Who are the owners for Kentucky Derby 2026 horses at Churchill Downs?

Thoroughbred owners spend countless dollars in the hopes one of their horses might make it to the 2026 Kentucky Derby.

As this year's race approaches, more than three dozen owners spread across the 20 competing racehorses are in line to be represented.

Here's a look at the owners lineup in the Run for the Roses, listed in alphabetical order by horse's name (sole owners with multiple Derby entrants are grouped together):

Albus; Incredibolt

2026 Kentucky Derby contender Incredibolt in his stall at Trainer Riley Mott's barn at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The Pin Oak Stud won the Virginia Derby. April 20, 2026

Owner: Pin Oak Stud (Dana Bernhard)

What to know: Bernhard is the only owner with multiple starters in this year's Derby.

This is the first Derby for Bernhard.

Josephine Abercrombie founded Pin Oak Stud in 1952 and owned it until her death in 2022 at the age of 96. Later that year, Bernhard and her husband, Jim, bought Pin Oak and owned it together until Jim's death Nov. 16. Since then, horses have been a source of comfort for Dana, especially Albus and Incredibolt.

"Losing Jim so suddenly ... was a profound, horrible experience," she told the Thoroughbred Daily News earlier this month. "I still have extreme waves of grief. I'm trying to get through it for everybody and to kind of take charge of a lot of our businesses again. But the two horses that have qualified for the Derby are such a great achievement for Pin Oak and our whole team. I see Jim in that every single day."

That both her starters likely will be longshots come Derby Day doesn't bother Dana in the slightest.

"I always think our horses will win. ... So when we don't win, it's a little bit surprising to me," she told TDN. "Maybe not to everyone else, but it is to me. So I absolutely have full confidence in Incredibolt and Albus."

Chief Wallabee

Jockey Junior Alvarado aboard 2026 Kentucky Derby horse Chief Wallabee during morning workouts at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The horse is trained by Bill Mott. The horse's most recent race was in the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park, where he finished third. April 20, 2026

Owners: Michael and Katherine Ball

What to know: Michael and Katherine Ball have done a little bit of everything in the industry.

The husband and wife have been trainers and breeders and now they've added owners to the growing list. The Balls run Donamire Farm, which was founded by Mike's father, Don Ball. Making his money in home construction, Mike bought the Donamire property in the 1960s and then expanded it in the 1980s, according to BloodHorse.

Unlike so many breeding operations that do so with intent to sell, the Ball family's focus is racing.

"We're trying to keep good mares," Mike told BloodHorse, "and build it the right way."

This will be the first Derby start for Mike and Katherine. The most successful racehorse Donamire's produced is Limousine Liberal, a gelding that won four graded-stakes during his career, including back-to-back Churchill Downs Stakes triumphs in 2017 and 2018.

Commandment

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani arrives to address the United Nations' Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha on November 4, 2025. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS / AFP) (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)

Owner: Wathnan Racing (Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani)

What to know: Wathnan Racing's owner is Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar.

Per the stable's website, "Wathnan Racing is named after a desert Arabian, a beloved stallion of Al Thani family folklore. He, in turn, was named for his kind and eager disposition — 'wathnan' can be translated as a 'crown of ears,' referring to his pricked ears, the surest sign that a horse truly is your friend."

The stable was founded in October 2022, first racing in Qatar before beginning to run in the United Kingdom. Wathnan has not yet made North America a priority – since 2023, it has just 152 starts on the continent, per Equibase.

This also doubles as Wathnan's Derby debut. It's a strong hand: Commandment enters atop the Kentucky Derby points leaderboard with 150. He's won four of his five starts, with victories in the Grade 1 Florida Derby and Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes (both run at Gulfstream Park) this year.

Danon Bourbon

Owner: Danox Co. (Masahiro Noda)

What to know: Noda, one of Japan's richest men, owns Danox Co. (and by extension, Derby starter Danon Bourbon).

According to Forbes, Noda has a net worth of more than $3.4 billion. He is the chairman and CEO of Obic, which Forbes notes is a "publicly traded computer-system integrator and custom software maker." Forbes reports that through the fiscal year that ended in March 2025, Obic "posted $452 million in net profit on $848 million in revenue." Noda founded the business in 1968 using money from his wife's savings.

Though this will be Noda's first Derby appearance, he's a longtime race-winning owner in Japan.

Emerging Market

Owner: Klaravich Stables (Seth Klarman)

What to know: Klarman, the owner of Klaravich Stables, gives it a go for the fifth time in the Run for the Roses.

In his first two appearances, in 2004 (with Read the Footnotes, which placed seventh) and 2017 (Practical Joke, which finished fifth), Klarman was in a partnership. But in his two most recent Derby starts — a ninth in 2021 with Highly Motivated and a 13th in 2024 with Domestic Product — he's been the sole owner.

He founded Klaravich Stables more than three decades ago with his friend, Jeff Ravich. The stable took its name by combining the first three letters of Klarman's last name with Ravich. After nearly a decade together, Ravich left the partnership "to start his own stable on the West Coast," according to America's Best Racing.

While Derby glory has eluded Klarman to this point, he has a pair of Preakness Stakes wins to his name: 2017 (courtesy of Cloud Computing, which he owned in partnership with William Lawrence) and again in 2022 (via Early Voting). Klaravich Stables has finished in the top three in earnings among North American owners six straight years (2020-25).

Klarman made his money in investments, running The Baupost Group and Forbes reports he has a net worth of $1.5 billion.

An ardent fan of the Boston Red Sox, Klarman is one of the team's minority owners.

Further Ado

Spendthrift Farm's Eric Gustavson applauds as trainer Bob Baffert acknowledges the crowd after winning 2020 Kentucky Derby with Authentic. Gustavson is among the Breeders' Cup board members who will decide whether Baffert allowed to compete in this year's event.

Owner: Spendthrift Farm (Eric Gustavson)

What to know: Gustavson is seeking his second Derby win, as he was part of the ownership group for 2020 champion Authentic.

According to Spendthrift Farm's official website, Gustavson joined "with the 2004 purchase of the farm by owner B. Wayne Hughes." Prior to becoming the owner, Gustavson was the farm's marketing director and president. Spendthrift originally was bought by Leslie Combs II in 1937. He died in 1990, and the farm went into bankruptcy amid a downturn in the thoroughbred industry. Prior to Combs' death, Triple Crown winners Affirmed and Seattle Slew lived on the farm after they retired from racing.

Per America's Best Racing, "Ted Taylor purchased the main 496-acre tract of Spendthrift at a court-ordered bankruptcy auction in 1994" before Bruce Kline and a group of partners bought it in 2000. Once Hughes took over in 2004, he began returning Spendthrift to the status it had enjoyed during Combs' long reign.

Golden Tempo

Owners: Phipps Stable (Daisy Phipps Pulito); St. Elias Stable (Vincent Viola)

What to know: Viola, who also was a part-owner of 2017 Derby winner Always Dreaming, is one of the world's richest people. Forbes put his net worth at $7.1 billion, as of April 21, but he wasn't born with a silver spoon.

Forbes points out Viola was the "son of a truck driver from Brooklyn" before founding Virtu Financial, an electronic-trading firm, in 2008. He took the company public seven years later.

He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. In 2003, he created the Combating Terrorism Center at his alma mater. Viola also owns an NHL team, the Florida Panthers.

Phipps Pulito has one prior Derby start: She was 17th in 2021 with Dynamic One.

While it's the only start she's credited with, Phipps Stable has a long history in the sport. Ogden Mills Phipps, who went by "Dinny," led Phipps Stable until his death in 2016. His daughter, Phipps Pulito, now campaigns horses with her family's name alongside her brother, Ogden.

"When my grandfather and my dad had it, Phipps Stable was one of the biggest stables," Phipps Pulito told Daily Racing Form in February. "There wasn't all of these partnerships, and trainers didn't have that many horses either. When we had 35, 40 horses in training, we were one of the bigger stables, and this game is a bit of a numbers game, too."

Prior to Dinny's death, he saw one of his thoroughbreds win the Run for the Roses, as Orb was the 2013 champion. Dinny's grandmother was Mrs. Henry Carnegie Phipps, who started Wheatley Stable in 1926. Though she never won the Derby, she made seven appearances in the race. Her most famous horse was Bold Ruler — Secretariat's father.

And there's more: As America's Best Racing writes, Dinny's "great-grandfather, Henry Phipps, was a childhood friend and business partner of Andrew Carnegie, and they made their fortunes together in the iron and steel business in the 19th century."

Great White

Trainer John Ennis talks to the media about Kentucky Derby contender Epic Ride on the backside at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. May 1, 2024.

Owners: Three Chimneys Farm (Goncalo Torrealba); John Ennis

What to know: This is the first Derby for Ennis as an owner; he also serves as Great White's trainer. It's the fourth appearance in the Run for the Roses for Torrealba, who is Three Chimneys Farm's chairman. Prior to this year, his most recent entrant in the Derby was Gun Runner, who placed third in 2016.

Per his bio on Three Chimneys' official website, Torrealba "holds a law degree from Rio de Janeiro State University and has gained valuable experience in various executive positions, leading to his current tenure at Borges Torrealba Holdings since 2013." According to the website, Torrealba got into the thoroughbred industry by establishing Haras TNT, a Brazil-based stable. Torrealba eventually invested in, and became a partner of, Three Chimneys in 2012. A year later, Torrealba acquired a controlling interest in Three Chimneys, per America's Best Racing.

Before Torrealba purchased Three Chimneys, it was run by Robert and Blythe Clay, who founded it "as a small family operation boarding mares" in 1972, according to America's Best Racing. Legendary Triple Crown champion Seattle Slew spent 17 years of his life at Three Chimneys before his death in 2002.

Intrepido

Exercise rider Alejandro Galindo with 2026 Kentucky Derby horse Intrepido on the track for a morning workout at Churchill Downs. The horse is trained by Jeff Mullins. The horse has earned $290,000 so far. April 22, 2026

Owners: Dutch Girl Holdings (Michele Arthur); Irving Ventures (Ruben Isla)

What to know: This is the first Derby appearance for both of Intrepido's owners, Arthur and Isla.

In a feature story last year, The San Diego Union-Tribune traced the journey of the pair's start into thoroughbred ownership. At a charity golf tournament Arthur founded, there was an auction item that featured behind-the-scenes tours of the Del Mar and Santa Anita racetracks. Arthur bid $500 and won the auction. When the time came to do the tours, she prepared to head to Del Mar with her husband. They also invited her husband's business partner, Isla.

"At the end of the tour, they were introduced to a trainer, Mike Pender, who showed them an unraced 2-year-old and said they could buy a half-interest for $25,000," wrote The Union-Tribune's Jay Posner.

Arthur's husband turned down the opportunity, but she and Isla bought in.

"We were like, 'We’ll do this together,'" Arthur told The Union-Tribune. "And that’s how it started."

While Inteprido gave the pair a Grade 1 victory in the American Pharoah Stakes last year at Santa Anita, the partnership's top racehorse in terms of winnings is Queen Maxima, a mare that is 8-2-1 in 14 career starts, with a trio of Grade 3 triumphs, including the Unbridled Sidney Stakes. Queen Maxima won that race at Churchill Downs by 4 lengths, just one-quarter off the race’s largest winning margin since 1976.

Litmus Test

Owners: SF Racing (Gavin Murphy); Starlight Racing (Jack Wolf); Madaket Stables (Sol Kumin); Stonestreet Stables (Barbara Banke); Dianne Bashor; Determined Stables (Matt Dorman); Golconda Stable (Ben Goldberg); Waves Edge Capital (Gregg Slager); Catherine Donovan.

What to know: This grouping of owners frequently collaborates on shares of Derby horses.

Wolf, who runs Starlight, is a two-time winner of the Derby, first with Justify (2018) and then Authentic (2020). Justify went on to capture the Triple Crown. A native of Louisville, Wolf founded Starlight Racing in 2000 along with his wife, Laurie Wolf. A one-time professor, Wolf later started an Atlanta-based hedge fund, Columbus Partners. He stayed with the hedge fund until his retirement. If Litmus Test reaches the line first May 2, Wolf will become only the fourth owner with at least three wins in the Run for the Roses, joining Calumet Farm (eight), Col. E.R. Bradley (four) and Belair Stud (three).

Per the Breeders' Cup's official website, Murphy (of SF Racing) "has been involved in the equine industry all his life." He started as an equestrian in Australia, then moved into breeding. In 2008, he founded SF Bloodstock.

Kumin, who like Wolf has a pair of victories in the Run for the Roses (2018 with Justify and 2020 with Authenic), is the co-president of Leucadia Asset Management LLC. He has served on the boards of Johns Hopkins University, The Fessenden School, Boston Children’s Hospital and Team Impact, the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and the Belmont Child Care Association Board. His sports interests aren't limited to horse racing, either. He's an investor in the Premier Lacrosse League after starring in the sport at John Hopkins.

Banke, of Stonestreet Stables, is the chairman and proprietor of Jackson Family Wines. It was founded by her late husband, Jess Jackson. Banke has owned two of the most successful racehorses in recent memory: Curlin and Rachel Alexandra.

Bashor and her late husband, Jim Bashor, shared a passion for horse racing, which eventually led them into ownership. Bashor has two prior Derby appearances, with a pair of 15th-place finishers (Danzing Candy in 2016 and Citizen Bull last year).

Hailing from Maryland, Determined Stables' owner, Dorman, told BloodHorse in 2020 he has his father to thank for sparking his interest in the sport. "As I got older, I wanted to get into it more, so when I could actually afford it, I bought into a low-level claimer," Dorman told BloodHorse. He eventually got into the breeding side of the industry as well. "I had a company for 20 years that I started, grew and got it to the right level, so I cashed out a good chunk of it. It's just good timing," he said.

Per a 2017 article from Thoroughbred Daily News, Goldberg (of Golconda Stable) didn't grow up around the sport. Goldberg is "the third generation of his family's high-end diamond jewelry business." A friend of his, Elliott Friman, introduced him to thoroughbreds. "Elliott has been a bit of a mentor to me in business and life," Goldberg told TDN. "Horses are his passion."

Slager created Waves Edge Capital. On the company's website, it details Slager as "having worked on over 500 financial transactions including acquisitions, recapitalizations, restructurings, IPOs, preferred stock offerings and convertible debt offerings for corporate and private equity acquirers."

Donovan is originally from Australia. She's now a retired attorney in New York. More than three decades ago, she moved to the U.S. with Murphy, her husband. In addition to working for SF Bloodstock and two Australian farms (Amarina and Newgate). She once was a board member for Pro Bono Net, now called Scale Justice. The company leans on technology in an effort to assist poor and underprivileged people in the U.S. in need of legal services.

Ocelli

2026 Kentucky Derby hopeful Ocelli works out at Churchill Downs. The horse is on the bubble for trainer Whit Beckman. He placed third in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial April 4 at Aqueduct. April 22, 2026

Owners: Ashley Durr; Anthony Tate; Front Page Equestrian (Kevin Page)

What to know: This is the first Derby apperance for all three owners of Ocelli.

Durr runs a horse training center with her husband, Travis Durr, located in St. Matthews, South Carolina.

Tate has been in the ownership game since 2010, winning more than $1 million during that time, per Equibase. He's still looking for his first graded-stakes victory, however.

Page runs Front Page Equestrian, a limited-liability company registered in Georgia. After Legion Bloodstock purchased a filly on Page's behalf last year at Keeneland's September Yearling Sale, TrueNicks.com noted Page is "new to the industry" and that he "owns a filly named Regaled, who is a half sister to Kentucky Oaks runner-up Drexel Hill."

To make the ownership trio's dreams come true on Derby day, Ocelli will have to outperform expectations: He's yet to win in six career starts.

Pavlovian

Owner: Reddam Racing (Paul Reddam)

What to know: Reddam Racing and its eponymous owner, Paul Reddam, hope the stars align for the third time on Derby day.

Reddam has won the Run for the Roses twice, first in 2012 with I'll Have Another, then again in 2016 with Nyquist. Doug O'Neill was the trainer for both of those victories; he also trains Pavlovian. The lone difference between this year and Reddam's two prior wins? It won't be the same jockey.

Mario Gutierrez was the winner in 2012 and 2016. But Pavlovian's jockey will be Edwin Maldonado, making his Derby debut. A Canadian who hails from Windsor, Ontario, Reddam once was a philosophy professor at California State University-Los Angeles. He then left higher education to found DiTech, a mortgage loan company.

Per a 2016 Courier Journal article, the company "was the first of its kind to advertise its current rates on television and billboards." Reddam later sold DiTech to General Motors. As of April 19, Reddam Racing is 15th in winnings among North American owners in 2026. Like Kumin and Wolf, a victory in this year's Derby would be the third for Reddam, making him only the fourth owner to accomplish that feat.

Potente

Owner: Speedway Stables (Peter Fluor, K.C. Weiner)

What to know: This will be Speedway Stables' second Derby start. It hopes the encore is better than the debut.

In 2019, Roadster started wide and never got in the mix, taking 15th in a 19-horse field. Speedway isn't a stable that revs up too much in terms of starts: Since 2015, it's logged barely 300 total starts, including races in which Speedway was in a partnership.

Speedway doesn't yet have a Triple Crown win to its name, but it notched a Breeders' Cup victory in 2021, as Corniche captured the Juvenile. Speedway has 15 other graded-stakes wins – more than half of those in Grade 1 events. Speedway is a legacy ownership, in a sense.

As America's Best Racing recounted, "Fluor and Weiner’s fathers were partners in racehorse ownership together, so the pair decided to pick up the torch." Fluor had been on the board of directors for the company of the same name, founded by his great-grandfather; Fluor retired from that position in 2021. He also once had been the chairman and CEO of Texas Crude Energy, an oil and gas exploration company. Weiner also worked at Texas Crude Energy as the company president.

Renegade

Mike Repole, owner of 2024 Kentucky Derby contender Fierceness, jokes with jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. outside trainer Todd Pletcher's barn Friday morning, April 26, 2024, at Churchill Downs.

Owners: Robert & Lawana Low; Repole Stable (Mike Repole)

What to know: Neither the Lows nor Repole are new to the Derby. This will be the third showing for the Lows; their best finish was third, with Steppenwolfer, in 2006. It'll be Derby Try No. 9 for Repole, who took third with Mo Donegal in 2022.

The Lows have 14 graded-stakes wins, four of the Grade 1 variety. Robert Low founded the Prime Inc. trucking company. He and his wife own the Primatara Horse Farm, located in Springfield, Missouri. On the property is one of the largest homes in the U.S. measuring more than 70,000 square feet.

Repole needs little introduction. Year in and year out, Repole Stable is among the successful in the industry. It's finished in the top 45 in winnings every year since 2008. That includes seven top-10 finishes (2010-13, 2023-25).

According to Forbes, Repole's net worth is $2.5 billion. He made his big bucks in the beverage industry. He founded Glaceau, which makes Vitaminwater, and then sold the brand to Coca-Cola for $4.1 billion. Repole then created Bodyarmor; he again sold to Coca-Cola, this time for $5.6 billion.

Robusta

Owner: Calumet Farm (Brad Kelley)

No ownership has a more storied history in the Derby than Calumet Farm.

It owns the record for most victories (eight, twice as many as its closest competitor; Col. E.R. Bradley had four). Calumet Farm's 28 starters are tied with Bradley for the most all time. As long as Robusta doesn't scratch, Calumet Farm's starter tally will move to 29, giving it sole possession of that mark, too. Its success extends to the other classic events as well: Calumet's seven Preakness wins are another ownership record. It's one of only two stables (Belair Stud is the other) to produce two Triple Crown thoroughbreds: Whirlaway in 1941, then Citation in 1948.

One more record for Calumet: Calumet's 17 wins in Triple Crown races (it also boasts two Belmont victories) are the most of any owner all time.

Calumet has an eye-popping number of racehorses that have been inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, 11 in all: Alydar, Armed, Bewitch, Citation, Coaltown, Davona Dale, Real Delight, Twilight Tear, Two Lea, Tim Tam and Whirlaway. Yet much of Calumet's historic success is just that: history.

Oxbow's 2013 Preakness triumph is its only Triple Crown victory in the past half-century. Calumet Farm's most recent Derby win was with Forward Pass in 1968. Since Kelley took the reins at Calumet in 2012, it's winless in seven Derby starts. Oxbow and Bravazo (2018) share the best finish in that span, as each placed sixth in their respective Derbys.

Six Speed

Owners: Brunetti Dugan Stables; Black Type Thoroughbreds (Jake Ballis); Steve Adkisson; Swinbank Stables (Reagan Swinbank)

What to know: Every member of this ownership group is competing in the Run for the Roses for the first time – except for Swinbank.

In 2009, Swinbank was one of five owners of Join in the Dance, which finished seventh in the Derby. (One of Join in the Dance's other owners: then-NBA player Rashard Lewis.) A Texan, Swinbank had a heavy heart last year. His daughter was at Camp Mystic when it flooded in July 2025, killing 28 people, including 25 campers. Though Swinbank's daughter is among the survivors, it took a toll.

"The funerals are brutal, but they do provide some closure. And as a community, we are getting through it," Swinbank told the Thoroughbred Daily News last year. "They're just kids. And they saw life-and-death situations that no one should ever have to see, let alone children."

Ballis co-founded Black Type Thoroughbreds. He and Swinbank are longtime friends.

"I've known Jake since we were 10 years old, and I've kind of followed along with what Jake and his wife Maddie dictate,” Swinbank told TDN. "They say we should buy the horse, we buy it. I don't provide that much input, other than if the price gets too high."

Adkisson is a co-founder of Adkisson Group, a real estate development and investment firm based in Houston.

"I've always loved the sport and the racing, and I finally got with the right group of people with Black Type Thoroughbreds," Adkisson told Past The Wire TV last year.

Brunetti Dugan Stables has been around less than a year. Little is known about it, other than it is an LLC registered in Texas.

So Happy

Jockey Mike Smith sits atop Kentucky Derby contender So Happy during an event at Santa Anita Park.

Owners: Norman Stables (Robbie Norman); Saints or Sinners (Hans & Ana Maron)

What to know: Norman had one of the most inspiring stories of last year's Derby.

He was the sole owner of Coal Battle, which finished 11th. Unlike so many thoroughbred owners with astounding wealth, Norman owned a small chain of grocery stores in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. He entered the industry more than a decade ago, which coincided with one of the most trying times of his life: Norman had recently gotten divorced. Watching a documentary on 2012 Belmont Stakes champion Union Rags inspired him.

"I didn’t like to hunt, I didn’t like to fish, I tried golf and I didn’t like golf," Norman told the Call News last year. "I chose the perfect hobby for me."

One can't argue with the results now that he owns Derby starters in consecutive years.

The other member of the ownership group, Saints or Sinners, is run by the husband-and-wife team of Hans and Ana Maron. Originally from Switzerland, Hans made his money via the beverage brand fairlife. Per Saints or Sinners' website, his "love affair with competition began with a passion for basketball (which he coached eventually) and quickly extended to horse racing at nearby Golden Gate Fields.

Never afraid to take risks worth the experience, he bought his first race horse at the tender age of 25." He met Ana in college. Though she initially didn't have much interest in the sport, that's changed.

"When we attend live racing, in the wee hours of the morning, you’ll find me at the barns in boots and jeans greeting the athletes and thanking the workers!" she said on the stable's website.

Per Equibase, Saints or Sinners has a win-place-show rate of 53% (21-20-20 in 116 starts) in 2026, as of April 19.

The Puma

Owners: OGMA Investments (Gustavo Delgado); JR Ranch (Ramiro Restrepo); High Step Racing (Randy Guy, Joe Noble, Kevin Avera, Jim Ferreira, Todd Perry)

What to know: This is the second Derby for Delgado and Restrepo. They were part of the winning ownership team in 2023 with that year's Derby champion, Mage. It will be the Derby debut for the five members of High Step Racing.

Delgado, as he was for Mage, is also The Puma's trainer.

Restrepo owns Marquee Bloodstock, which he launched in 2014, and has deep roots in the sport.

"Restrepo is the fifth generation of his family to participate in the Thoroughbred industry, reaching back to his great-great grandfather, who owned racehorses in Colombia in the 1800s," the Paulick Report wrote in a feature on Restrepo in 2019. "He could recall each branch of the family tree's contribution to its racing legacy with ease, from a grandfather who owned racetracks in Colombia to uncles who emigrated to New York and became trainers."

The quintet that comprises High Step Racing is a fairly new outfit. The stable was founded in 2023. Per its official website, "The group is based in Milton, (Georgia), focusing on collaborative ownership and racing of high-quality thoroughbred horses."

Wonder Dean

Owner: Yoshinari Yamamoto

What to know: This will be Yamamoto's Derby debut.

In addition to being Wonder Dean's owner, Yamamoto is also his breeder. Yamamoto also owns the dam, Wonder Siang Praw, who had win-place-show percentage of 50% (3-3-5) in 22 starts.

Nearly every horse bred by Yamamoto's family carries the "Wonder" prefix. Wonder Dean has two wins in six career races, with a pair of runners-up as well. In his most recent start, Wonder Dean captured the Group 2 UAE Derby at Meydan Racecourse, topping fellow Derby entrant Six Speed by 2½ lengths.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Derby horse owners for Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs