Kentucky Derby leaderboard: Baffert has new runner in top 10
Last week, Brant was in the top 10 of the Kentucky Derby 2026 leaderboard for trainer Bob Baffert. This week, it's Litmus Test.
Earning 10 qualifying points for his win in the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity on Saturday, Litmus Test brought his total to 19 points and moved into second place behind Ted Noffey. He also picked up points with a third-place finish in the Breeders' Futurity (G1) and a fourth-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
His win bumped Brant out of the top 10 to no. 11 on the board. In all, seven 2-year-olds are on the leaderboard for Baffert.
The next four finishers in the Los Al Futurity – Blacksmith, Provenance, Acknowledgemeplz and American King – earned their first Derby points.
Of course, there's a long way to go, and the spring stakes on the Derby trail have many more points on offer.
Next week brings two points preps, the Gun Runner at Fair Grounds and the Remington Springboard Mile. Each offers 10-5-3-2-1 points to the top five finishers.
Two races on Jan. 3 also offer 10 points to the winner, the Jerome at Aqueduct and the Smarty Jones at Oaklawn. The next eight races on the trail offer 20 points to the winner, starting with the Lecomte (G3) at Fair Grounds on Jan. 17.
Here are the standings after nine points preps.
| Horse | Points | Trainer | Sire | Earnings* |
| 1. Ted Noffey | 40 | Todd Pletcher | Into Mischief | $1,602,963 |
| 2. Litmus Test | 19 | Bob Baffert | Nyquist | $302,188 |
| 3. Mr. A. P. | 15 | Vladimir Cerin | American Pharoah | $340,000 |
| 4. Intrepido | 13 | Jeff Mullins | Maximus Mischief | $240,000 |
| 5. Universe | 13 | Kenny McPeek | Global Campaign | $178,400 |
| 6. Spice Runner | 11 | Steve Asmussen | Gun Runner | $247,426 |
| 7. Napoleon Solo | 10 | Chad Summers | Liam's Map | $275,000 |
| 8. Further Ado | 10 | Brad Cox | Gun Runner | $242,470 |
| 9. Paladin | 10 | Chad Brown | Gun Runner | $137,500 |
| 10. Incredibolt | 10 | Riley Mott | Bolt d'Oro | $122,070 |
| 11. Brant | 9 | Bob Baffert | Gun Runner | $360,000 |
| 12. Comport | 5 | Eddie Kenneally | Collected | $264,050 |
| 13. Desert Gate | 5 | Bob Baffert | Omaha Beach | $210,000 |
| 14. Blackout Time | 5 | Kenny McPeek | Not This Time | $128,375 |
| 15. Talkin | 5 | Danny Gargan | Good Magic | $101,250 |
| 16. Renegade | 5 | Todd Pletcher | Into Mischief | $50,000 |
| 17. Blacksmith | 5 | Bob Baffert | Liam's Map | $40,000 |
| 18. Very Connected | 5 | Kenny McPeek | Connect | $19,850 |
| 19. Balboa | 4 | Brittany Russell | Not This Time | $102,000 |
| 20. Plutarch | 3 | Bob Baffert | Into Mischief | $80,000 |
| 21. Soldier N Diplomat | 3 | Steve Asmussen | Army Mule | $57,350 |
| 22. Vost | 3 | Will Walden | Instagrand | $28,875 |
| 23. Provenance | 3 | Bob Baffert | Into Mischief | $24,000 |
| 24. Diciassette | 2 | Patrick Biancone | Mitole | $68,337 |
| 25. Civil Liberty | 2 | Doug O’Neill | Independence Hall | $54,000 |
| 26. It’s Our Time | 2 | Tom Amoss | Not This Time | $30,000 |
| 27. Courting | 2 | Todd Pletcher | Curlin | $15,000 |
| 28. Nothing Personal | 2 | Greg Compton | Violence | $14,438 |
| 29. Acknowledgemeplz | 2 | Doug O’Neill | Bucchero | $12,000 |
| 30. I Did I Did | 2 | Mike Maker | Curlin | $11,175 |
| 31. Maximus Prime | 1 | Anthony Mitchell | Maximus Mischief | $58,262 |
| 32. Stradale | 1 | Steve Asmussen | Yaupon | $42,500 |
| 33. Cherokee Nation | 1 | Bob Baffert | Not This Time | $11,805 |
| 34. Grittiness | 1 | Todd Pletcher | Curlin | $10,000 |
| 35. Ganaas | 1 | Andrew McKeever | War Front | $5,955 |
| 36. American King | 1 | Ruben Gomez | American Pharoah | $4,000 |
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* Non-restricted stakes
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