The final three major prep races for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve worth 100 qualifying points each to the winner are on tap for Saturday in New York, Kentucky, and California, so by this time next week the field for the 2026 run for the roses will nearly be finalized.

The last one scheduled is the $500,000, Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby at Santa Anita Park has historically been an influential prep race for the Triple Crown and an important addition to the résumé of any 3-year-old racehorse.

Bet the Santa Anita Derby!

Nineteen 3-year-olds have competed in the Santa Anita Derby and gone on to win the Kentucky Derby, including 10 racehorses talented enough to win them both: Hill Gail (1952), Determine (1954), Swaps (1955), Lucky Debonair (1965), Majestic Prince (1969), Affirmed (1978), the filly Winning Colors (1988), Sunday Silence (1989), I’ll Have Another (2012), and California Chrome (2014).

This year’s race drew a field of seven entrants, and the race should undoubtedly yield at least a couple of contenders for the upcoming first jewel of the Triple Crown May 2 at Churchill Downs.

The Santa Anita Derby will air on FanDuel TV along with other races from Santa Anita. Post time for the Santa Anita Derby is set for 7:46 p.m. ET.

Eclipse Sportswire

1. Cherokee Nation (5-2 morning line odds)

Jockey: Florent Geroux

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Owners: SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Bashor Racing, Determined Stables, Golconda Stable, Waves Edge Capital, and Catherine Donovan

Career record: 6 starts – 1 win – 2 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $86,605

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 103

Kentucky Derby points: 3

Pedigree: Not This Time – Believe in Charlie, by Indian Charlie

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace/stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: The light bulb finally went on for Cherokee Nation last time in his sixth lifetime start when he earned a 10-length maiden win going a mile at Santa Anita with a real-deal Equibase Speed Figure of 103 (and a 100 Beyer Speed Figure). Can he repeat that type of effort again against this much better level of competition? Well, trainer Bob Baffert is the all-time winningest trainer in the history of the Santa Anita Derby with nine victories (officially eight, as Justify was disqualified from his 2018 win in 2024). That certainly helps this horse’s chances on the plus side. On the negative side, however, Cherokee Nation has tried two times in the past at the graded stakes level and he finished a non-threatening fifth both times. In two starts this year before his dynamite maiden win he finished far behind Intrepido in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes and also was defeated by Robusta in a maiden race. Jockey Florent Geroux is relatively new on the California circuit but Baffert has been trying to get him aboard a legitimate Kentucky Derby contender all winter. Maybe this is the one.

Eclipse Sportswire

2. Potente (2-1)

Jockey: Juan Hernandez

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Owner: Speedway Stables

Career record: 2 starts – 2 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $162,000

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 94

Kentucky Derby points: 50

Pedigree: Into Mischief – Sweet Sting, by Awesome Again

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace/Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Potente has an unblemished 2-for-2 record to begin his career, including his January maiden win at Santa Anita and a victory last time in his stakes debut when he caught Robusta at the finish line to win Santa Anita’s Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes Presented by DK Horse by a head. He needed every bit of the 1 1/16-mile distance of the San Felipe to catch Robusta but certainly stands to improve further in what will be only his third lifetime start, and he will benefit from the experience gained from that stakes victory over this racetrack with some extra distance to work with. Bob Baffert’s success in this race is noted above, with eight official wins. Jockey Juan Hedrnandez has never won the Santa Anita Derby, but he generally rides first call for the Baffert barn and the jockey/trainer combination has been lethal at Santa Anita with an outstanding 43% win percentage together dating back to last year. Potente is sired by Into Mischief, North America’s leading sire seven years in a row and the sire of three Kentucky Derby winners including Authentic (2020), Mandaloun (2021), and Sovereignty last year.

Coady Media

3. Vitruvian Man (15-1)

Jockey: Antonio Fresu

Trainer: Doug O’Neill

Owner: Glenn Sorgenstein WC Racing

Career record: 5 starts – 1 win – 1 second – 1 third

Career earnings: $82,345

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 86

Kentucky Derby points: 0

Pedigree: Vino Rosso – Caradini, by Bernardini

Color: Bay

Running style: Closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: This late-running deep closer has won one of his five career races so far with the maiden win coming by a nose at Keeneland going 1 1/16 miles three races ago. He faced winners twice late last year with his best finish coming in a second-place effort on a sloppy track at Churchill Downs. Now makes his 3-year-old debut coming off a three-month layoff in the toughest spot he’s ever entered and he’ll need to improve considerably to run competitively against this field. Jockey Antonio Fresu won the 2024 Santa Anita Derby aboard Stronghold for a different barn. Trainer Doug O’Neill won the Santa Anita Derby twice in his career with I’ll Have Another in 2012 and Goldencents in 2013, but this horse is only his second-best runner entered in Saturday’s field.

BENOIT photo

4. Robusta (8-1)

Jockey: Emisael Jaramillo

Trainer: Doug O’Neill

Owners: Calumet Farm

Career record: 4 starts – 1 win – 1 second – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $83,000

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 93

Kentucky Derby points: 25

Pedigree: Accelerate – Urbane Legend, by Into Mischief

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Pacesetter/press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: He’s a boy with a girl’s name, but that didn’t stop Robusta from flexing his muscle last time out when able to come within a head of winning Santa Anita’s Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes Presented by DK Horse as a 67.30-1 longshot until getting nipped at the wire by a surging Potente. He added blinkers last time which seemed to spur the major positive form turnaround, and that effort was a poster-boy type of example for how a 3-year-old can dramatically improve on a race-by-race basis at this time of year. Everything about that near-miss performance looked legit and there’s no reason to think it was a total outlier that can’t be repeated. His maiden win three races ago came in wire-to-wire fashion over Cherokee Nation going a mile at Santa Anita, and that outing is yet another reason for optimism. Trainer Doug O’Neill, who also trains Vitruvian Man, is a two-time Santa Anita Derby winner as noted above. It’s safe to say Robusta won’t be 67-1 odds again, but there’s still a chance he could slip under the radar on the tote board with a big chance at an upset at 8-1 on the morning line.

BENOIT photo

5. So Happy (7-2)

Jockey: Mike Smith

Trainer: Mark Glatt

Owners: Norman Stables and Saints or Sinners

Career record: 3 starts – 2 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $180,000

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 100

Kentucky Derby points: 15

Pedigree: Runhappy – So Cunning, by Blame

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: So Happy was so sad in his last race when he tired at the shorter distance of 1 1/16 miles in the San Felipe Stakes Presented by DK Horse. He’s already an accomplished graded stakes winner, coming in Santa Anita’s Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes back on Jan. 10, but that victory was at one turn at seven furlongs. He showed the speed to run with Potente and Robusta last time in his first stretchout attempt to two turns, but he came up short and faded to third in the stretch and was not able to factor into the late outcome. Based on that loss where he ran out of gas, the prospects that he will do any better at this extended distance of 1 1/8 miles look pretty dim. His best chance in a spot like this would be to establish a solo lead, slow down the pace, and milk it as long as possible; however, that doesn’t look likely to happen in a race with plenty of other potential speed horses or tactical speed horses entered in the field. Trainer Mark Glatt, who is second in the Santa Anita meet trainer standings behind Doug O’Neill, is going for his first career Santa Anita Derby win. He teams up with jockey Mike Smith, who is already a four-time winner of the Santa Anita Derby in his storied career.

BENOIT photo

6. Start the Ride (30-1)

Jockey: Armando Ayuso

Trainer: Dan Blacker

Owners: Harris Farms

Career record: 3 starts – 0 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $97,250

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 92

Kentucky Derby points: 0

Pedigree: Upstart – Elusive Ride, by Tiznow

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Stalker/closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Give Start the Ride credit at 30-1 odds on the morning line as he’s a stakes winner already in his young career. That occurred when he came out on top against California-breds in the $175,000 California Chrome Cal Cup Derby in just his second lifetime trip to the post back on Jan. 17. That victory over a field that included next-out Sunland Park Derby winner Pavlovian was legit, but unfortunately, he was not able to build upon it last time out in his only race since then when he finished sixth in a seven-horse field behind many of these same horses in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes Presented by DK Horse. He’s certainly not the craziest longshot ever but he’ll clearly need to improve upon his last race. It should be noted that his Beyer Speed Figures are far below the top contenders in this field but he’s right there in the ballpark versus most of these based on the Equibase Speed Figure from his win in the Cal Cup.

Eclipse Sportswire

7. Intrepido (7-2)

Jockey: Hector Berrios

Trainer: Jeff Mullins

Owners: Dutch Girl Holdings and Irving Ventures

Career record: 5 starts – 2 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $312,800

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 99

Kentucky Derby points: 23

Pedigree: Maximus Mischief – Overly Indulgent, by Pleasantly Perfect

Color: Bay

Running style: Presser/stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Intrepido was a Grade 1 winner as a 2-year-old with a victory in Santa Anita’s American Pharoah Stakes Presented by DK Horse, and that race propelled him to a start in the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Presented by TAA where he finished fifth. He was back in action last time with his 3-year-old debut in the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes and ran a solid effort off the bench there to finish second by less than a length behind Plutarch, a horse that he’d beaten last year when both were 2-year-old maidens. Intrepido skipped the San Felipe Stakes when trainer Jeff Mullins commented he “ran too hard last time” in the Lewis Stakes, but he has since been pointed to this race and seems to be back in gear based on his steady worktab all through the month of March at Santa Anita. He clearly has the ability to win and hit the board in this race against this field in what will be his second start of the 2026 season. Mullins has not won the Santa Anita Derby since Buzzards Bay in 2005, but he actually has enjoyed his share of success in this race with three wins in a row in the years 2003-05.