The 152nd Kentucky Derby was set for Saturday evening at Churchill Downs in Louisville, with 19 horses in the starting field after four scratches thinned the original 20-horse lineup.
Renegade, winner of the Arkansas Derby, drew the 4-1 morning-line favorite nod but carried a pair of notable burdens into the gate. He drew the No. 1 post position, and no horse has won the Kentucky Derby from that spot since Ferdinand in 1986. His owner, Mike Repole, is also 0-for-8 in the race. That record does not count three additional horses Repole entered who scratched before running, including Uncle Mo and Forte, each of whom would have been the favorite.
Among the other leading contenders, Commandment and Further Ado were both listed at 6-1, with Chief Wallabee at 8-1. Several horses near the middle of the odds board, including So Happy and Emerging Market, sat at 15-1.
The scratches changed the shape of the field meaningfully. Right to Party, The Puma, Silent Tactic, and Fulleffort were all withdrawn before post time. In their place, three alternates stepped in: Great White, Ocelli, and Robusta, each listed at 50-1. Post time was set for 6:57 p.m. ET, with the race airing on NBC and streaming on Peacock.
The winner will earn the first leg of the Triple Crown and a shot at history if they can follow up in the Preakness and Belmont. The last horse to sweep all three was Justify in 2018. Only 13 horses have ever completed the feat. Last year's Derby winner, Sovereignty, skipped the Preakness but returned to win the Belmont.
The road to a Triple Crown has always been unforgiving. A 37-year gap separated Affirmed's 1978 sweep from American Pharoah's in 2015, the drought finally broken before Justify claimed it three years later.
