Kentucky Derby Horses & Contenders Leaderboard
To earn a spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate, horses will need to earn points in the designated Road to the Derby races.
2026–2027 Horse Leaderboard: The Road to the Kentucky Derby
The 2026–2027 Horse Leaderboard tracks Kentucky Derby contenders as they earn points through designated prep races around the world. Use the leaderboard to follow each horse’s standing, compare points and earnings, place bets on specific horses, and explore horse profiles to learn more about the runners shaping the path to the Kentucky Derby. Find more performance data on TwinSpires.
Get more information about the three paths to the Kentucky Derby and how horses earn a spot at the starting gate here.
2026–2027 Horse Leaderboard
- American
-
RANKHORSEOWNERTRAINERJOCKEYTOTAL POINTS
-
OWNER Zedan Racing Stables, Inc.
TRAINER Bob Baffert
JOCKEY Geroux, Florent
BREEDER Newstead Corp
SEX Colt
COLOR Dark Bay or Brown
EARNINGS $392,172
-
OWNER Purple Rein Racing (Buss) and Davis, Mark D.
TRAINER Doug F. O'Neill
JOCKEY Rosario, Joel
BREEDER Pope McLean, Marc McLean & Pope McLeanJr.
SEX Ridgling
COLOR Dark Bay or Brown
EARNINGS $151,050
-
OWNER CHC, Inc.
TRAINER William Walden
JOCKEY Prat, Flavien
BREEDER CHC INC.
SEX Colt
COLOR Bay
EARNINGS $89,062
-
4
Bayview Stables, Edwards, Mark and Trout, Mike
Kenneth G. McPeek
Esquivel, Emmanuel
2
BET NOW Learn More OWNER Bayview Stables, Edwards, Mark and Trout, Mike
TRAINER Kenneth G. McPeek
JOCKEY Esquivel, Emmanuel
BREEDER Louisiana Leasing, LLC & Rollins
SEX Colt
COLOR Bay
EARNINGS $56,775
-
OWNER KMN Racing LLC
TRAINER Patrick L. Biancone
JOCKEY Asmussen, Keith J.
BREEDER KMN RACING, LLC
SEX Colt
COLOR Bay
EARNINGS $34,865
Golden Tempo wins the 152nd Kentucky Derby (Photo by Doug Beigie)
What is the Road to the Kentucky Derby?
Each year, 20 Thoroughbred horses have a once in a lifetime chance to run in the Kentucky Derby. The Road to the Kentucky Derby, sponsored by Woodford Reserve, is a series of races where the top five horses in each race earn points. The 18 horses with the most points will get a spot in the starting gate for the 153rd Kentucky Derby, which will take place on Saturday, May 1, 2027.
There are three paths to the Kentucky Derby: the American Road, the Japan Road, and the European/Middle East Road. The Derby prep races start in September and go through mid-April. These races are split into two parts: the Prep Season and the Championship Series. Horses earn points for finishing in the top five, and the Championship Series races give the most points. The horses with the most points in the American Road and those who win their international series in the Japan and European/Middle East Road, will earn a spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate.
Stay Up To Date With The Latest News & Horses
Read here for the latest updates around the Kentucky Derby.
Wager Big on the Kentucky Derby
View Expert Picks, Live Odds, Future Wager Pools and more horse information!
Download the Derby App
The Churchill Downs app puts all the information you need for the Kentucky Derby day right at your fingertips. Stay up to date with post times and race results, view expert picks, place bets directly in the app, purchase and access your tickets, and more.
Fierceness illustrates his laid-back personality (Photo by Alys Emson/Lane's End Farms)
General Kentucky Derby Horse Info
The only horses eligible to compete in the Kentucky Derby are Thoroughbreds, which are exclusively bred naturally. The foundation sires for Thoroughbred horses, or founding fathers, are Darley Arabian (1700), Godolphin Arabian (1724) and Byerly Turk (1679).
No matter when a Thoroughbred horse is born, every Thoroughbred shares the same birthday of January 1st! Horses in the Kentucky Derby must be exactly three years old by the first Saturday in May in order to be eligible to compete
Derby contenders may be geldings, colts, or fillies and each horse can have an affinity to certain track surfaces and conditions. There are horses who thrive on grassy turf and others who may dominate on dirt. Track conditions matter just as much with certain horses gaining an advantage depending on whether the track is good, wet fast, muddy, or sloppy.
Horses who run in the Kentucky Derby are often purchased at horse auctions by their current owners. These sales, such as Keeneland, OBS, or Fasig-Tipton, can conduct horse sales for a specific age or context of the horses; like breeding stock versus two-year-olds in training and mixed age or sex.
FOLLOW FOR UPDATES AND EXCLUSIVES
Missed something? Catch up on past Kentucky Derby news
Book Your Premium Experience
For Premium tickets, give us a call at 5026364447
