The Kentucky Derby qualifying races are over. Here’s what the field looks like
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- All of the qualifying races have been run ahead of the 2026 Kentucky Derby.
- Commandment, trained by Brad Cox, is the top qualifying horse for the Derby.
- Other early favorites for the Kentucky Derby include Further Ado, Renegade and The Puma.
The projected field for the 2026 Kentucky Derby is now in place.
We are less than three weeks away from the 152nd running of the Grade 1, $5 million Kentucky Derby, which will be held May 2 at Churchill Downs in Louisville.
On Saturday evening, the final prep race on the road to the Derby was held at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington.
Trendsetter won that final prep race — the Grade 3, $400,000 Stonestreet Lexington Stakes — but the result didn’t do anything to shake up the projected Derby field.
Now, with all the qualifying races run, the 20-horse starting gate for this year’s Run for the Roses has come into full focus.
These are the 20 horses that, as of Saturday night, are in position to contest this year’s Derby.
Which top horses have qualified for the 2026 Kentucky Derby?
Seventeen horses have put themselves in position to run in the Kentucky Derby as a result of their performance on the American qualifying pathway.
Topping the qualification list are 10 horses who earned more than 100 qualifying points toward the Derby.
Those horses are: Commandment (150 qualifying points), Further Ado (135), Renegade (125), So Happy (115), Fulleffort (110), The Puma (106), Silent Tactic (100), Emerging Market (100), Albus (100) and Potente (100).
Three of the top five qualifiers — Commandment, Further Ado and Fulleffort — are trained by Louisville native Brad Cox.
Renegade is conditioned by Todd Pletcher. Mark Glatt is the trainer for So Happy. Gustavo Delgado — who trained 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage — is the trainer of The Puma.
Mark Casse is the trainer of Silent Tactic. Chad Brown conditions Emerging Market. Riley Mott — a University of Kentucky graduate and the son of two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Bill Mott — is the trainer of Albus.
Of course, Bob Baffert is also involved at Churchill Downs. He’s the trainer of Potente.
Commandment excelled on the prep circuit. He’s won four straight races, including the Grade 2 Fountain Of Youth Stakes and the Grade 1 Florida Derby. Commandment’s first victory came at Churchill Downs in November in a maiden special weight.
Further Ado will be a top favorite for the Kentucky Derby following a dominant performance earlier this month in the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. Further Ado won that race by 11 lengths, the fourth-largest margin of victory in that race’s history.
Further Ado will be aiming to become the first horse to win both the Blue Grass and the Kentucky Derby since Strike the Gold in 1991.
Renegade has won two straight races, most notably the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby where he recorded an Equibase speed figure of 107. So Happy pulled off a surprise win in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby earlier this month. He would be the first Kentucky Derby runner for his trainer, Glatt.
All seven of Fulleffort’s career starts have come in Kentucky, including his victory last month in the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park in Florence.
The Puma boasts the same trainer-jockey duo (Delgado along with jockey Javier Castellano) that combined to win the 2023 Derby with Mage. The Puma won the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby and ran second in the Florida Derby.
Silent Tactic has already raced four times this year at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas. Three of those four races ended with a second-place finish, including in the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes and in the Arkansas Derby.
Emerging Market has only raced twice in his career, but both times have ended with wins. This includes a victory in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby last month at Fair Grounds in New Orleans.
Albus earned all 100 of his qualifying points from a win in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct in New York.
Potente is set to be Baffert’s 36th runner in the Kentucky Derby. Potente won the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes and finished in second in the Santa Anita Derby.
Which other horses qualified for 2026 Kentucky Derby?
In addition to those 10 horses, seven other horses are expected to be in the Derby field via the American qualifying pathway.
Pavlovian (70 qualifying points) finished second in the Louisiana Derby for trainer Doug O’Neill.
Right to Party (65) was a late nomination to the Triple Crown, and therefore to the Kentucky Derby, after finishing second in the Wood Memorial for trainer Kenny McPeek, who was raised in Lexington.
Incredibolt (60) is a second likely Derby runner this year for trainer Riley Mott and owner Pin Oak Stud. Incredibolt won the Virginia Derby and boasts two previous wins at Churchill Downs.
Golden Tempo (60) has posted three finishes in the money at Fair Grounds this year: A win in the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes and third-place efforts in the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes and the Louisiana Derby.
Ottinho (56) could run in the Derby after finishing a distant second in the Blue Grass for trainer Chad Brown.
Stark Contrast (50) had his best result on the Derby trail with a second-place effort in the Jeff Ruby Steaks. Stark Contrast’s trainer, Michael McCarthy, conditioned last year’s Derby favorite Journalism. That horse ran second in the Derby and Belmont Stakes, but won the Preakness Stakes.
Iron Honor (50) has the points to race in the Kentucky Derby after winning the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes in February at Aqueduct. But, Iron Honor’s most recent race was a discouraging seventh-place effort in the Wood Memorial.
If any of these horses fail to make the Kentucky Derby starting gate — for reasons such as their connections opting not to race them or due to injury or illness — then other horses could move into a projected Derby starting spot.
Chief Wallabee (50), Chip Honcho (49), Intrepido (38) and Grittiness (36) would be the next horses up on the qualifying leaderboard.
The post-position draw for the Kentucky Derby will be Saturday, April 25.
Paladin and Class President both earned enough qualifying points to race in the Derby, but those two horses are no longer under consideration for the race.
Paladin, who has won all four of his career starts, suffered a non-displaced condylar fracture of his right front ankle during a workout. Class President is off the Derby trail due to bone bruising.
Which horses qualified for 2026 Kentucky Derby via international pathways?
Three other horses are set to be in the Derby starting gate after qualifying via international pathways.
Kentucky-bred Danon Bourbon is the lone qualifier from the Japanese qualifying pathway. Danon Bourbon improved to a perfect 3 for 3 in his racing career with a win in the Fukuryu Stakes at Nakayama Racecourse in Funabashi, Chiba, Japan.
Two horses from the Euro/Mideast Road to the Kentucky Derby — Wonder Dean (JPN) and Six Speed — will be racing in the Derby.
Wonder Dean (JPN) won the Grade 2, $1 million UAE Derby at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Six Speed finished second in that race.
Wonder Dean — who became the fifth straight Japanese horse to win the UAE Derby — is aiming to become the first Japan-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. The best finish by a Japanese horse in the Derby was Forever Young’s third-place run in 2024.
