A field of seven is set for the 102nd running of the $1.25 million, Grade 1 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes on the first Saturday of Keeneland Race Course’s Spring Meet. First run in 1911 at Kentucky Association Racetrack in Lexington and continuing in 1937 at Keeneland following a 10-year interval, the Blue Grass Stakes has produced 23 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve winners. The most recent was in 2007 when Street Sense finished second in the Blue Grass by a nose over what was at the time Keeneland’s all-weather track before posting a 2 ¼ length victory in the run for the roses. This year’s edition brings together a well-balanced field competing for a total of 200 Kentucky Derby points, distributed on a scale of 100-50-25-15-10.
Here’s a look at the field from the inside (rail) post position out:
Talkin will be making his fourth consecutive start at the graded level for trainer Danny Gargan. The Good Magic colt finished fifth last time out in the ESMARK Tampa Bay Derby with Joel Rosario retaining the mount. Class President has been scratched. John Battaglia Memorial Stakes winner Great White will be making his first start on dirt for trainer John Ennis with Alex Achard back in the irons for the fourth consecutive time. Reagan’s Honor is fresh off a 6 ½-length romp against older horses at the allowance level, earning the highest last-out Equibase Speed Figure of any horse in this field. The Honor A. P. colt will be making his graded stakes debut for trainer Cherie DeVaux with Jose Ortiz retaining the mount. Creole Chrome makes his first start since dominating the state-bred Star Guitar Stakes by 6 ¾ lengths at the end of February at Fair Grounds. The Volatile colt is trained by Joe Sharp and will have a jockey switch to Tyler Gaffalione. Morning line 8-5 favorite Further Ado notched his first career win last fall at Keeneland by a dominant 20 lengths. The Gun Runner colt is fresh off a solid run in his 3-year-old debut, a narrow runner-up finish in the Tampa Bay Derby. He’s trained by Brad Cox and regular rider Irad Ortiz Jr. stays aboard. Ocelli has been scratched. Moonstrocity is still a maiden (a horse that hasn’t won) and ships in from Gulfstream Park for trainer Jena Antonucci with Jose Morelos getting the mount for the first time. Ottinho will exit the outside post for trainer Chad Brown, with jockey Flavien Prat back aboard after one race off. Prat guided Ottinho to his only win to date, that coming last December at Aqueduct. The Quality Road colt is a Three Chimneys Farm homebred and is a half-brother to six-time Grade 1 winner, Hall of Famer, and prominent sire Gun Runner.
Analysis and Main Contenders:
While Reagan’s Honor lacks experience at the stakes or graded stakes level, this promising young colt brings a plethora of potential to the table and has a solid opportunity to land a spot in the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby. Reagan’s Honor has made all three career starts at Fair Grounds, beginning his career as a 2-year-old in a six-furlong dirt sprint in December, where he finished a distant fourth and earned a 76 Equibase Speed Figure. The Honor A. P. colt returned a month later for his two-turn debut and dictated the pace throughout, winning by 1 ¼ lengths in front-running fashion, improving to an 88 Equibase Figure with Flavien Prat aboard. Last time out, the Cherie DeVaux trainee again improved, this time in a big way. Running against older horses in a 1 1/16-mile allowance race on dirt, Reagan’s Honor again set the pace and drew clear to win by an authoritative 6 ¾ lengths. With Jose Ortiz aboard for the first time, Reagan’s Honor covered the distance in 1:42.02 in a hand-ride, just 0.01 seconds off the track record set by five-time graded stakes winner Olympiad. Reagan’s Honor improved to a 105 Equibase Speed Figure in that race – and adding to the impressive effort, the third-place finisher by 11 lengths, Vamos Carlitos, came back to win at the same level in his next start. As noted above, Reagan’s Honor’s 105 figure is the highest last-out speed figure of any horse in the 2026 Blue Grass field, and over the past year, horses with the highest last out Equibase figures are winning at 32% in graded stakes races from 301 starts and finishing in the top three at a 61% rate. Adding to his speed, Reagan’s Honor towers over the field by late pace figures with a 116.5 rating, over 12 points higher than any other contender. Over the past six months, horses with the highest late pace rating in Grade 1 dirt races are winning at a 35% clip. This includes both Commandment in the Grade 1 Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms at Xalapa and Renegade in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby last weekend. Another notable positive for this horse is Jose Ortiz retaining the mount. Ortiz and DeVaux win at 50% in dirt routes together at Keeneland all-time. Reagan’s Honor is now at Keeneland, posting a four-furlong work in 48 seconds flat at the track on March 28. He has been training forwardly since his last start. His proven ability to win over two turns, an increasing pattern of speed figures, a high late pace rating, the highest average speed and his winning connections all make Reagan’s Honor a major contender on Saturday.
Despite fifth- and third-place finishers at Saratoga to start his career, Further Ado showed tremendous talent when taking his third race by 20 lengths at Keeneland in his two-turn debut. In that 20-length maiden special weight victory, Further Ado improved his Equibase Speed Figure by 35 points from a 70 to a career-best 105. The son of Gun Runner backed up that performance with a 1 ¾ length win next time out in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs in November, again going 1 1/16 miles on the dirt but regressing to a 90 Equibase figure. Further Ado was sidelined until his 3-year-old campaign in March but returned to post a hard-fought narrow runner-up finish in the Tampa Bay Derby to The Puma. In that race, he earned a 94 Equibase figure. His second to The Puma was flattered by that colt’s near-miss in last week’s Florida Derby. Further Ado is poised for redemption and has been training sharply at Payson Park, firing a bullet five furlongs in 1:01.60 in his most recent work. Brad Cox has been highly successful in high-caliber races at Keeneland, winning at a 31% (12-for-39) clip and finishing in the top three 67% of the time in dirt route graded stakes races at the track over the past five years. Irad Ortiz Jr. will be aboard Further Ado for the fourth consecutive time, which is a meaningful positive as Ortiz Jr. has won three dirt route Kentucky Derby preps so far in 2026, doing so impressively on different horses. Given his affinity for the Keeneland dirt track, his strong speed figures and winning connections, and his ability to win at the graded stakes level around two turns, Further Ado has every right to be the morning-line favorite and should show up in a big way in the Blue Grass.
With a 15-1 morning line, Great White has a lot of value based on his increasing speed-figure progression. Great White has run all three of his career races on Turfway Park’s all-weather track and won his career debut by 2 ¼ lengths in a six-furlong sprint in December, earning an 84 Equibase Speed Figure. A month later, he returned as a 3-year-old in the one-turn mile Leonatus Stakes and finished fifth by 4 ¾ lengths after breaking slow from the gate, though he still earned an 87 figure. Last time out in the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes, Great White made his two-turn debut a winning one, while again improving to a 91 Equibase figure. The Volatile gelding took command at the top of the stretch and held off a late bid from Fulleffort, who came back to win the Jeff Ruby Steaks by 2 ½ lengths in his next start. Great White will be making his dirt debut Saturday; however, he has been training well over the Keeneland surface including posting a four-furlong work in :47.60 in his most recent breeze March 29. Regular rider Alex Achard will be back aboard, and apart from the proven success he and Great White have had, Achard won at a 33% clip over the last 10 days of the Turfway Park meet. Great White faces a tall test in this field, but he has proven himself as route stakes winner and could surprise at a nice price to complete the trifecta.
The rest of the field, with their best Equibase Speed Figures in similar races, is Talkin (88), Creole Chrome (94), Moonstrocity (82) and Ottinho (93).
Win Contenders in Preference Order:
Reagan’s Honor
Further Ado
Great White
