The 2026 Kentucky Derby combines rich history, elite competition, and massive betting interest all around the world.
Way back in 1935, sportswriter Grantland Rice wrote: "Those two minutes and a second or so of derby running carry more emotional thrills, per second, than anything sport can show."
Those words ring true to this day. It’s a race that was first held back in 1875 and, alongside the Oaks, is the oldest major sporting event in the US.
Here’s the lowdown on this year’s favourites, key betting trends, and some quirky traditions.
Kentucky Derby Favourites and Odds
- Start: Saturday, 2 May
- Venue: Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky (USA)
- Live coverage: Sky Sports Racing
This will be the 152nd edition of the Kentucky Derby, the first leg of the Triple Crown. It is a Grade I stakes race where 3-year-old thoroughbreds compete at the 1 1/4 mile racetrack. All for the $5 million purse, where the winner takes a neat $1.3 million cut!
All eyes of the horse racing crowd in the US (and the rest of the world) will be on the Derby. Betting on the Kentucky Derby is, obviously, a lucrative event for online bookies, who are also racing each other to offer attention-grabbing betting offers.
There are two joint-favourites here with the bookies not able to split Commandment and Renegade, who are both 6.0.
Then it’s Further Ado (7.0), Chief Wallabee (8.0), followed by The Puma (11.0), with So Happy and Emerging Market next at 15.0.
That Commandment, as the joint-favourite, should come as no surprise given what’s happened in the past few months. He won at Churchill Downs back in November 2025 and then went on to win his next three, so he's coming into the Derby on the back of four straight wins.
There’s a history when it comes to horses securing their first-ever win at Louisville, Kentucky, before coming back to win the Derby a few months later. It happened with both Sovereignty (2005) and Mystik Dan (2024), so it would be no surprise if the highly-fancied Commandment became the third in a row to do so.
Kentucky Derby experts have pointed out a fascinating trend regarding joint-favourite Renegade. Whereas Renegade is an extremely classy horse with an excellent record so far and will benefit from having five-time Eclipse Award winner Irad Ortiz Jr as its jockey, they point out that the fact that it’s been drawn in Post 1 is a huge negative.
In the last 40 years, not a single horse has won the race from Post 1, because the large field compresses toward the inside track in a bid to run a shorter distance, meaning horses on the inside can be bumped or shuffled back. Then again, if Renegade can avoid trouble early on, its electric pace at the finish under the cool hands of Ortiz Jr will have it in serious contention.
Tradition Is in the Name
Only twice was the Derby not held in the first weekend of May. Firstly, due to World War II in 1945, and then due to Covid in 2020, though the races were held later on in the year.
One of the Kentucky Derby’s traditions is that patrons wear colourful and stylish clothing, including dresses, hats and tailor-made suits.
The singing of “My Old Kentucky Home” before the race is a longstanding tradition, creating an emotional atmosphere. Celebrities, athletes, and public figures regularly attend, making it as much a social spectacle as a sporting one.
