Kentucky Derby Context: Litmus Test

A juvenile Grade 2 winner, Litmus Test opened 2026 with a third in the Rebel (G2) at Oaklawn Park but will need to rebound from a troubled seventh in the Arkansas Derby (G1) if he makes the Kentucky Derby (G1) field (outside top 20 at publication). The bay colt has been effective when racing up close to the early leaders, but Litmus Test missed the break and dropped too far back in his final prep. If he receives a better trip and turns his form around, Litmus Test will look to challenge at expected long odds in the Kentucky Derby. 

OWNER: Litmus Test races for SF Racing LLC (Gavin Murphy), Starlight Racing (Jack Wolf et al), Madaket Stables LLC (Sol Kumin), Stonestreet Stables LLC (Barbara Banke), Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables (Matt Dorman), Golconda Stable (Ben Goldberg), Waves Edge Capital LLC (W. Gregg Slager), and Catherine Donovan. Starlight was part of the ownership group that campaigned 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify. Starlight and Madaket raced 2020 Kentucky Derby winner Authentic.

TRAINER: Bob Baffert is the most decorated trainer in Triple Crown history (17 wins), compiling a record-tying six Kentucky Derby wins, and the Hall of Famer owns a record-tying 21 wins in the Breeders’ Cup. After finishing second in his first Kentucky Derby, Cannonier in 1996, Baffert captured the next two runnings (Silver Charm and Real Quiet) and recorded three wins over a six-year period, with War Emblem upsetting the 2002 edition. The Arizona native came back 13 years later to add a fourth, Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in 2015, and Triple Crown winner Justify (2018), and Authentic (2020) followed, providing Baffert with three wins in six years for a second time. A record eight-time Preakness (G1) winner, Baffert has found controversy, returning to the Kentucky Derby from a three-year suspension in 2025, and his overall Kentucky Derby record reads 35-6-3-3.

JOCKEY: TBD

BREEDER: Bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall (Carrie and Craig Brogden), Litmus Test sold for $875,000 as a yearling at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga August sale. He would be the fourth Kentucky Derby runner bred by the Brogdens, Intense Holiday’s 12th in 2014, the best result.

SIRE: Litmus Test is from the sixth crop of the 2016 Kentucky Derby winner and champion two-year-old male Nyquist, a son of Uncle Mo. Responsible for multiple champions, Nyquist’s best result in a Triple Crown race as sire came in 2025, when Gosger finished a close second in the Preakness.

DAM: Out of the Malibu Moon mare Study Hard, Litmus Test is the first stakes winner from four foals to race. Study Hard is a full-sister to Grade 2-winning sprinter Sweet August Moon. Malibu Moon, a son of noted sire A. P. Indy, is responsible for 2013 Kentucky Derby winner Orb, and as a broodmare sire, Malibu Moon counts 2024 Kentucky Derby runner-up and Belmont (G1) third Sierra Leone.