Every Horse Competing in the 2026 Kentucky Derby: What to Know
Kentucky Derby weekend has arrived as the sports calendar makes its most famous annual stop for the first leg of horse racing's triple crown at Churchill Downs for the 152nd run for the roses and greatest two minutes in sports. Those are just about all the keywords associated with the Kentucky Derby, so let's get to it.
Last year Sovereignty beat favorite Journalism in sloppy conditions. Sovereignty was sired by Into Mischief who also sired Authentic, the '20 Kentucky Derby champion and the '21 champ Authentic in addition to being the grandsire of Mystik Dan who won in '24. Into Mischief has sired multiple horses in this year's race in Intrepido, Commandment, Potente and favorite Renegade.
MORE:How Much Are Tickets to the 2026 Kentucky Derby?
Last year's winning jockey, Junior Alvarado, is back riding Chief Wallabee, who is trained by Bill Mott, who trained Sovereignty.
Here are the rest of the horses and jockeys you'll see on Saturday:
Kentucky Derby Horses 2026
| POST | HORSE | JOCKEY |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Renegade | Irad Ortiz Jr. |
| 2 | Albus | Manny Franco |
| 3 | Intrepido | Hector Berrios |
| 4 | Litmus Test | Martin Garica |
| 5 | Right to Party | Chris Elliott |
| 6 | Commandment | Luis Saez |
| 7 | Danon Bourbon | Atsuya Nishimura |
| 8 | So Happy | Mike Smith |
| 9 | The Puma | Javier Castellano |
| 10 | Wonder Dean | Ryusei Sakai |
| 11 | Incredibolt | Jaime Torres |
| 12 | Chief Wallabee | Junior Alvarado |
| 13 | Silent Tactic (SCRATCHED) | Christian Torres |
| 14 | Potente | Juan Hernandez |
| 15 | Emerging Market | Flavien Prat |
| 16 | Pavlovian | Edwin Maldonado |
| 17 | Six Speed | Brian Hernandez Jr. |
| 18 | Further Ado | John Velasquez |
| 19 | Golden Tempo | Jose Ortiz |
| 20 | Fulleffort (SCRATCHED) | Tyler Gaffalione |
| 21 | Great White | Alex Achard |
| 22 | Ocelli | Jon Ramos |
Kentucky Derby Favorites and Odds
With two horses already scratched the odds are moving with the race approaching.
As of Thursday morning there are just three horses with odds in the single digits. Those horses include Commandment and Further Ado who are both 6-1 and Chief Wallabee at 8-1.
There are plenty of big numbers in the big field with Ocelli, Great White, Six Speed and Intrepido all sitting at 50-1 as the longest long shots in the field.
Who is the Favorite to Win the 2026 Kentucky Derby?
Renegade opened at 4-1 as the favorite, having won both his starts this year. While the 3-year old has the pedigree of Into Mischief and the training of Todd Pletcher, he drew the rail position. No horse has won from the rail since Ferdinand in 1986.
The Kentucky Derby will run at 6:57 p.m. ET on Saturday.
More from Sports Illustrated
- Ildemaro Vargas Is the Hottest Hitter in Baseball No One Saw Coming
- Lakers Let 3–0 Lead Slip Away As Rockets Seize Momentum of First-Round Playoff Series
- LIV Golf Will Inform Players of Loss of Funding, Per Report
- Kansas City Proves to Be a Prime WNBA Destination After Hosting Lynx Preseason Game
- Keegan Bradley Explains How Jim Furyk Was Selected Again to Be U.S. Ryder Cup Captain
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Every Horse Competing in the 2026 Kentucky Derby: What to Know.
Copyright ABG-SI LLC. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 1:41 PM.