2026 Kentucky Derby

This year marked the 152nd Kentucky Derby, proving to be a historical race this year as the main publicized race, the “Run for the Roses,” had its first female trainer, Cherie DeVaux, win. Going into the race, bets for the top three were on Renegade, So Happy, and Chief Wallabee–with only Renegade in second and the other two coming later in the race finish. Before the start of the race, Great White bucked and flipped his rider off resulting in an immediate scratch from the race for his physical safety and his jockey. Prior to that, four other horses had been scratched in the morning for not passing physical exams, making this derby an all-time record for most scratches in a single Derby since 1936. 

Trainer Cherie DeVaux was the second female trainer to win any Triple Crown race, but the first Triple Crown race won by a woman was only set in 2023. Golden Tempo, DeVaux’s horse, took the win after an incredible resurgence from third to last to first place in the last ¼ of the mile. Golden Tempo’s jockey, Jose Ortiz, celebrated the win alongside his brother Irad Ortiz who came in second place not even a stride behind him on Ocelli. The No. 17 post has yet to break the “curse” on the starting gate as no horse has ever won the Derby coming out of the position. Six Speed took off from No. 17 in the lead on the backstretch but Golden Tempo came in stronger, passing every horse to get to first across the finish line. Notably, nearly every horse in the Derby this year has some of Secretariat’s blood in them. Golden Tempo is related to Secretariat through the dam’s side of his genetics, and this move he pulled–starting off slowly and gradually taking control, finishing off in first place–can definitely be compared to Secretariat’s move. Both horses showed incredible ability to make up ground and dominate later in the race, and while they didn’t have exactly the same racing styles the relation was evident. 

Below are the results and odds each horse had. 

  1. Golden Tempo 23-1

  2. Renegade 5-1 (co-favorite)

  3. Ocelli 70-1

  4. Chief Wallabee 7-1

  5. Danon Bourbon 12-1

  6. Incredible 23-1

  7. Commandment 6-1 (co-favorite) 

  8. Wonder Dean 26-1

  9. So Happy 5-1

  10. Emerging Market 8-1

  11. Further Ado 5-1

  12. Potente 17-1

  13. Six Speed 38-1

  14. Robusta 70-1

  15. Albus 48-1

  16. Intrepido 52-1

  17. Litmus Test 27-1

  18. Pavlovian 50-1

Scratched: 

  1. Great White

  2. Right to Party

  3. Fulleffort 

  4. Silent Tactic 

  5. The Puma

  6. Corona de Oro

Brooke RyanComment