152nd Kentucky Derby preview: Field list, race time, betting odds, and more

The 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby goes Saturday from the iconic Churchill Downs. The most exciting two minutes in sports features a 20-horse field and marks the first leg of the Triple Crown.

📺 How to watch

There's plenty of pre-race coverage to consume, but the main race is scheduled to start at 6:57 p.m. Set your alarms.

🐎 The field

Odds courtesy of KentuckyDerby.com and are subject to change.

The main event of the Kentucky Derby is known for its massive field, with 20 horses set to run for the roses. Right To Party (5), Silent Tactic (13) and Fulleffort (20) were scratched, leaving their post positions vacant above.

🏆 The favorites

Renegade

Trained by two-time Kentucky Derby winner Todd Pletcher, Renegade enters as the betting favorite after a victory in the Arkansas Derby at the end of March - one of the key prep races ahead of Churchill Downs. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. has never won the Kentucky Derby but captured the Belmont Stakes in 2022 with Mo Donegal. Unfortunately for Renegade, he drew the rail this weekend, and a horse hasn't won from the first post since 1986. Ortiz will have to navigate a ton of traffic early with 19 other horses fighting to get into position.

So Happy

So Happy's odds have caught a lot of steam leading into the race. He was as long as 15-1 on Thursday and now sits as the second favorite. Jockeyed by two-time Derby winner Mike Smith, So Happy has won three of four races in his career, including the Santa Anita Derby, a Grade 1 race in California. Journalism, last year's Kentucky Derby favorite, also won the Santa Anita Derby before finishing second at Churchill Downs.

Commandement

Commandment is trained by Brad Cox, who won the Kentucky Derby with Mandaloun in 2021. Entering Saturday with four straight victories, Commandment claimed the other marquee prep race, the Florida Derby, from post six. Jockey Luis Saez's best finish in the Derby is a third-place showing in 2021. Notably, both Commandment and Renegade share the same sire (father) with last year's Derby winner, Sovereignty.

Further Ado

Further Ado, another Cox-trained horse, is running out of the 18th post position. He won his last start at the Blue Grass Stakes, a Grade 1 race in Lexington, Kentucky. John R. Velazquez, a three-time Derby winner (2011, 2017, and 2020), will jockey Further Ado.

Chief Wallabee

Trainer Bill Mott will look for back-to-back Kentucky Derby victories and the third Derby win of his career this Saturday with Chief Wallabee. This horse finished third at the Florida Derby, behind Commandement and The Puma, and was runner-up to Commandment at the Fountain of Youth Stakes at the end of February. Jockey Junior Alvarado won the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes on Sovereignty last year.

The Puma

The Puma came second in the Florida Derby, and his sire is Essential Quality, the horse that won the Belmont Stakes and came third in the Kentucky Derby in 2021. The Puma beat Futher Ado at the Tampa Bay Derby in early March and will be jockeyed by Javier Castellano, who won the 2023 Kentucky Derby.

🌹 Past winners

2025: Sovereignty (7-1)
2024: Mystik Dan (18-1)
2023: Mage (16-1)
2022: Rich Strike (80-1)
2021: Mandaloun (13-1)
2020: Authentic (9-1)
2019: Country House (66-1)
2018: Justify (3-1)
2017: Always Dreaming (9-2)
2016: Nyquist (5-2)
2015: American Pharoah (3-1)