Most Kentucky Derby wins by trainer: How Bob Baffert can break record in 2026

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Most Kentucky Derby wins by trainer

As the most prestigious horse race in North America, winning the Kentucky Derby is every trainer, jockey, and maybe horse's dream. A win at Churchill Downs begins the possibility of a Triple Crown campaign, though they are extremely rare.

Here are the top six trainers with the most wins at The Run for the Roses.

Bob Baffert

• Wins: Six
• Years won: 1997, 1998, 2002, 2015, 2018, 2020

Baffert matched Jones' record after Justify's 2020 win at Churchill Downs. The two stand alone as the only two trainers to win more than five wins at the Kentucky Derby. With a win at a future Run for the Roses, Baffert will stand alone as the only trainer to win seven different Kentucky Derbies.

Ben Jones

• Wins: Six
• Years won: 1938, 1941, 1944, 1948, 1949, 1952

In 1949, Jones set himself apart from the rest of the trainers' pack to win five races at Churchill Downs. Three years later, he stretched his record to six wins. His record stood for 68 years until Baffert's horse, Justify, won the 2020 Kentucky Derby.

MORE:What is the full list of Kentucky Derby winners?

D. Wayne Lukas

• Wins: Four
• Years won: 1988, 1995, 1996, 1999

Lukas snapped the 51-year streak of trainers unable to win four Kentucky Derbies. Lukas' career earnings throughout his lengthy career are just over $300 million, according to America's Best Racing, and he is widely regarded as one of the best trainers in recent history.

Herbert J. Thompson

• Wins: Four
• Years won: 1921, 1926, 1932, 1933

Thompson became the first trainer to win three races at Churchill Downs. Just one year after his third victory, he won his fourth and was an early record holder for the most wins at the Kentucky Derby. Thompson gained the nickname "Derby Dick" for his frequent wins at Churchill Downs.

James Fitzsimmons

• Wins: Three
• Years won: 1930, 1935, 1939

Fitzsimmons was the second trainer to win three Kentucky Derbies, just seven years after Thompson became the first to do so. Fitzsimmons, also known as “Sunny Jim,” began his racing career as a jockey when he was only 15 years old. After failing to gain wins as a jockey, he eventually moved towards training horses and found more success.

Max Hirsch

• Wins: Three
• Years won: 1936, 1946, 1950

Hirsch's start to horse racing began at 12 years old, after sneaking onto a train from Texas to Maryland, according to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. John A. Morris, a horse rancher, was sending several racehorses to Baltimore, and Hirsch began to work under him. He became a jockey at just 13 years old, and later began his trainer career seven years later.

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