BloodHorse news editor Byron King presents his weekly Derby Dozen for 2026, with a look at his leading contenders for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve on May 2.

All of the qualifying points races for the 152^nd Kentucky Derby are finished, and this week contenders are gearing up for a start in the 152^nd run for the roses, training either on the grounds at Churchill Downs or in their own regions before shipping to Louisville next week.

Check out America’s Best Racing’s Triple Crown page to keep up to date with stories and statistics on the road to the Kentucky Derby.

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1. Further Ado

Some of his six Toyota Blue Grass Stakes rivals, in particular John Battaglia Memorial Stakes winner Great White, stood well above him in the paddock, but the modestly sized Further Ado used his fluid stride to overset their size advantage and skipped to an 11-length victory. If he can perform at the same level at Churchill Downs, where he won the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes last fall but in less dazzling fashion, he will be a force in the run for the roses. John Velazquez – a three-time winner of the Kentucky Derby, four if you count the ultimately disqualified Medina Spirit in 2021 – picks up the ride with Irad Ortiz Jr. sticking with Renegade.

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2. Renegade

Irad Ortiz, who had also been aboard Further Ado this year, remains on Renegade, the late-running Arkansas Derby and Sam F. Davis Stakes winner. A Kentucky Derby victory has proven elusive for Ortiz, whose best finish in nine prior mounts is a fourth. Perspective is warranted given the challenge posed by the Derby, which has the largest field in North American Thoroughbred racing, up to 20 horses. Hall of Famer Pat Day, for instance, did not secure his first Derby victory until his 10^th attempt, piloting Lil E. Tee to an upset win in 1992, and Day finished his career 1-for-22 in the race. Hall of Fame riders such as Alex Solis and Garrett Gomez never won it.

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3. Commandment

Luis Saez, who teamed with trainer Brad Cox to win the 2021 Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets with Essential Quality, gains the ride on Commandment, winner of the Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms at Xalapa under Flavien Prat, after the latter jockey stays with Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby winner Emerging Market. Saez, 0-0-1 in 12 Derby rides, crossed the wire first in the 2019 Derby aboard Maximum Security, though the colt ultimately was demoted and placed 17^th for interference. The jockey’s hard-riding style should be well-suited to Commandment, who brings a determined finish to his races, as illustrated in the Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes even before the Florida Derby.

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4. Chief Wallabee

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott gave this colt a workout test in blinkers in an April 11 breeze at Payson Park Training Center with older graded stakes-winning stablemate Batten Down in which they were clocked covering a half-mile in :49.60. Mott told Daily Racing Form he was likely to add them in the Derby – a move intended to improve the colt’s focus. Recall what Mott said after Chief Wallabee’s third in the Florida Derby, “As well as he was traveling on the bridle, when (jockey Junior Alvarado) released him, he thought he would probably quicken a little more.” The risk with blinkers is that they can make some horses keen. He arrived at Churchill Downs April 14.

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5. The Puma

In a Florida Derby in which he was nailed in a head-bobbing finish on the wire, ground loss may have cost him. He covered 17 more feet than that rival and had the widest trip altogether in the six-horse field, which was partly because of his outside draw and breaking a half-step slowly. He also was wide in winning the ESMARK Tampa Bay Derby three weeks earlier when again drawn to the outside. He’s prone to flat-footed breaks, a concern in the scramble for position in the Derby but, on form, figures, and trips, he is a legit Derby contender for many of the connections that won the 2023 Derby with Mage.

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6. Silent Tactic

Cristian Torres will ride in the Derby for the first time aboard Silent Tactic, the late-running winner of the Southwest Stakes. Derby wins are rare for jockeys having their first rides in the race – not surprisingly, as they are often aboard longshots – but several have pulled off wins this century in their Derby debuts: Stewart Elliott (2004, Smarty Jones ), Mario Gutierrez (2012, I’ll Have Another ), and Sonny Leon (2022, Rich Strike). Torres knows Silent Tactic well, having ridden him in his last three starts at Oaklawn Park, including when second to Renegade in the March 28 Arkansas Derby.

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7. Emerging Market 

Trainer Chad Brown has the Louisiana Derby winner in South Florida training for the Kentucky Derby. He breezed 4 furlongs in :49.40 April 12 at Payson Park, and is scheduled to have one more breeze there next week before his trainer sends him north to Kentucky around April 19. Brown has two other horses qualified for the Derby in the Gotham Stakes winner Iron Honor and Blue Grass runner-up Ottinho, but those horses, who would be longshots, might not compete. Brown told BloodHorse he will monitor them in the coming weeks before deciding. Awaiting the second leg of the Triple Crown, the May 16 Preakness Stakes – a race Brown has won twice with Derby-skipping horses – might be an option for one or both of them.

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8. Potente

Hall of Famer Bob Baffert – tied with Ben Jones for most victories by a trainer in Derby history with six – returns to Churchill Downs with the head-turning Potente, a $2.4 million purchase from Fasig-Tipton’s The Saratoga Sale a couple years ago. The San Felipe Stakes Presented by DK Horse winner and Santa Anita Derby runner-up is physically striking. Into Mischief – also the sire of Renegade and Commandment – can become the winningest stallion in Derby history if one of his 3-year-olds can take another Derby, giving him a fourth in the classic after earlier success from Authentic (2020), Mandaloun (2021), and Sovereignty (2025).

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9. So Happy

Robbie Norman of Norman Stables, who had his first Derby horse last year with the Lonnie Briley-trained Coal Battle, who ran 11^th, is back in the Derby for a second consecutive year, this time as co-owner with Saints or Sinners in Santa Anita Derby winner So Happy. Though this colt’s sire, Runhappy, was a champion sprinter, some of his progeny have run long, notably Smile Happy, a multiple graded stakes-winning router who ran eighth in the 2022 Kentucky Derby. So Happy’s 59-year-old Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, already a dual Derby winner, could surpass Bill Shoemaker as the oldest jockey to win the Derby with a third victory.

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10. Pavlovian 

His form was forgettable through January, illustrated by six consecutive losses after graduating from the maiden ranks, including five defeats vs. California-breds. But he’s turned the corner recently with the re-addition of blinkers. First, he upset Express Kid in the Feb. 15 Sunland Park Derby, and then he proved a stubborn foe against Emerging Market in the March 21 Louisiana Derby, losing by a head. A homebred for Paul Reddam of Reddam Racing, Pavlovian is by both a sire and a dam that raced for Reddam and trainer Doug O’Neill.

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11. Albus

Two Pin Oak Stud runners, both trained by Riley Mott, complete the final spots in the Derby Dozen rankings. Both are coming off recent prep victories, but not at the highest level. Of the two, giving the slight edge to Albus, given that he won the Wood Memorial Stakes Presented by Resorts World Casino, a two-turn, 1 1/8-mile race, compared to the ungraded, one-turn Virginia Derby Presented by New Kent County, which Incredibolt won. Jockey Jaime Torres stays aboard Incredibolt in the Derby, clearing the way for Manny Franco to ride Albus, a colt who showed his versatility by rating well off a hot pace in the Wood.

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12. Incredibolt

Jaime Torres remains on this 3-year-old, as he has been throughout Incredibolt’s five-race career. Besides his four-length score in the March 14 Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs, Incredibolt twice won at Churchill Downs last year, including the Street Sense Stakes at 1 1/16 miles and around two turns. Some well-bet Virginia Derby participants have disappointed in recent starts, such as third-place Confessional, fifth in the Stonestreet Lexington Stakes, and fourth-place Buetane, 11^th in the Wood Memorial. Sixth-place Ocelli did come back with a third in the Wood.