Kentucky Derby Entries 2026, Race-Day Predictions for Horses, Jockeys in Lineup

The 2026 Kentucky Derby field is full of horses with excellent trainers and jockeys behind them.

The top-tier jockeys could make the difference in what should be a tight race between a handful of in-form contenders.

The winning jockeys from eight of the last nine Derbies and a pair of multi-Derby winners are mixed in among the 19-horse field.

The race ultimately comes down to the horses, but the team behind them could help them stay calm in the buildup, and during the race, at Churchill Downs.

Kentucky Derby Lineup

Three-time Derby-winning jockey John Velazquez and two-time champion Mike Smith are the most accomplished Derby jockeys in the field.

Velazquez will be aboard Further Ado, who entered Saturday as one of the three top favorites.

Smith, who won the Triple Crown with Justify in 2018, will ride So Happy, one of the horses in the second tier of potential winners.

The Derby field also features 2025 winner Junior Alvarado on Chief Wallabee and 2019 winner Flavien Prat with Emerging Market.

The team behind the horse is important as well, at least in the preparation for the race.

Brad Cox, who won the 2021 Derby with Mandaloun, is the trainer of Commandment and Further Ado. They are expected to do battle with Renegade, who is trained by two-time Derby champion Todd Pletcher.

Bob Baffert, the co-winningest trainer in Derby history, brings Potente and Litmus Test to the first leg of the Triple Crown. Both horses have longer odds, but it's easy to pick a Baffert-trained horse given his record at Churchill Downs.

A year ago, Sovereignty and Journalism went one-two in a battle of pre-race favorites.

A similar finishing order could come about on Saturday with Renegade, Commandment and Further Ado in such good form. They all have multiple wins in 2026.

Potente and Emerging Market are the best long-shot horses with the best teams behind them.

Emerging Market will try to give trainer Chad Brown the Kentucky Oaks-Derby double. Only three trainers have ever done the double in the same year.

Predictions

1. Commandment
2. Renegade
3. Emerging Market
4. Potente