant for Riley Mott, dominated the Virginia Derby Presented by New Kent County by four lengths last time out with Jaime Torres in the saddle, who rides again Saturday. Notably, Incredibolt is 2-for-2 at Churchill Downs including a win in the Street Sense Stakes in October. Last year’s Kentucky Derby-winning connections of trainer Bill Mott and jockey Junior Alvarado team up with Chief Wallabee, who finished second by just a neck in the Fountain of Youth and third last time out in the Florida Derby. Silent Tactic has been scratched. Potente, Bob Baffert’s second entrant, won the San Felipe Stakes Presented by DK Horse in March and most recently finished runner-up in the Santa Anita Derby. Juan Hernandez will be aboard for the third consecutive time and will make his first Derby start. Chad Brown trains Emerging Market, an undefeated Candy Ride colt with two wins including the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby in his most recent start. Regular rider Flavien Prat retains the mount. Pavlovian, who finished runner-up in the Louisiana Derby after setting blistering fractions, will be ridden by Edwin Maldonado as his first career Derby mount. Pavlovian is trained by two-time Kentucky Derby winner Doug O’Neill. Six Speed, a 50-1 longshot on the morning line, ships in from Meydan off of a second-place finish last time out in the UAE Derby for trainer Bhupat Seemar. Brian Hernandez Jr., winning jockey in the 2004 Kentucky Derby, will be in the irons for the first time. Further Ado, the second Brad Cox trainee, dominated the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes by 11 lengths last time, earning a career-best 107 Equibase figure that ties Renegade’s number for best in the field. Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez, a three-time Derby winner, replaces Irad Ortiz Jr. in the saddle. Cherie DeVaux will try to become the first female trainer in history to win the Kentucky Derby with Golden Tempo, who won the Lecomte Stakes in January before finishing third in both the Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes and the Louisiana Derby. The bay colt will have regular rider Jose Ortiz back aboard. The third Brad Cox entrant is Fulleffort, who will be making his career debut on the dirt. The Liam’s Map colt began his career on turf and made his last three consecutive starts on the all-weather track at Turfway Park, including a win in the Jeff Ruby Steaks last time out. Tyler Gaffalione will ride for the first time. With the scratch from Silent Tactic, Great White moves into the Derby field for trainer John Ennis. The Volatile gelding won the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes on the all-weather track at Turfway in February before an unsuccessful bid in the Blue Grass in his first start on dirt. Regular jockey Alex Achard stays aboard for his first career Kentucky Derby mount.
Analysis and Main Contenders:
While Commandment started his career with a fourth-place finish at Keeneland as a 2-year-old, he has not lost since and is coming into the Derby with four consecutive wins. About a month after his career debut in October, Commandment came right back to dominate a maiden special weight race going seven furlongs at Churchill Downs by 5 ¼ lengths, improving from a 76 to an 80 Equibase figure. Commandment again improved his Equibase figure in his 3-year-old debut when stretching out to a one-turn mile at Gulfstream Park in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes in January. In that race, Commandment split horses on the final turn and dominated down the lane as he was ridden out to a 6 ¾ length victory, improving to a 93 figure. Then, Commandment made his graded stakes debut a winning one in February, posting a narrow victory in the 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth Stakes in his first start around two turns, and again improving to a career-best 99 Equibase figure. In his most recent start on March 28 back at Gulfstream, Commandment stretched out to 1 1/8 miles on the dirt in the Florida Derby and reeled in his rivals with every stride to win by a nose over The Puma, earning a 97 figure.
In the Florida Derby, a race that has produced 26 Kentucky Derby winners since the inaugural running in 1952, Commandment averaged a 22.92-foot stride length and ran the final furlong in just 12.32 seconds, 0.36 seconds faster than any other horse in the field. With his determined late kick and ability to overcome adversity, Commandment could flourish at the grueling 1 ¼-mile distance, especially with the expectation of a tough trip in a 20-horse field. Despite Irad Ortiz Jr. opting to stay aboard Renegade, Commandment has been able to win with three different jockeys already in his short career. Luis Saez is a more than suitable replacement. Over the last three years, trainer Brad Cox and Saez have won at a solid 29% together in all races on the Kentucky circuit, which includes a win in the Longines Kentucky Oaks in 2025 with Good Cheer. Into Mischief has sired three Kentucky Derby winners from 15 starts and could very well set the all-time record with his fourth progeny win by Commandment. Post position 6 also gives Commandment a perfect opportunity to run his race, as he could sit in midpack before making a late surge down the stretch. Carrying a 6-1 morning line in an incredibly talented and broad field, Commandment offers good value for a horse who has proven himself as a multiple graded stakes winner.
Despite running in the shadow of Commandment in the Fountain of Youth and Florida Derby, Chief Wallabee is a colt that could be coming into his own at the perfect time for connections who know how to win on racing’s biggest stage. Chief Wallabee will be the fourth Kentucky Derby starter for Constitution, a sire whose progeny win at 20% at the distance of 1 1/8 miles or longer (10 wins from 49 starts). Chief Wallabee has made all three career starts at Gulfstream Park and took his career debut in a seven-furlong dirt sprint as a 3-year-old in January. When attempting his first two-turn route in the Fountain of Youth, Chief Wallabee ran exceptionally well and dueled gamely with Commandment down the stretch only to finish second by a neck, earning a career-best 99 Equibase figure. Chief Wallabee and Commandment again went head-to-head in the Florida Derby, and while Chief Wallabee ended up third-best that day, his numbers between the lines indicate he continues to improve. Chief Wallabee averaged a massive 24.26-foot stride length in his two graded stakes starts, a stride length that could excel at this 1 ¼-mile distance. Notably, the colt will be running in blinkers for the first time. Bill Mott rarely makes this move; in fact, he’s added first-time blinkers in graded stakes races just nine times over the last five years, with two of those being wins. Chief Wallabee seems like the perfect contender for blinkers and could excel with this equipment change. In addition, Chief Wallabee has been working tremendously at Churchill Downs since shipping to the track in mid-April. In his first breeze on the Churchill dirt, Chief Wallabee ran five furlongs in a minute flat and in his final work before the First Saturday in May, he went four furlongs in 49.20, which is seemingly what Mott was looking for. While 8-1 Derby morning-line odds for a colt who has yet to win a graded stakes race is tough, Chief Wallabee could be the real deal and certainly fits the profile of a serious competitor.
Further Ado started his career with fifth- and third-place finishes as a 2-year-old at Saratoga in July and August, but put his name on the map with a 20-length maiden win when stretching out to 1 1/16 miles on the dirt at Keeneland in October, earning a 105 Equibase figure in the process. While the Gun Runner colt regressed to a 90 figure in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes held last November at Churchill Downs, he was still able to reach the winner’s circle by posting a 1 ¾ length score in his graded stakes debut. Further Ado returned after a nearly 3 ½-month layoff as a 3-year-old and finished runner-up by just three quarters of a length to The Puma in the 1 1/16-mile Tampa Bay Derby in March. Despite finishing second, Further Ado improved his Equibase figure to a 94 and ran well off the layoff, setting up a perfect timeline to show his ability later in the spring. In the Blue Grass Stakes he did just that, romping by 11 lengths while stretching out 1 1/8 miles. Further Ado earned a career-best 107 Equibase figure for that performance, which as noted above ties Renegade as the highest number achieved by any Kentucky Derby contender. Along with his speed, Further Ado also ranks second in this field by late pace with a 119 rating, 14 points higher than So Happy, who ranks third with a 105. Hall of Famer John Velazquez will ride Further Ado, which brings experience to this young colt as Velazquez has ridden in 26 Kentucky Derbys and won three times. Further Ado looms large in this race with his keen ability to find the winner’s circle and with a victory over the deep Churchill track in his portfolio. He could very well be wearing a blanket of roses come Saturday.
The rest of the field, with their best Equibase Speed Figures in similar races, is Renegade (107), Albus (89), Intrepido (99), Litmus Test (105), Right to Party (87), Danon Bourbon (n/a), So Happy (100), The Puma (97), Wonder Dean (n/a), Incredibolt (95), Potente (96), Emerging Market (96), Pavlovian (96), Six Speed (n/a), Golden Tempo (95), Fulleffort (99) and Great White (91).
Win Contenders in Preference Order:
Commandment
Chief Wallabee
Further Ado
