2026 Kentucky Derby

The field for the GI Kentucky Derby, ranked in "likeliest winner" order followed by program number. On Wednesday #13 Silent Tactic (Tacitus) scratched with a foot bruise, allowing #21 Great White (Volatile) to draw in off the also-eligible list. 1) #6 COMMANDMENT (c, Into Mischief--Sippican Harbor, by Orb) O-Wathnan Racing; B-Lee Pokoik (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. Sales history: $485,000 RNA Wlg '23 FTKNOV; $475,000 RNA Ylg '24 FTSAUG; $500,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP. Lifetime record: GISW, 5-4-0-0, $1,017,339. Last start: WON Mar. 28 GI Florida Derby. Commandment rides a four-race win...

The annual GI Kentucky Derby post-position draw isn't so much about landing a favorable gate assignment as avoiding a poor one. The task for the fast-closing Renegade got quite a bit tougher on Saturday when the flashy son of Into Mischief drew the historically unrewarding inside post for the May 2 Derby. Much of the pre-race speculation will focus on whether or not Renegade can overcome a starting stall that has not yielded a Derby winner since 1986, when the 17-1 Ferdinand got bumped to the back, rallied wide, then...

On a cloudy Sunday morning at Churchill Downs, six entrants put in their final breezes over a fast track, led by Chief Wallabee (Constitution). Mike and Kay Ball's Chief Wallabee worked a half-mile in :49.20 in company with the 3-year-old maiden winner Steel (Tapit). Junior Alvarado was aboard for trainer Bill Mott. The TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard produced splits of :13.20, :25.40, :49.20 and out five-eighths in 1:01.80 and six furlongs in 1:15.20. "We did what we wanted to do and if it doesn't work out, then that's...

With Further Ado (Gun Runner) crushing his rivals in Saturday's GI Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, Irad Ortiz Jr. continued one of the most spectacular runs through the preps for the GI Kentucky Derby that any jockey has ever had. It was his fifth win in a Derby prep, including three races that award the maximum 100 points to the winner. Of the five horses atop the point leaderboard for the Derby, Ortiz had ridden four of them at some point this year. They are Commandment (Into Mischief), Fulleffort...

by T.D. Thornton-Last Saturday's news that the No. 1-ranked Paladin (Gun Runner) will miss the GI Kentucky Derby with a non-displaced condylar fracture of his right front ankle created a vacancy atop this list. Any set of Derby rankings abhors a vacuum, but it wasn't easy deciding which of several worthy candidates out of the GI Florida Derby and GI Arkansas Derby would take over the kingpin slot.   1) COMMANDMENT (c, Into Mischief-Sippican Harbor, by Orb) O-Wathnan Racing; B-Lee Pokoik (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. Sales history: $485,000 RNA Wlg...

Following the defection of juvenile champion Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) from Kentucky Derby contention, GII Remsen Stakes winner Paladin (Gun Runner) has risen to the fore in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which launches Pool 4 on Friday, Feb. 13 and closes on Feb. 15. Installed the 8-1 individual favorite in the latest pool, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Peter Brant, Brook T. Smith and Summer Wind Equine's representative is entered in Saturday's GII Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds. "All Other 3-Year-Olds" not named within the...

Pool 3 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, featuring GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) as the 6-1 individual favorite, will open Friday at noon (all times Eastern) and close Sunday at 6 p.m. Additionally, All Other 3-Year-Olds not listed among the 39 individual interests are listed as the overall 4-1 choice. The three-day pools feature $2 Win and Exacta wagering. In 2025, Ted Noffey was undefeated through four starts winning the GI Hopeful, GI Breeders Futurity and Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Ted Noffey...

The GI Kentucky Derby aspirants Paladin (Gun Runner) and Renegade (Into Mischief) have a nice little rivalry going after facing each other twice in the span of seven weeks at Aqueduct. Even though the Chad Brown-trained Paladin ($1.9 million FTSAUG) has bested the Todd Pletcher-trained Renegade ($975,000 KEESEP) both times-once via DQ on Oct. 17, and an outright win Saturday in the GII Remsen Stakes-the two colts might not be as far apart as their records indicate. Paladin (owned by Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Brook Smith, Peter...

With the Kentucky Derby still 22 weeks away, the pari-mutuel field of "All Other Foals from the 2023 Foal Crop" closed as the 2-1 favorite in Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW) and Spendthrift Farm's unbeaten GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) from the barn of two-time Derby winner Todd Pletcher was the 7-1 second choice. Saturday's GII Kentucky Jockey Club winner Further Ado (Gun Runner) also attracted some interest from bettors at 13-1.   TOP 10 BETTING CHOICE (with trainer, sire, Pool 2...

A trio of new points-bearing races on the European / Middle East Road to the Kentucky Derby series have been added to the lineup for 2026, according to a Churchill Downs Incorporated release Tuesday. The G3 UAE 2000 Guineas, G3 Saudi Derby and Dubai Road to the Kentucky Derby Stakes (formerly the Al Bastakiya) will now award qualifying points toward up to two invitations for 3-year-olds to compete in the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve at Churchill Downs on May 2, 2026.   New European / Middle East Road...