Kentucky Derby 2026: Race Day Bets; Renegade’s Four-Way Battle To Win

Yesterday's Morning Canter: Renegade takes a turn on the Churchill track on May 1, the day before the 152nd Kentucky Derby. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

Getty Images

To say that the odds and picks — which is to say, the many pundits — are in a tangle about who’s really gonna take his lion’s share of the $5-million on the barrelhead for the 152nd Kentucky Derby victor at Churchill later this afternoon is a rank understatement. And that’s a good thing: the always-massive Derby field is delightfully tight in talent this year, which is to say, the talented horses are well and truly bunched, with Renegade scrambling his fine shoes to hold on to the top-favorite status in the track’s odds.

Specifically, Mark Glatt’s So Happy, is down from 15-1 to 6-1 in a (sort of) three-way tie for second favorite as of last night’s track odds at Churchill. So Happy got a ton of respect from the win pool as the windows opened yesterday for the Oaks and attendant races, and is largely retaining that respect now. So Happy’s nearest competitors’ names, in other words, the Derby’s momentary third-favorites in the live odds — Commandment, at the moment at 7-1, and Further Ado, at the moment 7-1 — tell us that tale. Renegade is being hunted down by more than just those top three next-favorites, however, and pretty much every horse who matters in this race, Chief Wallabee very much included, has a fair chance at him.

But before we dive into what those co-second favorites or anybody else need to do to take Renegade down, here, a refresher on the field and the live track odds. The announced post time for the race is 6:57 p.m ET

Note: revised post positions appear here in parentheses ONLY for those eight outside horses whose stalls and saddle cloths do not correspond. For the twelve inside horses whose saddle cloths and post positions still correspond, no change is made. Live Churchill odds are in parentheses after the morning line. We’ll be updating those throughout the afternoon.

Saddle Cloth, (Revised Post Position), Horse, Jockey, Trainer, Morning Line (Live Odds)

1. Renegade, Irad Ortiz Jr., Todd Pletcher, 4-1 (5-1)

2. Albus, Manny Franco, Riley Mott, 30-1 (50-1)

3. Intrepido, Hector Berrios, Jeff Mullins, 50-1 (55-1)

4. Litmus Test, Martin Garcia, Bob Baffert, 30-1 (34-1)