Kentucky Derby Context: Right to Party

A deep closer, Right to Party broke his maiden when stretching to a mile at Aqueduct the second time out in mid-January. The chestnut colt rallied belatedly for third in the Gotham (G3) seven weeks later, and Right to Party punched his Kentucky Derby (G1) ticket in the Wood Memorial (G2), getting up from far back for second at 38-1 odds. The Kentucky Derby will be Right to Party’s first start outside of Aqueduct.

OWNER: Right to Party will be the second Kentucky Derby starter for Chester Broman Sr., who has been racing and breeding horses since the 1990s, but the first since Friends Lake finished 15th in 2004.

TRAINER: Kenny McPeek became the first trainer to sweep the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks in the same year since Ben Jones in 1952, winning with Mystik Dan and eventual Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna in 2024. Mystik Dan provided McPeek with a personal sweep of the Triple Crown, as Swiss Skydiver captured the 2020 Preakness and Sarava the 2002 Belmont S., and all three were double-digit longshots. McPeek made his first Kentucky Derby appearance in 1995, finishing second with Tejano Run, and his overall record reads 11-1-1-0.

JOCKEY: Chris Elliott will make his first Kentucky Derby start. Raised in New Jersey, the 19-year-old rider won his first race in 2024 and was named an Eclipse Award finalist for leading apprentice jockey in 2025. He’s the son of jockey Stewart Elliott, winner of the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness (G1) on Smarty Jones.

BREEDER: Right to Party was bred in Kentucky by Tony Holmes and Timothy Thornton. Holmes bred 2007 Kentucky Derby runner Zanero (12th) in partnership, and Right to Party will be the first starter as breeder for Thornton. Right to Party sold for $325,000 as a yearling at the 2024 Keeneland September sale.

SIRE: After winning the Florida Derby (G1), Constitution was forced to miss the 2014 Kentucky Derby due to injury. His most notable Triple Crown offspring, 2020 Belmont (G1) winner Tiz the Law, finished second in the Kentucky Derby, and Constitution is by leading Tapit, who is best known for siring four winners of the Belmont. Constitution will also be represented by Chief Wallabee in the 2026 Kentucky Derby.

DAM: Havin’ a Party, a daughter of the Grade 1-winning sprinter Emcee, has produced three foals, with Right to Party the only stakes-placed runner. By Unbridled’s Song, who finished fifth as the 7-2 favorite in the 1996 Kentucky Derby, Emcee produced four crops in America, with little success, before being sent to Brazil. Havin’ a Party’s foals are his only runners as a broodmare sire.