Wonder Dean profile: 2026 Kentucky Derby odds, post position, history and more to know

He started his career in Japan and won only one of his first five starts, but the results didn't completely say how good that form was. That included a fourth place finish in the one-mile Saudi Derby, which was clearly too short for this horse who is bred for distance.

Then in the UAE Derby at 9½ furlongs Wonder Dean, running midpack, chased down a loose-on-the-lead Six Speed to win by 2½ lengths. Though Six Speed may end up being a distance-challenged miler, he finished 6 lengths ahead of the third-place horse, and no one made up any ground on the top two.

Though no Beyer Speed Figure is available on the UAE Derby, Thoro-graph gives Wonder Dean a strong figure for his effort and says he's one of the fastest horses in the Kentucky Derby field.

This will be the second Kentucky Derby for trainer Daisuke Takayanagi, who brought the lightly raced T O Password to Louisville two years ago. The 48-1 longshot outran his odds, finishing fifth.

This also will be the second Derby for jockey Ryusei Sakai, who finished third aboard Forever Young that same year and has helped that horse become the sport's alltime career earnings leader.

Wonder Dean is listed at 30-1 at FanDuel Racing, TwinSpires and 1/ST BET, and there's no reason to think that he will go any lower than that. Claim our jumbo-sized 1/ST BET offer to get a $500 sign-up bonus:

Post draw analysis

The connections of Wonder Dean cheered wildly last week when the horse drew the No. 10 post position, which, if the post draw was a post draft, would be the No. 1 selection for many connections. Because he'll be in the No. 10 hole, he will be one of the last two horses in the starting gate. Since Wonder Dean won't have to stand in the gate as long as others, that could help him break alertly, which has been an issue with him in the past and would be a killer on Saturday.