Kentucky Derby leaderboard: Weekend preps shake up the top
Saturday's Kentucky Derby 2026 preps put new names in the top two spots of the leaderboard, with Commandment moving to no. 1 with his win in the Grade 1 Florida Derby and Renegade just behind with 125 after winning the Arkansas Derby (G1).
The Puma and Silent Tactic also hit the 100-point mark with their runner-up efforts, putting them in the top 10 as well.
This week's leaderboard includes one contender, Danon Bourbon, from the Japan road to the Kentucky Derby and two from the Euro-Mideast road, Wonder Dean and Six Speed.
As Churchill Downs noted in its points update, the connections of Wonder Dean and Six Speed, who finished 1-2 in the UAE Derby (G2), indicated they intend to compete in the Kentucky Derby. Danon Bourbon and Don Erectus, who finished 1-2 in the Fukuryu on Saturday, each have 40 points on the Japan road to the Kentucky Derby, and career earnings are the tiebreaker. But the connections of leader Don Erectus, who is not Triple Crown nominated, said he is not coming, according to CDI Japan racing liaison Kate Hunter. “(Danon) Bourbon is likely coming if he is sound after the race,” Hunter said.
Only four races remain on the Derby trail, and the three this weekend are the last of the major ones: the Blue Grass (G1), Santa Anita Derby (G1) and Wood Memorial (G2), each of which offers 100-50-25-15-10 qualifying points. The final points prep is the Lexington (G3) on April 11, with 20-10-6-4-2 points.
You'll notice that the leaderboard includes five horses with zero points. Albus and Red Zone Runner are entered in the Wood. Reagan's Honor and Creole Chrome are probable for the Blue Grass, and Start the Ride is probable for the Santa Anita Derby.
Kentucky Derby 2026 leaderboard
| Rank | Horse | Pts | Trainer | Earnings* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Commandment | 150 | Brad Cox | $943,020 |
| 2 | Renegade | 125 | Todd Pletcher | $1,002,500 |
| 3 | Fulleffort | 110 | Brad Cox | $507,900 |
| 4 | The Puma | 106 | Gustavo Delgado | $428,000 |
| 5 | Silent Tactic | 100 | Mark Casse | $1,020,130 |
| 6 | Emerging Market | 100 | Chad Brown | $600,000 |
| 7 | Pavlovian | 70 | Doug O'Neill | $527,000 |
| 8 | Incredibolt | 60 | Riley Mott | $424,570 |
| 9 | Golden Tempo | 60 | Cherie DeVaux | $300,000 |
| 10 | Class President | 50 | Todd Pletcher | $569,700 |
| 11 | Stark Contrast | 50 | Michael McCarthy | $439,900 |
| 12 | Chief Wallabee | 50 | Bill Mott | $175,800 |
| 13 | Iron Honor | 50 | Chad Brown | $165,000 |
| 14 | Potente | 50 | Bob Baffert | $120,000 |
| 15 | Chip Honcho | 49 | Steve Asmussen | $190,000 |
| 16 | Universe | 38 | Kenny McPeek | $244,650 |
| 17 | Grittiness | 36 | Todd Pletcher | $150,000 |
| 18 | Danon Bourbon | Japan | Manabu Ikezoe | *$221,246 |
| 19 | Wonder Dean | Euro-Mideast | Daisuke Takayanagi | $725,172 |
| 20 | Six Speed | Euro-Mideast | Bhupat Seemar | $314,366 |
| 21 | Further Ado | 35 | Brad Cox | $312,470 |
| 22 | Nearly | 35 | Todd Pletcher | $220,450 |
| 23 | Litmus Test | 34 | Bob Baffert | $429,688 |
| – | +Crown the Buckeye | 28 | Mike Maker | $73,500 |
| 24 | Blackout Time | 25 | Kenny McPeek | $237,875 |
| – | +Taptastic | 25 | Steve Asmussen | $138,750 |
| 25 | Robusta | 25 | Doug O'Neill | $40,500 |
| 26 | Intrepido | 23 | Jeff Mullins | $260,000 |
| 27 | Bricklin | 21 | Rodolphe Brisset | $135,250 |
| 28 | Express Kid | 20 | Justin Evans | $308,800 |
| – | +Wayne's Law | 20 | Amador Sanchez | $134,700 |
| 29 | Talk to Me Jimmy | 20 | Rudy Rodriguez | $110,000 |
| 30 | Great White | 20 | John Ennis | $107,440 |
| 31 | Bravaro | 20 | Saffie Joseph Jr. | $68,700 |
| 32 | Buetane | 16 | Bob Baffert | $212,500 |
| 33 | Secured Freedom | 16 | Tim Yakteen | $24,000 |
| 34 | Napoleon Solo | 15 | Chad Summers | $286,520 |
| 35 | So Happy | 15 | Mark Glatt | $144,000 |
| 36 | Confessional | 15 | Brad Cox | $55,000 |
| – | +Right to Party | 15 | Kenny McPeek | $36,000 |
| 37 | Brant | 14 | Bob Baffert | $364,000 |
| 38 | Carson Street | 11 | Brendan Walsh | $35,000 |
| – | Argos | 10 | Brad Cox | $265,160 |
| 39 | Talkin | 10 | Danny Gargan | $111,750 |
| 40 | Redland Rebels | 10 | Patrick Biancone | $89,400 |
| – | +Exhibition Only | 10 | Rudy Rodriguez | $18,000 |
| 41 | Baytown Dreamer | 7 | Paul McEntee | $171,109 |
| 42 | Ottinho | 6 | Chad Brown | $24,000 |
| 43 | Cannoneer | 4 | Brad Cox | $12,375 |
| 44 | Cherokee Nation | 3 | Bob Baffert | $13,805 |
| 45 | Civil Liberty | 2 | Doug O'Neill | $54,000 |
| 46 | Courting | 2 | Todd Pletcher | $20,000 |
| – | +Taj Mahal | 0 | Brittany Russell | $60,000 |
| – | +Red Zone Runner | 0 | Hugo Padilla | $54,400 |
| 47 | Start the Ride | 0 | Dan Blacker | $500 |
| 48 | Creole Chrome | 0 | Joe Sharp | $0 |
| 49 | Reagan's Honor | 0 | Cherie DeVaux | $0 |
| 50 | Albus | 0 | Riley Mott | $0 |
+ Not nominated to the Triple Crown
* Non-restricted stakes earnings. Earnings for Danon Bourbon are estimated.