Meet the Kentucky Derby horses running in the 2026 race
The Kentucky Derby will see a full field of 20 horses Saturday in the first leg of the 2026 competition for horse racing's Triple Crown.
The Run for the Roses in Louisville, Kentucky, is the opening race for the Triple Crown, the series for 3-year-olds that's traditionally followed by the Preakness Stakes in Maryland and the Belmont Stakes in New York. The last time a horse swept all three races was in 2018, when Justify galloped his way into the history books as the 13th Triple Crown winner.
2026 Kentucky Derby horses and odds
The field for the 1 1/4-mile Derby has been capped at 20 horses since 1975. For the 2026 Derby, Renegade, with 4-1 odds, was picked as the morning-line favorite last Saturday by Nick Tammaro, the oddsmaker at Churchill Downs Racetrack, the home of the Derby.
The odds will change as bettors make their wagers ahead of Saturday's Derby, the 12th race of the day at Churchill Downs with an approximate post time of 6:57 p.m. ET.
Since Saturday's post-position draw, three horses have scratched from the race — No. 20 Fulleffort, No. 5 Right to Party and No. 13 Silent Tactic — allowing for three others to draw into the field. Here's a list of the horses racing in the Derby in order by post position with their morning-line odds:
- 1. Renegade, 4-1
- 2. Albus, 30-1
- 3. Intrepido, 50-1
- 4. Litmus Test, 30-1
- 6. Commandment, 6-1
- 7. Danon Bourbon, 20-1
- 8. So Happy, 15-1
- 9. The Puma, 10-1
- 10. Wonder Dean, 30-1
- 11. Incredibolt, 20-1
- 12. Chief Wallabee, 8-1
- 14. Potente, 20-1
- 15. Emerging Market, 15-1
- 16. Pavlovian, 30-1
- 17. Six Speed, 50-1
- 18. Further Ado, 6-1
- 19. Golden Tempo, 30-1
- 21. Great White, 50-1
- 22. Ocelli, 50-1
- 23. Robusta, 50-1
Renegade drew the No. 1 post for the Derby, the innermost position in the starting gate where horses are at risk of getting boxed in between the rail and the rest of the field and falling behind early in the race. The post hasn't produced a Derby winner since Ferdinand won in 1986, and the last contender from the post to finish in the top three was Lookin At Lee, who came in second in 2017.
Renegade and the other horses qualified for the Derby by accruing points from races held as long ago as last September. The bay colt won the Arkansas Derby in March and Florida's Sam F. Davis Stakes in February, where fellow Derby contender The Puma took third. Renegade also came in second in the Remsen Stakes in New York City in December.
Irad Ortiz Jr. will ride Renegade in what will be the jockey's 10th Derby. Ortiz has yet to finish in the money in the Triple Crown opener. The 33-year-old has been close, coming in what was ultimately fourth place aboard Improbable in 2019, after the first horse across the finish line, Maximum Security, was disqualified in a wild ending to the race. At the Belmont, Ortiz has ridden two horses to victory: Creator in 2016 and Mo Donegal in 2022.
Commandment and Further Ado each received 6-1 odds in the morning line. Commandment won the Florida Derby in March, finishing ahead of The Puma and another Derby competitor, Chief Wallabee, who came in second and third, respectively. The bay colt also won Florida's Fountain of Youth Stakes in February, where Chief Wallabee took second.
Luis Saez will be aboard Commandment for his 13th Derby. The 33-year-old's best performance at the Derby came in 2021, when Essential Quality finished in fourth place but ultimately moved up to third after the winner, Medina Spirit, was stripped of his victory over a positive drug test. Five weeks after the Derby, Essential Quality was under Saez for his first win at the Belmont. His second Belmont win came when he was aboard Dornoch in 2024.
Further Ado won the Blue Grass Stakes in Lexington last month and the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs in November. The chestnut colt came in second at Florida's Tampa Bay Derby in March behind The Puma.
John Velazquez will have the mount Saturday in pursuit of his fourth Derby win, his most recent being in 2020 with Authentic after Medina Spirit was stripped of his 2021 victory. The 54-year-old has also won the Preakness with National Treasure in 2023 and the Belmont twice, with Union Rags in 2012 and the filly Rags to Riches in 2007.
With 8-1 odds in the morning line, Chief Wallabee comes to Churchill Downs with jockey Junior Alvarado and trainer Bill Mott, the same duo behind Sovereignty's wins last year at the Derby and the Belmont.
The victories were Alvarado's first in each of the events. In the Derby, the 39-year-old was fined $62,000 and suspended for two race days for using his riding crop excessively. He appealed, and the penalty was lowered to $31,000 and a one-day suspension.
Sovereignty was the second Derby winner trained by Mott. He also trained Country House, the surprise winner of the 2019 race after Maximum Security was disqualified. At the Belmont, Sovereignty brought Mott his second win, 15 years after Drosselmeyer gave him his first in 2010.
Alvarado and Mott won't be the only winning jockey and trainer reuniting at the Derby. Jockey Javier Castellano and trainer Gustavo Delgado are teaming up with The Puma, who was given 10-1 odds in the morning line. The two worked together on Mage's Derby victory in 2023.
The Puma will be Castellano's 18th mount in the Derby. The 48-year-old also took the Belmont aboard Arcangelo in 2023, and he has two Preakness wins under his belt, with Cloud Computing in 2017 and Bernardini in 2006. Delgado has run two other horses in the Derby: Bodexpress, who finished 13th in 2019, and Majesto, who came in 18th place in 2016.
Mike Smith has the most Derby mounts of any jockey in the race's history with 28, followed closely by Velazquez with 26. Smith will add to his count with So Happy, who got 15-1 morning-line odds.
The bay colt won the Santa Anita Derby at Southern California's Santa Anita Park last month ahead of fellow Derby contenders Potente and Intrepido, who came in second and fourth, respectively. So Happy also finished third in the San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita in March, behind the first-place Potente and second-place Robusta.
Smith was aboard Justify for all three races during his Triple Crown campaign in 2018. He also rode Giacomo to victory in the 2005 Derby.
Emerging Market was the other horse with 15-1 odds in the morning line. The chestnut colt won the Louisiana Derby in March with fellow Derby contenders Pavlovian and Golden Tempo in second and third, respectively.
Flavien Prat will have the mount, chasing his second Derby win after riding Country House in 2019. The 33-year-old has come close several times in recent years, finishing third with Baeza last year, fourth with Catching Freedom in 2024 and third with Angel of Empire in 2023.
Bob Baffert has two chances this year to become the trainer with the most Derby wins, with Potente, who was given 20-1 odds in the morning line, and Litmus Test, who got 30-1 odds. Baffert, who trained Justify and 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, has been tied with Ben Jones at six all-time wins since the Baffert-trained Authentic won the 2020 Derby.
Two other colts were given 20-1 odds in the morning line: Danon Bourbon and Incredibolt.
Albus, Wonder Dean, Pavlovian and Golden Tempo are among the four other colts who got 30-1 morning-line odds.
The departures of Fulleffort, Right to Party and Silent Tactic made room for Great White, Ocelli and Robusta to enter the field. They're among the five horses given 50-1 odds in the morning line, including Six Speed and Intrepido.