Where to watch the 2026 Kentucky Derby: Start time, live stream, horses, odds, TV channel, post positions

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The country's oldest continuously held sporting event returns for the 152nd time on Saturday when the starting gate opens for the 2026 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Held every year since 1875, the Derby features the nation's best 3-year-olds competing to win the first leg of horse racing's Triple Crown.

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This year's race features a deep and wide-open field of 20 horses. The field is so deep, in fact, that there is a question over what horse will leave the starting gate as the favorite. Arkansas Derby winner Renegade, who is conditioned by two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Todd Pletcher, is the lukewarm 4-1 morning-line favorite. But Renegade, who drew the No. 1 post position, will be trying to overcome 40 years of Derby history; no horse from the No. 1 post has won the race since Ferdinand did so in 1986.

That leaves open the possibility of another horse becoming the betting favorite. Florida Derby winner Commandment (6-1) has won four straights races and has showed heart in doing so, winning his last two starts by a neck and a nose. Meanwhile, Further Ado (6-1) owns the best speed figures in the field and is coming off an 11-length romp in the Blue Grass Stakes. Both Commandment and Further Ado are trained by Louisville native Brad Cox.

Trainer Bill Mott, who won last year's Kentucky Derby with Sovereignty, is back with another strong contender in the lightly raced but talented Chief Wallabee (8-1). To get to the winner's circle, Mott will not only have to beat Pletcher, Cox and Bob Baffert, he also will have to beat his own son, Riley, who is the trainer of two Derby longshots: Incredibolt (20-1) and Albus (30-1).

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And once again, the race has an international flavor. Two horses based in Japan, Danon Bourbon (20-1) and Six Speed (50-1), and one from the United Arab Emirates, Wonder Dean (30-1), have come from across the world to race. But history says they face a difficult task. Horses from Japan are 0-for-10 and horses from the UAE are 0-for-20 in the Derby.