Sire Future Wager: Betting on the father of the 2026 Kentucky Derby winner

Nov 28, 2025 Kellie Reilly/Brisnet.com

Maxfield after winning the 2019 Breeders' Futurity

Young stallion Maxfield, a son of Derby champ Street Sense, is among the options in the Sire Future Wager (Coady Media)

Fans can always bet on the horses they like to win, but the Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager offers the opportunity to bet on your favorite stallions too!

Over Thanksgiving weekend, until 6 p.m. ET Sunday, bet on any of 39 individually named stallions, or the option of “All other sires,” that you believe will be the father of the 2026 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner.

Among the 39 stallions listed are outstanding sires Into Mischief (the 4-1 favorite on the morning line), Curlin, Gun Runner, Tapit, Uncle Mo, and Not This Time; Kentucky Derby stars Street Sense and Nyquist; and Triple Crown champions American Pharoah and Justify.

Now let’s take a more detailed look at the prominent betting interests in the Sire Future Wager.

Into Mischief on the verge of a record

Into Mischief, North America’s perennial leading sire, ranks as the most successful contemporary sire in the Derby. The Spendthrift Farm patriarch became the first stallion in nearly 70 years to equal the record of siring three Derby winners – Authentic (2020), Mandaloun (2021), and Sovereignty (2025).

Into Mischief’s son Goldencents is himself on the Derby scoreboard as the sire of 2024 Derby upsetter Mystik Dan. Along with Goldencents, fellow Into Mischief sons Practical Joke and Maximus Mischief are also available individually in the Sire Future Wager.

Into Mischief has no shortage of contenders for 2026, chief among them unbeaten Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) hero Ted Noffey. Others include a pair running in Saturday’s Cattleya S. on the Japan Road, Satono Voyage and Arcadia Cafe.

Triple Crown heroes American Pharoah and Justify

American Pharoah has moved to Japan for the 2026 breeding season, a logical development considering the success his progeny have had there, including champion  Cafe Pharoah and his full brother, Luxor Cafe. They both topped the Japan Road to the Derby leaderboard in their respective years, Cafe Pharoah in 2020 and Luxor Cafe in 2025. Luxor Cafe advanced to the Kentucky Derby, but wound up 12th in the slop at Churchill Downs.

Although American Pharoah has yet to make his mark in the U.S. classics as a sire, he might have his best chance so far in Mr. A. P., the closing runner-up in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

Justify hasn’t had a U.S. classic winner either, but he has sired the winners of all three jewels of the English Triple Crown – the original one – on turf. After his brilliant son City of Troy captured the 2024 Epsom Derby (G1), Justify sent out Ruling Court to add this spring’s 2000 Guineas (G1) at Newmarket, and another colt, Scandinavia, completed the set in the St Leger (G1) at Doncaster in September.

Derby-winning stallions Nyquist, Street Sense, and their sire lines

Nyquist and Street Sense are likewise aiming to join the club of Derby winners who sired Derby winners. Nyquist’s leading 2026 candidate appears to be Litmus Test, the third-placer in the Breeders’ Futurity (G1) who was most recently fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

Nyquist’s sire, the late Uncle Mo, can keep adding to his legacy with a well-bred crop of juveniles. Another of Uncle Mo’s stallion sons, the speedy Yaupon, is himself listed in the Sire Future Wager, although his first crop will have to answer stamina questions.

Street Sense’s most accomplished juvenile, Street Beast, has raced exclusively on turf so far. But Street Sense could have an even bigger impact on the Derby trail through his sons Maxfield and McKinzie.

Maxfield’s first crop features some intriguing types. Aside from Churchill debut romper Englishman, Maxfield has hopes on the international front, including Cattleya S. contender Magna Victor. McKinzie, sire of this year’s Derby and Belmont (G1) third Baeza, has Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) entrant Dr. Kapur among his candidates.

Gun Runner and Curlin agonizingly close to the roses

Hall of Famers Gun Runner and Curlin, who each finished third in their editions of the Derby, have gone close to having a son wear the roses.

Gun Runner, who was third in Nyquist’s Derby (2016), came within a nose of siring a Derby winner when his champion son Sierra Leone was just denied by Mystik Dan in 2024.

Gun Runner’s been a steady source of classic prospects since the very beginning of his stallion career, when his first-crop son Early Voting won the 2022 Preakness (G1). His current crop promises to uphold that lofty standard, with the likes of Kentucky Jockey Club runners Further Ado and Spice Runner, and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile third Brant, already announcing their intent.

Curlin, third to Street Sense in the 2007 Run for the Roses, has sired a trio of Derby runners-up – Exaggerator (2016), Good Magic (2018), and Journalism (2025). Exaggerator and Journalism both regained the winning thread in the next jewel, the Preakness, just as Curlin himself had done. Curlin’s progeny have also made their presence felt in the Belmont, most notably Palace Malice, who landed the third jewel in 2013.

Underscoring his potency as a classic influence, Curlin is the grandfather of two Derby winners. His son Keen Ice was himself responsible for 2022 Derby shocker Rich Strike, and Good Magic went on to sire 2023 Derby victor Mage. Good Magic has another high-profile chance this season in Talkin, the runner-up in the Champagne (G1).

With his stud profile, Curlin ought to get a Derby-winning son of his own sooner or later. Courting has advertised himself by wiring an Aqueduct maiden, but given how Curlin’s progeny tend to improve with time, there are other stealthy possibilities still to be revealed.

Tapit and his dynasty still looking for a Derby

A similar comment applies to the terrific sire Tapit, who boasts a record-tying four Belmont winners. Tapit has been knocking on the Derby door, especially through third-placers Tacitus (2019) and champion Essential Quality (2021), and it would be no surprise if a late-developing son emerged on the scene next spring. So far, the 2-for-2 Rancho Santa Fe is the headliner among Tapit’s current crop.

Essential Quality, the most recent of Tapit’s Belmont winners, has several first-crop sons who could move forward on the trail. At this writing, Nashua S. hero My World is the most obvious one to watch.

The whole dynasty includes another Tapit son, Constitution, who is in turn vying with his own sons Tiz the Law and Independence Hall in the Sire Future Wager.

Half-brotherly love

While the father-and-son dynamic is a recurring theme, half-brothers Not This Time and Liam’s Map introduce a different sort of family rivalry into the mix. The two share the same dam (mother), Miss Macy Sue, but their sires hail from entirely different male lines.

Not This Time, a son of “Iron Horse” Giant’s Causeway, is one of the hottest sires on the planet. His champion son Epicenter was second as the favorite in the 2022 Derby and Preakness, and his battalion for 2026 includes Breeders’ Futurity runner-up Blackout Time; It’s Our Time, fourth as the odds-on favorite in the Champagne; and Kentucky Jockey Club entrant Cherokee Nation.

Liam’s Map, by the influential Unbridled’s Song, has a top-caliber contender in Champagne romper Napoleon Solo. Although he’s yet to have a classic-placed runner, Liam’s Map has had horses on the trail, and his Burnham Square was a troubled sixth in the 2025 Derby.

Bomb potential for Omaha Beach

If you’re scouting for a young stallion who’s totally overlooked, Omaha Beach is trading way above his 60-1 morning line odds at this writing. Scratched as the favorite from the 2019 Derby, Omaha Beach is the sire of Desert Gate, who was scratched from the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

But Desert Gate had shown plenty of ability, romping in the Best Pal (G3) and running a better-than-appears second in both the Del Mar Futurity (G1) and American Pharoah (G1). Desert Gate has the potential to bounce back for six-time Derby winner Bob Baffert.

The Sire Future Wager runs concurrently with Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW), where you can bet on the Derby hopefuls themselves. You’ll have more chances to bet on the potential contenders ahead of the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby, with KDFW pools scheduled in January, February, March, and April 2026.

But there’s only one Sire Future Wager, so if you want to support your favorite stallion, back him on TwinSpires.com now!

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