Bob Baffert's bid for Kentucky Derby history among storylines to watch

Bob Baffert has already cemented his legacy as one of the best trainers in horse racing history. Of the 13 Triple Crown winners, the Hall of Famer trained two, with Justify (2018) being the most recent. Baffert is currently tied with “Plain Ben” Jones with six Derby wins; another victory would make him the sole winningest trainer in Run for the Roses history. He missed out on accomplishing the feat in 2025 when Rodriguez scratched and Citizen Bull finished 15th.

This year, Baffert has two more opportunities to make history with a seventh Derby triumph when Potente and Litmus Test hit the track. At 20-1 odds, Potente and jockey Juan Hernandez will run out of the 14th gate; Litmus Test, who was added to the field Saturday, will wear blinkers and be ridden by Martin Garcia out of post No. 4 at 30-1 odds.

Cherie DeVaux’s Derby debut

2026 Kentucky Derby trainer Cherie DeVaux working April 27, 2026 on the backside of Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. She has Golden Tempo in the 152nd Kentucky Derby May 2, 2026.

Cherie DeVaux will be the 18th female trainer to have a horse in the Kentucky Derby and first since Vicki Oliver trained Hidden Stash to a 13th-place finish in the 2021 Derby. DeVaux worked as an assistant for Chad Brown — who is training Emerging Market in the Derby — for eight years before earning her trainer’s license in 2018. The New York native earned her first career win when Traveling broke his maiden on March 29, 2019 at Gulfstream Park in Florida. Two years later, Gam's Mission provided DeVaux with her first stakes win by finishing first in the Grade 3 Regret Stakes at Churchill Downs.

And now, she’ll look to Golden Tempo to help her get her first Kentucky Derby win in her first appearance in the Run for the Roses. Currently, the best finish for a female trainer was the Shelley Riley-trained Casual Lies, who was the 1992 Derby runner-up.

Mike Repole’s big week in Louisville

Owner Mike Repole interacts with his horse, Kentucky Derby favorite, Fierceness, on the backside of Churchill Downs. Pat McDonogh, Special to the Courier April 26, 2024

Few have had worse luck in the Kentucky Derby than Mike Repole and his stable. Last year, his horse, Grande, was a last-minute scratch. In 2023, his horse, Forte, was the morning-line favorite but scratched the morning of the Derby with a bruised right front foot. Repole entered the field this year with the 4-1 favorite, Renegade. The colt drew the No. 1 post position, which hasn’t produced a winner since Ferdinand in 1986.

Repole also has the Kentucky Oaks favorite in Zany, who is a daughter of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharaoh. The New York native completes the Derby week trifecta off the Churchill Downs track and at Lynn Family Stadium with the Louisville Kings UFL team playing the St. Louis Battlehawks in the "Derby Classic" on Thurby. Repole owns both UFL teams and joked that, despite his past Derby misfortune, he’s guaranteed at least one win this week.

Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit atacubit@gannett.comand follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Derby 2026 names to watch include Bob Baffert, Mike Repole