The Kentucky Derby runs tomorrow, Saturday May 2, 2026, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Post time is 6:57 PM Eastern.
The race airs live on NBC with coverage beginning at 2:30 PM ET and on Peacock starting at 12 PM ET. NBCSN carries supplemental coverage throughout the day.
The 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby covers 1¼ miles with 20 horses competing for a $5 million purse.
Two horses have been scratched, Silent Tactic from post 13 and Fulleffort from post 20, leaving 18 active starters. Here is everything you need to know before the first Saturday in May becomes the most watched two minutes in American sports.
What Time Does The Kentucky Derby Start?
Post time is 6:57 PM Eastern on Saturday May 2. That is the target time for the horses to break from the gate.
In practice it can run a few minutes later depending on how quickly the horses load into their starting positions. If you want to watch only the race itself, be in front of your television by 6:45 PM Eastern at the latest.
Coverage begins well before the race. Peacock starts its Kentucky Derby programming at 12 PM Eastern on Saturday, six hours of buildup including analysis of the full field, replays of past Derbies and live racing from the Churchill Downs undercard.
NBC’s main broadcast begins at 2:30 PM Eastern, carrying everything from celebrity arrivals and fashion coverage through the Kentucky Oaks recap from Friday and into the afternoon’s stakes races.
The singing of “My Old Kentucky Home” by the Churchill Downs crowd immediately before the race is one of the most recognizable traditions in American sports.
The post parade, the processional walk where jockeys and horses circle the track before entering the gate, gives viewers their closest look at each horse before they race.
Both moments are worth watching if you tune in early rather than jumping directly to the 6:57 post time.
The Full Field And Current Odds
Here is the complete lineup with post positions and odds as of Friday morning. Two horses have been scratched and are noted below.
Post 1 — Renegade, 5-1
Post 2 — Albus, 51-1
Post 3 — Intrepido, 58-1
Post 4 — Litmus Test, 34-1
Post 5 — Right to Party, 26-1
Post 6 — Commandment, 7-1
Post 7 — Danon Bourbon, 14-1
Post 8 — So Happy, 6-1
Post 9 — The Puma, 8-1
Post 10 — Wonder Dean, 21-1
Post 11 — Incredibolt, 28-1
Post 12 — Chief Wallabee, 9-1
Post 13 — Silent Tactic, SCRATCHED
Post 14 — Potente, 24-1
Post 15 — Emerging Market, 11-1
Post 16 — Pavlovian, 51-1
Post 17 — Six Speed, 39-1
Post 18 — Further Ado, 7-1
Post 19 — Golden Tempo, 39-1
Post 20 — Fulleffort, SCRATCHED.
All odds will shift from now until post time tomorrow as money moves through the pari-mutuel betting system.
The final odds that determine your payout are set at the moment the gate opens.
The Favorite Who Drew The Worst Possible Post
Renegade entered the week as the morning-line favorite at 4-1, the horse trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. had built into the Derby through two dominant 2026 prep race victories in the Sam F. Davis Stakes and the Arkansas Derby.
Then the post positions were drawn and Renegade pulled the No. 1 hole, the rail position, which is the most disadvantageous draw in a 20-horse field at a mile and a quarter.
The history is stark. The last horse to win the Kentucky Derby from post 1 was Ferdinand in 1986.
That is 40 consecutive years without a rail winner. Bettors responded immediately, drifting Renegade’s odds from 4-1 to 5-1 by Tuesday evening and pushing some money toward The Puma as the new market leader at 7-2 on certain books.
Pletcher has sent 65 horses to the Kentucky Derby post, more than any trainer in the modern history of the race. He has won it twice, with Super Saver in 2010 and Always Dreaming in 2017.
None of his last 13 starters have finished in the money. Ortiz has never finished in the top three at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday of May. Renegade is talented. The circumstances are working against him.
The Puma
The Puma sits in post 9, a favorable middle draw, and has emerged as the horse sophisticated bettors have moved toward as Renegade’s rail draw complicated his case.
Trained by Gustavo Delgado and ridden by Javier Castellano, The Puma won the Tampa Bay Derby in March 2026 and finished a nose behind Commandment in the Florida Derby three weeks later.
He has finished in the top three in every race since breaking his maiden in January. Every single one.
The Castellano-Delgado partnership carries genuine weight at this specific race.
They won the 2023 Kentucky Derby together with Mage. Castellano has also won the Preakness twice and the 2023 Belmont Stakes.
He arrives in Louisville on Saturday knowing precisely what the race requires and having demonstrated he can deliver it.
Further Ado And The Blue Grass Domination
Further Ado in post 18 is the third horse priced at 7-1 and the one generating the most conversation among professional handicappers heading into Saturday.
He won the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland by 11 lengths, a margin that is extraordinary at Grade 1 level and one that most horses competing for this kind of prize money never approach.
He is ridden by John Velazquez, a Hall of Fame jockey who has won the Kentucky Derby three times and who is one of the most experienced riders at Churchill Downs in the country.
The outside draw at post 18 is a legitimate concern for a horse who prefers to settle and run late, he will need to travel extra ground to reach the rail if the pace sets up for a late-running horse.
His raw ability and jockey’s experience make him a significant threat regardless.
Commandment And The Brad Cox Two-Horse Play
Commandment in post 6 was the co-second-favorite entering the week and won the Florida Derby in his final prep.
His trainer Brad Cox also saddles Further Ado, meaning Cox has two live chances at his second Derby title on Saturday.
His only official Kentucky Derby win came when Mandaloun was named the 2021 winner after Medina Spirit’s post-race positive drug test.
The concern about Commandment is specific. His closing fractions, the speed at which he finishes races, have been slowing across his last two starts.
In a race at a mile and a quarter that historically rewards horses who accelerate in the final furlong, that deceleration pattern is a red flag.
His jockey Luis Saez crossed the finish line first in the 2019 Derby aboard Maximum Security, then watched the disqualification for interference erase the win.
He has never officially won the Kentucky Derby in 12 previous starts.
Chief Wallabee And The Defending Connection
Chief Wallabee in post 12 carries the most romantically compelling backstory in the field.
He is trained by Bill Mott and ridden by Junior Alvarado, the exact partnership that won the 2025 Kentucky Derby with Sovereignty and then won the Belmont Stakes with the same horse.
Alvarado is attempting something that has not been done in years: winning the Kentucky Derby in consecutive seasons with different horses.
The case against Chief Wallabee is that his prep form deteriorated in his final two outings before the Derby.
He was second in the Fountain of Youth, then third in the Florida Derby, both behind Commandment. Horses who are trending backward heading into the Derby rarely reverse course on race day.
Mott and Alvarado are proven winners here. The horse himself has something to prove.
Bob Baffert And The Record Within Reach
Controversial trainer Bob Baffert has two horses in the field, Potente in post 14 and Litmus Test in post 4, and a specific historical milestone available if either wins.
Baffert has trained six Kentucky Derby winners, tying him with Ben Jones for the most in history. A win tomorrow would give him the record outright, his seventh.
Baffert returned to the Derby in 2025 after a three-year ban that followed the discovery that his 2021 winner Medina Spirit had tested positive for a banned substance after the race.
Medina Spirit was stripped of the win. Mandaloun was named the official 2021 champion.
Both of Baffert’s 2026 entries are priced as significant longshots, but he has surprised the market before and the motivation to set a historical record is real.
The International Entry From Japan
Danon Bourbon from Japan occupies post 7 at 14-1 and enters the race undefeated across three career starts.
His jockey Atsuya Nishimura is making his first professional start anywhere in North America, and it is in the Kentucky Derby, which is about as demanding an introduction to American racing conditions as exists.
International horses have had mixed results in the Derby historically, though unbeaten form deserves respect regardless of where it was earned.
The Eight-Year Drought For Favorites
The betting favorite has not won the Kentucky Derby since Justify in 2018. That is eight consecutive years in which the horse most respected by the market failed to win the race.
The drought includes multiple horses who entered as strong favorites, had legitimate credentials, and still did not win.
History does not guarantee a ninth year of favorites failing, but it is the longest such streak in the modern era of the race and it is worth factoring into how you approach the market.
How To Watch And How To Bet Tomorrow
The race is on NBC and streaming live on Peacock. Post time is 6:57 PM Eastern on Saturday May 2. NBC’s coverage begins at 2:30 PM ET. Peacock starts at noon.
All major legal wagering platforms are accepting bets, TwinSpires (Churchill Downs’ official platform), FanDuel Racing, DraftKings Racing and others, alongside racetracks across the country that offer simulcast wagering.
Kentucky Derby odds are pari-mutuel, meaning you are betting against other bettors rather than against the house.
The odds you see when you place your bet are not locked in, they continue to move until the gate opens tomorrow evening.
The most accessible bet types for casual Derby participants are win, place and show, backing a horse to finish first, in the top two, or in the top three respectively.
The exacta, which requires picking the first two finishers in exact order, typically offers better value than a win bet on the favorite and is the most popular bet type among casual players looking for a bigger return.
The field is set. The post positions are drawn. The race is tomorrow at 6:57 PM Eastern. Everything until then is anticipation.
