Saturday’s 92nd running of the $500,000, Grade 3 Ohio Derby is part of a terrific card at Thistledown that features four other stakes races. The 1 1/8-mile race drew a competitive field of 10 3-year-old colts and geldings. Three of the 10 entries ran in this year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve and four ran in the Preakness Stakes. The last winner of the Ohio Derby that came out of the Preakness was Owendale in 2019, while the last Kentucky Derby contender that went on to win this race was Two Phil’s in 2023. This year’s Ohio Derby field has a clear standout but should still offer potentially lucrative wagering opportunities.
Here’s a look at the field from the inside (rail) post position out:
Chad Allan ships in from Lone Star Park following a distant second-place finish in the Texas Derby to fellow Ohio Derby contender Desert Gate. Trained by Robert Young, the Union Rags colt will have regular Thistledown rider Alexander Chavez aboard for the first time. Robusta ran in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness for trainer Doug O’Neill and will be making his sixth consecutive graded stakes appearance. Emisael Jaramillo will be reunited with the Accelerate colt for the first time since their bid in the Santa Anita Derby in early April. Chip Honcho finished third last time out in the Preakness Stakes for trainer Steve Asmussen with Jose Ortiz riding, and Ortiz retains the mount. The Connect colt finished second in the Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes in February, finishing 5 ½ lengths ahead of eventual Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets winner Golden Tempo. Stonestreet Lexington Stakes winner Trendsetter is coming off a third-place finish in the Peter Pan Stakes last time out for trainer Ben Colebrook. Kazushi Kimura will stay aboard the Modernist gelding and make his first career appearance at Thistledown. Ocelli, the lone maiden in the field, finished third in the Kentucky Derby and fourth in the Preakness for trainer Whit Beckman. Tyler Gaffalione, who was aboard the Connect colt for both Triple Crown races, will remain in the saddle. Zihnal scored his first career win June 10 at Horseshoe Indianapolis in a dirt route and will be coming back after just a 10-day layoff for trainer Jonathan Thomas. Emmanuel Esquivel, who rode last time out for their maiden win, stays aboard the Quality Road gelding. Bull by the Horns finished sixth in the Preakness and is still seeking his first win of his 3-year-old campaign. Micah Husbands, who has been aboard four out of the colt’s six career races, retains the mount for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., who will equip Bull by the Horns with blinkers. Desert Gate has won his last two starts in the Hot Springs Stakes and Texas Derby by a combined margin of 16 lengths. Flavien Prat will be reunited with Desert Gate after their 9 ¾-length romp in the Hot Springs two starts back. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has made three career starts at Thistledown and seeks his first win at this track. Jupiter is the only contender in the field who has made a start at Thistledown. The Upstart gelding was claimed by trainer Nestor Rivera at Turfway Park in December and won his first start off the claim in an allowance race at Thistledown on June 8. Jockey Angel Diaz was aboard for that win and will ride Saturday. Albus rounds out the field for trainer Riley Mott, making his first start since his 15th-place finish in the Kentucky Derby. Jaime Torres will be back aboard Albus for the first time since their win together in the Wood Memorial Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets in April.
Analysis and Main Contenders:
Desert Gate fits the bill in this race in nearly every way and looks poised to again dominate at this similar level of class. He’ll stretch out to a mile and an eighth for the first time in his career, but Desert Gate is by Omaha Beach (whose progeny win at 23% going this distance) and he’s out of a Curlin dam, giving him the pedigree to excel – not to mention that he drew clear to win by 6 ¼ lengths going 1 1/16 miles on the dirt last time out in the Texas Derby. While in his last two stakes wins Desert Gate set the pace and won gate-to-wire, this talented colt has also been able to press the pace and make a move into the stretch to find the winner’s circle as well. Desert Gate started his 2-year-old campaign with complete dominance, winning on career debut at Santa Anita Park last June and going on to romp in the Best Pal Stakes at Del Mar by 8 ¾ lengths. He ended 2025 with back-to-back runner-up finishes in the Del Mar Futurity and the American Pharoah Stakes Presented by DK Horse while earning increasing Equibase Speed Figures. Desert Gate debuted as a 3-year-old in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita in February with a disappointing fourth-place finish while favored at odds of 6-5. He took a slight layoff and resurfaced at the end of March, shipping to Oaklawn Park for the Hot Springs Stakes which was held at a mile on the dirt, and Desert Gate bounced back to winning form, drawing clear to win by 9 ¾ lengths with Flavien Prat aboard and earning a career-best 101 Equibase figure, which is the highest figure achieved by any horse in this field. After that win, Desert Gate shipped to Lone Star Park and dominated the Texas Derby while stretching out in distance.
In the Texas Derby, Desert Gate earned a 98 Equibase figure – the highest last-out speed figure of any horse in this field. Historically, horses in graded stakes races on the dirt win at 32% from 294 starts over the past year with the highest last out Equibase figure in the field. Another positive is that Flavien Prat hops back aboard Desert Gate in this spot. Prat wins at 29% in dirt route graded stakes races over the past year from 73 starts. Trainer Bob Baffert’s statistics are always a proven positive, as he wins at 32% in dirt routes, at 32% in stakes races and at 38% with winners last time out, all over the past year. Even considering those high percentages, Baffert’s best statistic comes when using Flavien Prat in graded stakes races. Over the past three years, Baffert and Prat win at 40% in graded stakes races together and finish in the top three 68% of the time from 50 starts. Desert Gate is ranked first in early and middle pace, and even with his front running style he is ranked second by late pace with a 102.5 rating, and he ranks first in average speed with a 94 Equibase figure. Whether he sets the pace or presses the early leader, Desert Gate should be able to find the winner’s circle in this spot especially considering his winning connections and ability to ship in and win at four different tracks so far. His morning-line odds of 5-2 are solid for a seemingly “single”-type horse.
Chip Honcho skipped the Kentucky Derby to point towards the Preakness, and while he did not run poorly at Laurel Park, a third-place finish was not what trainer Steve Asmussen hoped for in the second leg of the Triple Crown. Chip Honcho earned his first career win as a 2-year-old last November on a muddy Churchill Downs track before shipping down to Fair Grounds for the winter to win the Gun Runner Stakes held at 1 1/16 miles on dirt. Chip Honcho started his 3-year-old campaign in the Lecomte Stakes in January back at Fair Grounds, finishing fourth by just 1 ¾ lengths to Golden Tempo. About a month later, Chip Honcho turned the tables on that future star when trying to go gate-to-wire on a speedy Fair Grounds track in the Risen Star Stakes, finishing second to Paladin by a half-length and 5 ½ lengths clear of Golden Tempo in third. He earned a career-high 99 Equibase Speed Figure in the Risen Star. Following that effort, Chip Honcho made a disappointing bid in the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby, finishing fifth by 11 ½ lengths, and he then took a nearly two-month layoff before his start in the Preakness.
Apart from the Louisiana Derby, Chip Honcho has always run well. He has a chance to bounce back from his Preakness third in a big way against this group, especially considering that Jose Ortiz is hopping off his mounts at Churchill Downs to travel to Thistledown. Asmussen and Ortiz have found much success together, winning at 27% in all races together over the past three years from 277 starts and 29% in stakes races from 99 starts in the same timeframe. Chip Honcho is ranked second to Desert Gate by average speed with an 87 Equibase Speed Figure as he makes his fifth consecutive graded stakes appearance. While Chip Honcho only has a single win at 1 1/16 miles, he has been competitive in two of three starts at longer distances and should give a solid run to finish in the top three as a formidable contender.
Sporting 30-1 morning-line odds, Zihnal provides great value as a contender to complete the trifecta. With just three races on his résumé, Zihnal is the most lightly raced contender in the Ohio Derby field. He debuted in April as a 3-year-old at Santa Anita Park, finishing fourth by 3 ¼ lengths in a dirt route; however, he earned a solid 88 Equibase Speed Figure in the race. In his next start, Zihnal shipped to Churchill Downs to try turf and came up empty, regressing to a 77 figure. In his most recent start, things started to come together as he went back to dirt at Horseshoe Indianapolis in a one mile and 70-yard route to win by a length, improving to a career-best 89 Equibase figure. Zihnal showed potential in that race to improve even more with added distance, and he has the largest average stride length of any horse in this field. In recent stakes races, Further Ado (Matt Winn Stakes), Counting Stars (Acorn Stakes), and Luv Your Neighbor (Delaware Oaks) also won while boasting the highest average stride length in their respective fields.
Zihnal won his maiden race at Horseshoe Indianapolis on June 10, which as noted above will be just 10 days prior to the Ohio Derby. Trainer Jonathan Thomas rarely makes this move with such a short layoff; however, has found some success doing so. Over the past three years, Thomas has run his horses back within two weeks just 16 times, and he’s won at a 31% clip and finished in the top three 56% of the time with a positive return on investment. Emmanuel Esquivel was aboard Zihnal last time out, and as with Jose Ortiz and Chip Honcho, it’s a good sign that he’s skipping Saturday mounts at Churchill Downs to ride Zihnal. Another meaningful positive is Zihnal’s late pace rating, as he ranks first in this race with a 103.5. While finding the winner’s circle could be a tough task, Zihnal seemingly has a large amount of potential and has a trainer who has been successful when running back after a short layoff. At 30-1, Zihnal is a legitimate contender to complete the trifecta or exacta under Desert Gate and create major value.
The rest of the field, with their best Equibase Speed Figures in similar races, is Chad Allan (90), Robusta (93), Trendsetter (96), Ocelli (99), Bull by the Horns (83), Jupiter (87), and Albus (89).
Win Contenders in Preference Order:
Desert Gate
Chip Honcho
Zihnal
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