The 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby will be run Saturday. The first leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown features the Top 20 thoroughbreds in the world. Each enters the starting gate for a once in a lifetime shot at immortality.
The Draw was Saturday. The favorite -Renegade (9-2) will start from the rail. Further Ado (5-1) and Commandment (6-1) will break from the 18th and 6th positions.
While those three are the favorites, if history is any indication, Post Position 5 will produce the winner of the Run for the Roses. Position 5 has produced 10 winners, the most since 1930 although Post 10 has produced nine winners. Right to Party (50-1) starts from the #5 position and Wonder Dean (25-1) from the tenth position.
That said, nine of the past 15 winners have started from posts 13-16. No horse starting in Post 17 or wider has won the Kentucky Derby.
NBC Sports’ horse racing and betting analyst Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper) is live at Churchill Downs all week and will file reports on which horses he likes and is betting on this Saturday.
This is the ultimate betting primer for the Run for the Roses. Let’s run through the field and breakdown each horse.
2025 Kentucky Derby Full Field and Post Positions
The following is a snapshot of each horse in the field including their jockey, trainer, most recent race, and racing style.
(Horses listed by Post Position)
#1 Renegade (9-2)
- Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr. | Trainer: Todd Pletcher
- Last Race: Won Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on March 28
- Racing Style: Closer (stays at the back of the field early to conserve energy, relying on a strong final turn of speed to win)
- Purchase Price: $975,000 | Career Earnings: $1.03 million
Oats: - Pletcher’s Derby Record: 2-65 (Super Saver - 2010 / Always Dreaming - 2017)
- Majority owner Robert Low founded Prime Inc. — a trucking company — as a 19-year-old engineering student at the University of Missouri
#2 Albus (40-1)
- Jockey: Manny Franco | Trainer: Riley Mott
- Last Race: Won Grade 2 Wood Memorial on April 4
- Purchase Price: $320,000 | Career Earnings: $436,288
- Racing Style: Off the Pace (chases behind the pacesetters or front runners)
Oats: - This is Mott’s 1st Kentucky Derby
- Franco is 0-6 in the Derby | The Derby will be his 1st ride w/ Albus
- Riley is the son of Bill Mott, who won the Kentucky Derby w/ Country House (2019) and Sovereignty (2025)
#3 Intrepido (50-1)
- Jockey: Hector Berrios | Trainer: Jeff Mullins
- Last Race: Finished 4th in 2025 Santa Anita Derby
- Racing Style: Stalker (like to follow front runners just right behind them)
- Purchase Price: $385,000 | Career Earnings: $342,800
Oats: - First Kentucky Derby mount for Hector Berrios
- In April 2026, Intrepido completed a 5-furlong workout at Churchill Downs in 57 seconds, believed to be the fastest 5-furlong work by a Derby contender since 2012
#4 Litmus Test (30-1)
- Jockey: Martin Garcia | Trainer: Bob Baffert
- Last Race: Finished 7th in the Arkansas Derby on March 28
- Racing Style: Tactical (a versatile runner that combines natural speed w/ the ability to manage stamina just off the front-running pace
- Purchase Price: $875,000 | Career Earnings: $477,688
Oats: - His sire, Nyquist, was a champion two-year-old and won the 2016 Kentucky Derby, making Litmus Test a “legacy” runner
- Garcia is 0-5 in the Kentucky Derby
#5 Right to Party (50-1)
- Jockey: Chris Elliott | Trainer: Ken McPeek
- Last Race: Placed 2nd in Grade 2 Wood Memorial on April 4
- Racing Style: Deep Closer (starts slowly and makes up ground in the final stretch)
- Purchase Price: $325,000 | Career Earnings: $230,200
Oats: - All four of his races have come at Aqueduct
- Elliott, 19, is the son of Stewart Elliott, who won the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness on Smarty Jones
Kentucky Derby qualification details with Kornacki
NBC News analyst Steve Kornacki dives into the Kentucky Derby prep races and talks about what history tells us about horses who perform well in the qualifying races for the Run for the Roses.
#6 Commandment (6-1)
- Jockey: Luis Saez | Trainer: Brad Cox
- Last Race: Won Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 28
- Racing Style: Stalker (sits just behind the front runners, aiming to conserve energy and challenge the leader in the final stretch)
- Purchase Price: $500,000 | Career Earnings: $1.02 million
Oats: - Cox is 1-12 in the Derby (Mandaloun in 2021) / Saez is 0-12 in the Derby
- Saez has never ridden Commandment
- Grandsire: Orb - won the Kentucky Derby (2013)
#7 Danon Bourbon (50-1)
- Jockey: Atsuya Nishimura | Trainer: Manabu Ikezoe
- Last Race: Won the Fukuryu Stakes in Japan on March 28, 2026
- Racing Style: Front-Runner (establishes an early lead or sits just off the leader to dictate the pace throughout the race)
- Purchase Price: $450,000 | Career Earnings: $222,762
Oats: - Has won all three of his starts by a combined margin of over 18 lengths.
- The Derby will be his first race in the United States
#8 So Happy (15-1)
- Jockey: Mike Smith | Trainer: Mark Glatt
- Last Race: Won the 2026 Santa Anita Derby on April 4
- Racing Style: Stalker (sits just behind the front runners, aiming to conserve energy and challenge the leader in the final stretch.
- Purchase Price: $150,000 | Career Earnings: $480,000
Oats: - Family members include So Cunning, So Glitzy, and So Ritzy
- First Derby for Glatt
- Smith is 2 for 28 in the Derby (Giacomo - 2005 / Justify - 2018)
#9 The Puma (10-1)
- Jockey: Javier Castellano | Trainer: Gustavo Delgado
- Last Race: Finished 2nd in Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 28
- Racing Style: Stalker (sits just behind the front runners, aiming to conserve energy and challenge the leader in the final stretch)
- Purchase Price: $150,000 | Career Earnings: $442,280
Oats: - Delgado is 1 for 3 in the Derby (Mage - 2023)
- Castellano is 1 for 17 in the Derby (Mage - 2023)
- The Puma’s sire, Essential Quality, finished third in the
Derby and won the Belmont (2021)
#10 Wonder Dean (25-1)
- Jockey: Ryusei Sakai | Trainer: Daisuke Takayanagi
- Last Race: Won the UAE Derby on March 28 at Meydan Racecourse
- Racing Style: Stalker (runs just behind the front-runners, conserving energy to pounce late)
- Purchase Price: Homebred | Career Earnings: $770,541
Oats: - Didn’t wait long to travel to Louisville after winning the UAE Derby, arriving at Churchill Downs on April 1 and exiting quarantine two days later
- Sakai and Takayanagi are each 0-1 in the Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby history with Steve Kornacki
NBC News analyst Steve Kornacki dives into some of the rich history of the Kentucky Derby, including the first winner, fastest time and more.
#11 Incredibolt (25-1)
- Jockey: Jaime A. Torres | Trainer: Riley Mott
- Last Race: Won the Virginia Derby on March 14
- Racing Style: Stalker (sits just behind the front runners, aiming to conserve energy and challenge the leader in the final stretch)
- Purchase Price: $75,000 | Career Earnings: $498,681
Oats: - Won the Street Sense Stakes which was won in 2024 by Sovereignty who went on to win the Kentucky Derby all the while being trained by Bill Mott, Riley’s father
- Prior to winning the Virginia Derby, lost by 25 1/4 lengths in the Holy Bull Stakes
#12 Chief Wallabee (10-1)
- Jockey: Junior Alvarado | Trainer: Bill Mott
- Last Race: Placed 3rd in Florida Derby on March 28
- Racing Style: Pressing Stalker (Runs in the middle of the pack early, rallies late)
- Purchase Price: Homebred | Career Earnings: $216,600
Oats: - Has raced only 3 times and only on dry dirt in his career
#13 Silent Tactic (30-1)
- Jockey: Cristian Torres | Trainer: Mark Casse
- Last Race: 2nd in Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on March 28
- Racing Style: Closer (waits at end of pack before unleashing an incredible speed that can outrun all the horses in front)
- Purchase Price: $500,000 | Career Earnings: $1.05 million
Oats: - Casse is 0-11 in the Derby / This will be Torres’ 1st Derby
- In 2019, Casse won the Preakness (War of Will) and Belmont (Sir Winston)
#14 Potenete (15-1)
- Jockey: Juan Hernandez | Trainer: Bob Baffert
- Last Race: Finished 2nd in Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 4
- Racing Style: Speed (breaks quickly and leads or immediately challenges for the lead, often controlling the pace)
- Purchase Price: $2.4 million | Career Earnings: $262,000
Oats: - Potenete was not the most expensive horse purchased at the Fasig-Tipton Yearling Sale in 2024. Faran sold for $3.4 million at that event
#15 Emerging Market (20-1)
- Jockey: Flavien Prat | Trainer: Chad Brown
- Last Race: Won Grade 2 Louisiana Derby on March 21
- Racing Style: Mid-pack (settles into the middle of the field during the early and middle stages of the race)
- Purchase Price: $185,000 | Career Earnings: $618,800
Oats: - Brown’s 0-9 in the Derby
- Prat’s 1-8 in the Derby
- Emerging Market has made just 2 starts. The only horse to win the Derby with just 2 starts under his belt is Leonatus in 1883.
Kentucky Derby betting basics with Steve Kornacki
Steve Kornacki takes over the touch screen to go over betting basics before the Kentucky Derby is in full swing.
#16 Pavlovian (40-1)
- Jockey: Edwin Maldonado | Trainer: Doug O’Neill
- Last Race: Placed 2nd in Grade 2 Louisiana Derby on March 21
- Racing Style: Front-Runner (designed to take the lead immediately at the start of a race, establishing a “front” or near-front position to control the pace)
- Purchase Price: Homebred | Career Earnings: $613,450
Oats: - One of the more experienced horses in the field, having competed in 10 races on various tracks
- Considered a late closer and slow out of the gate as a 2-year-old but now wears blinkers and has been transformed into a front-runner
#17 Six Speed (40-1)
- Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr. | Trainer: Bhupat Seemar
- Last Race: Finished 2nd in the UAE Derby on March 28 at Meydan Racecourse
- Racing Style: Front Runner (establishing speed in the race and leading for as long as possible)
- Purchase Price: $304,680 | Career Earnings: $402,183
Oats: - Hernandez is 1-5 in the Derby (Mystik Dan - 2024)
- Horses who enter the Kentucky Derby after prepping in the UAE Derby are 0-21 since 2000
#18 Further Ado (5-1)
- Jockey: John Velazquez | Trainer: Brad Cox
- Last Race: Won Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes on April 4
- Racing Style: Stalker (a versatile runner that sits just behind the early leaders conserving energy before making a decisive move at the top of the stretch)
- Purchase Price: $550,000 | Career Earnings: $1.14 million
Oats: - Velazquez is 3-26 in the Derby, winning with Animal Kingdom (2011), Always Dreaming (2017) and Authentic (2020)
- Irad Ortiz Jr. has ridden Further Ado in all three of the horse’s wins, but has chosen to ride Renegade in the Derby
#19 Golden Tempo (30-1)
- Jockey: Jose Ortiz | Trainer: Cherie DeVaux
- Last Race: Placed 3rd in Grade 2 LA Derby on March 21
- Racing Style: Deep Closer (starts extremely slow and passes multiple horses in the home stretch)
- Purchase Price: Homebred | Career Earnings: $333,000
Oats: - Sired by Curlin (two-time Horse of the Year)
- Ortiz is the only jockey to ride Golden Tempo
#20 Fulleffort (20-1)
- Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione | Trainer: Brad Cox
- Last Race: Won Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks on March 21
- Racing Style: Closer (settles in the back of the pack early and utilizes a strong final push to pass tiring rivals in the home stretch)
- Purchase Price: $425,000 | Career Earnings: $694,115
Oats: - Gaffalione is 0 for 7 in the Derby
- Has never raced on Dirt
As a reminder, Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper) will be at Churchill Downs all week bringing you the sites and sounds from the track including updates on the full field so you can make informed wagers.
