Kentucky Derby 2024 rankings: Top 50 but only 1 from California

The Gotham Stakes (G2) winner Deterministic was the big mover in Horse Racing Nation's Kentucky Derby 2024 rankings this weekend, moving up to no. 11 after his victory in the mud Saturday at Aqueduct.

At Gulfstream Park, the scratch-ridden Fountain of Youth (G2) was won by favored Dornoch, who moved two spots from no. 4 to no. 2. The rest of the five-horse field has yet to make much of an impact on the top 50 rankings. Le Dom Bro, the long shot who finished second, hasn't impressed enough to make the top 50 just yet, while third-place finisher Frankie's Empire barely squeaks in at no. 49. And fourth-place finisher Real Macho dropped a few spots from no. 30 to no. 36.

But the bigger story may be how the San Felipe (G2) at Santa Anita and the West Coast preps have had almost no impact on the Kentucky Derby.

Currently, there is only one California-based horse in the top 50, Stronghold at no. 23, who won the Sunland Park Derby (G3) for trainer Phil D'Amato.

The next West Coast-based runner is the El Camino Real Derby winner Endlessly, who checks in at no. 51 at the moment.  Endlessly has never raced on dirt and is scheduled make his next start in the Jeff Ruby (G3) at Turfway Park over the synthetic surface. And McVay and Scatify, the only non-Baffert horses to contest the San Felipe this weekend, are not currently in the top 100.

So beyond the fact that Bob Baffert is not allowed to compete in this year's Kentucky Derby, there seem to be a lack of West Coast Kentucky Derby contenders trained by anyone else. Looking ahead on the stakes schedule to the Santa Anita Derby (G1), it does not look like that is going to change anytime soon.

This weekend we get to look forward to the Tampa Bay Derby (G3), where we will see no. 13 No More Time and no. 21 Domestic Product plus several others

As we move closer to Derby, Horse Racing Nation's Kentucky Derby 2024 contenders page is a great resource to track top 3-year-olds and up-and-coming ones. Keep in mind that these rankings are based on HRN reader votes, so they can change from time to time. If you want to vote on any of the horses, just login and go to a horse page and rate them between one and 10 stars.

Kentucky Derby 2024 Contenders