Horse Racing This Weekend: Key Races, Top Horses & Best Bets [April 11, 2026]

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2026 Kentucky Derby Corner & the 2026 Kentucky Oaks

Come here every week to discover everything you need to know about the 2026 Kentucky Derby. With many races from last week rescheduled for Friday, it'll be important to check back next week to see all the changes. 

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Top horses and best bets for horse racing this weekend

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Best Bets for the 2026 Lexington Stakes

Read the full analysis here: Tipsheet: The 2026 Lexington Stakes

A well-matched field of 11 three-year-olds will run 1 1/16 miles on the dirt at Keeneland in Saturday’s $400,000 Lexington (G3). The final stop on the 2026 Road to the Kentucky Derby challenge series will reward the top five across the line with qualifying points on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale. 

Lexington Stakes Picks

• #10 Confessional
• #1 Corona de Oro
• #2 Exhibition Only
• #4 Enforced Agenda 

Lexington Stakes Wagers

• $30 win #10 Confessional
• $5 trifecta key 10 with 1,2,4

Top Horses for the 2026 Lexington Stakes

#10 CONFESSIONAL (7-2): Virginia Derby third has faced some very good ones this season and returns to the venue where he was a debut maiden winner in October. The $160,000 yearling buy showed good improvement with the blinkers going back on most recently, and I feel that he will get a fine trip after stalking the early tempo with Irad in the silks. 

Pro: Clear third in the Virginia Derby and seemingly fast enough to win.

Con: Outside draw perhaps the most obvious hurdle.

#1 CORONA DE ORO (6-1): Dallas Stewart trainee has improved his Brisnet Speed rating in each lifetime run to date, capped by a strong maiden win in his route debut last time out. The $160,000 juvenile purchase gets a nice slot on the fence for his second run on the course and will be in range at the top of the lane with Brian Hernandez, Jr. in the stirrups. 

Pro: Won for fun in Fair Grounds maiden, and doesn’t look out of place despite class hike.

Con: Well held by Confessional over this track last fall.

#2 EXHIBITION ONLY (10-1): Rudy Rodriguez pupil has moved forward quite a bit since having blinkers added three back and was last seen checking in fourth in the Gotham (G3). The Complexity colt will run two turns on the dirt for the first time and will be in the hunt from the break with regular pilot Ruben Silvera on board. 

Pro: Wide trip hurt in Gotham (G3); perhaps capable of better.

Con: Graduated against lesser and looks overmatched here.

#4 ENFORCED AGENDA (10-1): St Elias homebred was a good debut winner and came home third in the Jerome S. in his second lifetime appearance. The George Weaver trainee has been working steadily in advance of his graded debut, and the son of Liam’s Map has exotics appeal against this group with Javier Castellano in the stirrups. 

Pro: Though modest third in Jerome S., he has room for further improvement.

Con: Off three months and tries a new track and two turns here.

RELATED: Meet the Contenders: 2026 Lexington Stakes

Best Bets for the 2026 Apple Blossom

Read the full analysis here: Betting With, and Against, Nitrogen in the Apple Blossom Handicap

A total of nine fillies and mares will go postward in the lucrative, $1.25 million Apple Blossom H. (G1) at Oaklawn Park on Saturday. Grade 1 heroine and champion #1 Nitrogen (9-5) is the one to beat from the rail for conditioner Mark Casse. But if Nitrogen isn't your best bet, here are some options that may be of interest.

Nitrogen – With

• $2 trifecta key 1 with 2,3,7,8 ($24)
• $1 superfecta key 1 with 2,3,7,8 ($24)

Nitrogen – Against

• $1 trifecta 2,7 with 1,2,3,7,8 with 1,2,3,7,8 ($24)
• $1 superfecta 2,7 with 1,2,7 with 1,2,3,7,8 with 1,2,3,7,8 ($24)

Top Horses for the 2026 Apple Blossom

#1 Nitrogen, the Medaglia d’Oro four-year-old has finished in the top three in each of her 14 career runs to date and could peak in the affair while making her third run off the layoff this season. She is proven on the course, evidenced by her stylish tally in the Bayakoa (G3) here two back, and while she was defeated at 3-10 odds in the Azeri (G2) last time out, the filly will not need much improvement to get back to her winning ways. Regular pilot Jose Ortiz comes in to guide the classy lass. 

#2 Majestic Oops (9-2) might be a bit underrated in general and has put in a pair of very good local runs this campaign, led by a tally in the Azeri in her latest endeavor. The Majestic Harbor six-year-old is four-for-eight at this venue with a pair of seconds and is another who could move forward third off the pine, as well. Francisco Arrieta has the call. 

#7 Five G (10-1) will bring pace and class to the cast for George Weaver. The Vekoma four-year-old had a nice tune-up for the Apple Blossom with a facile allowance triumph at Gulfstream Park, and if the filly gets a sensible trip, then she will be right there in the closing stages of the affair. She was second in the 2025 Honeybee (G3) in her prior run on the surface and will have John Velazquez in the stirrups. 

#3 Regaled (2-1) was a fast-closing second in the Azeri in her 2026 debut and will be moving best of all in the closing stages of the tilt. The Beckman charge lands in a field with a lot of early pace and will be winding up approaching the turn for home with regular rider Joseph Ramos in the saddle. 

#8 Claret Beret is not especially consistent, but she is a nice middle-distance mare who is capable of big things when she puts in her best run. The Saffie Joseph pupil drew off to a commanding victory in the Royal Delta (G3) at 1 1/16 miles at Gulfstream Park in her latest appearance and will be in the mix with a repeat of that against this cast. Micah Husbands comes in to retain the ride. 

Video Corner

Best Bets for the 2026 Jenny Wiley Stakes

Read the full analysis here: Exotics Plays for the Jenny Wiley Stakes

An accomplished field of 10 fillies and mares will vie in Saturday’s $650,000 Jenny Wiley (G1) at Keeneland. 

Jenny Wiley Exotics

• $1 trifecta 7 with 2,6,10 with all ($24)
• 50-cent trifecta 7 with all with 2,6,10 ($12)
• 20-cent superfecta 7 with 2,6,10 with 2,6,10 with all ($8.40)
• 20-cent superfecta 7 with 2,6,10 with all with 2,6,10 ($8.40)

Top Horses for the Jenny Wiley Stakes

#7 Lush Lips (5-2) has come home first or second in nine straight since arriving in this barn and showed that she has a nose for the wire with a well-timed win in the Honey Fox (G3) at Gulfstream Park in her 2026 unveiling. By Ten Sovereigns, the four-year-old earned the biggest win in her career in her lone local outing and will move forward second off the shelf. The $3.7 million November purchase has good gate presence in a field lacking pace, and she will get first run on the deep-closing types with regular rider Gaffalione on board. 

#6 Deep Satin (20-1) is a consistent runner who could reach new heights as a five-year-old for trainer Cherie DeVaux. The daughter of American Pharoah missed by just a half-length in the First Lady (G1) on the course in the fall, and while she disappointed at Del Mar in her 2025 finale, the mare has worked well in the interim and has proven to be capable of running well off the layoff. Brian Hernandez, Jr. will guide the top-three contender. 

#2 Fast Market (30-1) might be something of a stretch in the affair, but the Terranova pupil showed marked improvement since having the blinkers removed last season and concluded her sophomore season with a facile win in the Pebbles (G3) at Aqueduct. The bay daughter of Volatile will need a career-topping performance to challenge late in the excellent group, but I feel that she could be up to the task at a huge price beneath Samuel Marin. 

#10 Segesta (7-2) from the outside post. The Juddmonte homebred missed by a neck when second best in the First Lady here in October and was last seen dominating her foes in the Matriarch (G1) at Del Mar in November. She is relatively lightly raced with room to improve, and the daughter of Ghostzapper figures to receive a nice trip while in the second flight and in the clear from the early stages of the tilt under Flavien Prat. 

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