So Happy profile: 2026 Kentucky Derby odds, post position, history and more to know

He then paused to collect himself and then continued, "[Dena] got that horse there today."

There was not a dry eye in the winner's circle that day, and there will be more happy tears if So Happy can cross the finish line first on Saturday.

Showing the speed of his sire, champion sprinter Runhappy, So Happy won his first two starts, both at one turn. After an eight-week break, he faded to third in the San Felipe Stakes, beaten by 2¼ lengths. Critics questioned the horse's ability to go two turns, but Glatt believed the horse being too close to a hot pace and the eight-week layoff contributed to the defeat.

In his final prep race, the Santa Anita Derby, So Happy got a perfect trip outside at a moderate pace and pulled away from the Bob Baffert-trained Potente to win by 2¾ widening lengths.

The performance earned So Happy a Beyer Speed Figure of 100, which is the best of his career and right there with race favorites Renegade and Commandment. It also earned a huge Thoro-graph figure, second to only Further Ado's career best.

Despite the big speed figure, questions remain about So Happy's ability to get the extra distance of the Kentucky Derby. Sire Runhappy's sons and daughters are notorious sprinters, and Runhappy so failed as a sire in Kentucky that he's now in South Korea.

To be fair, So Happy's dam side is full of distance influences.

Also, So Happy got a perfect trip when winning the Santa Anita Derby stalking reasonable fractions, but there's no guarantee that he will get another perfect trip in the 20-horse rumble of the Kentucky Derby.

Luckily for So Happy, jockey Mike Smith, who has been aboard the colt in all four career starts, will be aboard once again. The 60-year-old Smith holds the record for most Derby mounts (28) and has won the race twice, with Giacomo (in 2005) and eventual Triple Crown winner Justify (2018). With a win on Saturday, Smith would become the oldest Kentucky Derby-winning jockey, breaking the record held by Bill Shoemaker, who was 54 in 1986.

Glatt, whose horses have won more than 1,300 races in his career, will be saddling his first Kentucky Derby starter.

The combination of Glatt's story, Smith and a catchy name could lead to So Happy being an underlay in the odds at FanDuel Racing, TwinSpires and 1/ST BET. But So Happy backers are still likely to shed happy tears at the windows if he wins. Claim our jumbo-sized 1/ST BET offer here to get a $500 sign-up bonus:

Post draw analysis

Smith and So Happy worked out a perfect trip in winning the seven-horse Santa Anita Derby and will likely need to manage another one to don the blanket of roses. Luckily for them, they drew perfectly in the No. 8 post. From this middle spot, So Happy should be able to track the leaders without having to lose too much ground. Mage won from the No. 8 post just three years ago.