Kentucky Derby Power Rankings

There was a time when it was believed a horse couldn’t win the Kentucky Derby (G1) without having raced as a two-year-old.

This is always an intriguing time leading up to the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Kentucky Oaks (G1). Final works are scheduled, and travel to Louisville is planned.

With the Kentucky Derby (G1) field all but set, the most influential figure in the Derby picture in the next week or two might be Steve Rushing. Rushing may not be known by all regular racing followers, but as the agent for champion jockey Irad Ortiz...

Change was expected in the Kentucky Derby picture with the running of four final prep races at the weekend. But the level of disruption was much greater than most would have predicted.

The first three 200-point prep races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Oaks (G1) have now been run, and all went to horses without previous victories in the series.

We can expect some good horses racing in the major preps this weekend – in addition to those on the Power Rankings list - including potential contenders such as Emerging Market, Pavlovian, Stark Contrast, and Resplendence. It’s an exciting time.

This weekend sees Pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager. By now, most of the likely runners are exposed, which is reflected in the relatively long 12-1 odds for the “all other three-year-olds” option. Not surprisingly, only one horse on this week’s...

Several newcomers appeared in the Derby Power Rankings, while one horse in the lower reaches charged a long way up the board. Along the way, some names that have been on the list from the start have dropped off.

This week’s prep races figured to have limited impact on the Kentucky Derby and Oaks Power Rankings. In the end, it arguably had even less relevance than may have been imagined.

It says a bit about the open nature of this year’s Kentucky Derby picture that the top individual still doesn’t hold favoritism in Pool 4 of the Future Wager.