Kentucky Derby 2026: Ewing moves up in rankings & earnings

Following an authoritative, Grade 2 win in the Saratoga Special last weekend, Ewing is ranked fourth on the official Kentucky Derby 2026 leaderboard and first among contenders in Horse Racing Nation's readership poll.

Ewing upset Obliteration on Saturday, overcoming a slow start to blitz his rivals in near gate-to-wire fashion. Mark Casse trains the son of 2021 horse of the year Knicks Go for a partnership that includes social-media influencer Griffin Johnson as part of the West Point Thoroughbreds team.

The filly Mythical continued her unbeaten career with a win in the Adirondack Stakes (G3). However, since that race is restricted to fillies, it did not count toward her Derby leaderboard standings. She is still fifth based on her win against males in the listed Tremont Stakes. Pinky Finger, Obliteration, Romeo and Ewing are the top four on the leaderboard.

A series of points preps beginning in September is the primary determining factor for Kentucky Derby entry, but the tiebreaker is earnings in non-restricted stakes, so until the points races begin, these stakes inform the leaderboard.