Field set for Kentucky Derby; Renegade becomes morning-line favorite

Renegade has been installed as the morning-line favorite for the May 2 Kentucky Derby. Photo courtesy of Oaklawn Park

April 25 (UPI) -- Arkansas Derby winner Renegade drew the inside gate Saturday for the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby on May 2 and was installed as the 4-1 morning-line favorite in the field of 20 3-year-olds.

Only three other horses were posted at single-digit odds in what shapes up as a competitive field.

Set at 6-1 by Churchill Downs oddsmaker Nick Tammaro were Florida Derby winner Commandment, drawn in post position 6, and Blue Grass Stakes winner Further Ado in gate 18.

Chief Wallabee, who finished second in the Fountain of Youth and third in the Florida Derby, will start from gate 12 and was pegged at 8-1.

The inside gate is considered a handicap because it can force a jockey to either gun his mount to the lead or risk getting buried back in the field as other horses cross over to vie for the lead.

That might not be as much of a problem for Renegade, who typically races off the pace and puts in a late run down the stretch. It will be up to jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. to sort that out.

The field includes three horses trained by Brad Cox -- Further Ado, Commandment and Jeff Ruby Steaks winner Fulleffort, who has never raced on dirt and was a longshot even before drawing the outside, No. 20 gate.

"That's the one I'm least excited about," Cox said, adding he was more pleased with his other draws.

"I'm very happy with that," he said of Further Ado's No. 18. "We wanted to be outside and it looks like the speed is inside of us."

Derby rookie trainer Riley Mott has two horses in the field. Wood Memorial victor Albus will start from stall 2 and Incredibolt, the Virginia Derby winner, will go from gate 11. Mott's father, Bill Mott, who won the 2025 Derby with Sovereignty, has only Chief Wallabee in this year's field.

"I don't know him now," the younger Mott deadpanned after the draw about his dad. "He's the opposition."

Litmus Test drew into the field Saturday morning when trainer Steve Asmussen opted to wait for the Preakness with his contender, Chip Honcho. That gives trainer Bob Baffert two chances, with Potente the other, to secure his seventh Derby win, breaking a deadlock with Ben Jones.

But it also means Asmussen has no entry in the Run for the Roses -- a race he has never won despite racking up more than 11,000 career victories.