Meet the Contenders: 2026 Kentucky Derby

Meet the horses running in the 2026 Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs. For each horse, we're listing a pro, a con, and a rating of potential. The star rating of 1 to 5 represents the opportunity to perform well. Be sure to follow these contenders by adding them to your stable alerts.

Track

Churchill Downs

Race

Time

10:57 PM

Horse Info

Horse Name

Jockey

Trainer

Odds

Renegade

Ortiz; Jr, Irad

Pletcher, Todd A

5/1

Albus

Franco, Manuel

Mott, Riley

44/1

Intrepido

Berrios, Hector I

Mullins, Jeff

46/1

Litmus Test

Garcia, Martin

Baffert, Bob

27/1

Commandment

Saez, Luis

Cox, Brad H

5/1

Danon Bourbon

Nishimura, Atsuya

Ikezoe, Manabu

14/1

So Happy

Smith, Mike E

Glatt, Mark

5/1

Wonder Dean

Sakai, Ryusei

Takayanagi, Daisuke

23/1

Incredibolt

Torres, Jaime A

Mott, Riley

25/1

Chief Wallabee

Alvarado, Junior

Mott, William I

7/1

Potente

Hernandez, Juan J

Baffert, Bob

21/1

Emerging Market

Prat, Flavien

Brown, Chad C

9/1

Pavlovian

Maldonado, Edwin A

O'neill, Doug F

45/1

Six Speed

Hernandez; Jr, Brian J

Seemar, Bhupat

31/1

Further Ado

Velazquez, John R

Cox, Brad H

6/1

Golden Tempo

Ortiz, Jose L

Devaux, Cherie

25/1

Great White

Achard, Alex

Ennis, John

23/1

Ocelli

Ramos, Joseph D

Beckman, D Whitworth

85/1

Robusta

Jaramillo, Emisael

O'neill, Doug F

84/1

Renegade wins the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park. (Photo by Coady Media)

#1 Renegade ****

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Pro: Barely broke a sweat in the Arkansas Derby (G1), and Irad sticks by him.

Con: Speed ratings perhaps not as high as some would prefer; post 1 likely hurts.

Albus wins the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. (Photo by Coglianese Photos)

#2 Albus *

Trainer: Riley Mott

Pro: Smart winner of the Wood Memorial (G2) coming off belated graduation.

Con: That was one of the slowest editions of the Aqueduct feature in a long time.

Intrepido wins the American Pharoah at Santa Anita. (Photo by Benoit Photo)

#3 Intrepido *

Trainer: Jeff Mullins

Pro: G1 winner at two, though the form of that race hasn’t held up too well.

Con: No factor in Santa Anita Derby (G1) and seems a “Derby Fever” entry.

Litmus Test justified 3-5 favoritism in the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) (Photo by Benoit Photo)

#4 Litmus Test *

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Pro: The main thing to like is that the barn is a modern-day leader in Derby wins.

Con: Hard to like after modest-to-poor finishes in Oaklawn preps.

Commandment wins the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. (Photo by Coglianese Photos)

#6 Commandment *****

Trainer: Brad Cox

Pro: Prevailed in both major Gulfstream preps; winner here and plenty fast.

Con: Getting the right trip, perhaps, is the biggest concern.

Danon Bourbon winning the Fukuryu at Nakayama. (Photo by Tomoya Moriuchi/Horsephotos.com)

#7 Danon Bourbon ***

Trainer: Manabu Ikezoe

Pro: Untouchable in a trio of starts in Japan; sire liked this track.

Con: Relative class unknown and might need a wet track for the best chance.

So Happy wins the Santa Anita Derby at Santa Anita. (Photo by Benoit Photo)

#8 So Happy **

Trainer: Mark Glatt

Pro: Much improved effort in Santa Anita Derby, proving he can stay at least 9f.

Con: California contingent not overly deep, and an extra furlong might be a stretch.

Wonder Dean edges clear in the UAE Derby (G2).

Wonder Dean pulls clear in the UAE Derby (G2) (Photo by Dubai Racing Club/Liesl King)

#10 Wonder Dean ***

Trainer: Daisuke Takayanagi

Pro: Stamina should be no issue for UAE Derby (G2) winner.

Con: Closest rival at Meydan had distance limitations; relative class in doubt.

Incredibolt wins the Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs. (Photo by Coady Media)