Study Guide: 2026 Santa Anita Derby

Mar 31, 2026 J. Keeler Johnson/TwinSpires.com

Cherokee Nation wins at Santa Anita. (Photo by Benoit Photo)

A strong seven-horse field will race 1 1/8 miles at Santa Anita in Saturday’s $500,000 Santa Anita Derby (G1), an important Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifier worth 100-50-25-15-10 points to the top five finishers.

Let’s take a horse-by-horse tour through the entries:

Cherokee Nation

Start(s): 6
Wins: 1
Place: 2
Show: 0

Owner: SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Bashor Racing, Determined Stables, Golconda Stable, Waves Edge Capital, and Catherine Donovan
Breeder: Fortune Farms, William and Corinne Heiligbrodt
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Jockey: Florent Geroux

Top Speed Rating: (103) when winning a maiden special weight at Santa Anita.
Total Earnings: $86,605

Sire: Not This Time
Dam: Believe in Charlie
Color: Bay

Cherokee Nation performed inconsistently across his first five starts, occasionally showing flashes of talent, but losing every time. However, he produced a giant performance in a one-mile maiden special weight at Santa Anita last month, crushing his rivals by 10 lengths with a 103 Brisnet Speed rating. That’s the highest number belonging to any horse entered in the Santa Anita Derby, so Cherokee Nation is the horse to beat if he repeats his last performance for eight-time Santa Anita Derby-winning trainer Bob Baffert.

Kentucky Derby Maiden Watch: Giant win for Cherokee Nation. 🎓 @j_keelerman talks about 6 recent maiden winners that intrigued him!

Who impressed you the most? Let us know! ⤵️ @KentuckyDerby https://t.co/Os0xKu8bM5

— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) March 4, 2026

Potente

Start(s): 2
Wins: 2
Place: 0
Show: 0

Owner: Speedway Stables
Breeder: Pam and Martin Wygod
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Jockey: Juan Hernandez

Top Speed Rating: (97) when winning the San Felipe (G2) at Santa Anita.
Total Earnings: $162,000

Sire: Into Mischief
Dam: Sweet Sting
Color: Bay

The second Baffert trainee entered in the Santa Anita Derby is Potente. Purchased for $2.4 million at auction, Potente is unbeaten in two starts. He led all the way to win his debut, dashing six furlongs at Santa Anita, then rallied with determination to take the 1 1/16-mile San Felipe (G2) by a head over Robusta. Potente has talent and is progressing in the right direction, suggesting he’s a serious threat to win the Santa Anita Derby.

Vitruvian Man

Start(s): 5
Wins: 1
Place: 1
Show: 1

Owner: Glenn Sorgenstein WC Racing
Breeder: Glenn Sorgenstein WC Racing
Trainer: Doug O’Neill
Jockey: Antonio Fresu

Top Speed Rating: (84) when finishing second in a $50,000 starter allowance at Churchill Downs.
Total Earnings: $82,345

Sire: Vino Rosso
Dam: Caradini
Color: Bay

Vitruvian Man is making his first start in California—and his first start of 2026—after competing five times in Kentucky last year. He won a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight at Keeneland, but lost two subsequent allowance races, finishing second and third. He’ll need to improve upon his career-best 84 Brisnet Speed rating to challenge tougher foes in the Santa Anita Derby.

Robusta

Start(s): 4
Wins: 1
Place: 1
Show: 0

Owner: Calumet Farm
Breeder: Calumet Farm
Trainer: Doug O’Neill
Jockey: Emisael Jaramillo

Top Speed Rating: (97) when finishing second in the San Felipe (G2) at Santa Anita.
Total Earnings: $83,000

Sire: Accelerate
Dam: Urbane Legend
Color: Dark bay/brown

Robusta has shown flashes of serious talent. Back in January, he defeated Cherokee Nation by half a length in a one-mile maiden special weight at Santa Anita. A few weeks ago, he failed by only a head to hold off Potente’s late charge in the San Felipe. A top-four finish in the Santa Anita Derby is well within reach for Robusta, and if he takes another step forward, victory isn’t out of the question.

So Happy

Start(s): 3
Wins: 2
Place: 0
Show: 1

Owner: Norman Stables and Saints or Sinners
Breeder: Leverett S. Miller
Trainer: Mark Glatt
Jockey: Mike Smith

Top Speed Rating: (101) when winning the San Vicente (G2) at Santa Anita.
Total Earnings: $180,000

Sire: Runhappy
Dam: So Cunning
Color: Bay

So Happy won his first two starts sprinting, including the seven-furlong San Vicente (G2), in which he prevailed by two lengths with an eye-catching 101 Brisnet Speed rating. But when he stretched out over 1 1/16 miles for the San Felipe, he tired to finish third, 2 1/4 lengths behind Potente and Robusta. Since So Happy is a son of the 2015 champion male sprinter Runhappy, it’s possible the 1 1/8-mile distance of the Santa Anita Derby is farther than he wants to run.

Start the Ride

Start(s): 3
Wins: 1
Place: 0
Show: 0

Owner: Harris Farms
Breeder: Harris Farms
Trainer: Dan Blacker
Jockey: Armando Ayuso

Top Speed Rating: (88) when winning the California Chrome Cal Cup Derby at Santa Anita.
Total Earnings: $97,250

Sire: Upstart
Dam: Elusive Ride
Color: Dark bay/brown

Start the Ride showed talent when winning the California Cup Derby over a field including future Louisiana Derby (G2) runner-up Pavlovian. But when Start the Ride made his Road to the Kentucky Derby debut in the San Felipe, he finished a distant sixth behind Potente, Robusta, and So Happy. He’ll need improvement to turn the tables.

Intrepido

Start(s): 5
Wins: 2
Place: 1
Show: 0

Owner: Dutch Girl Holding and Irving Ventures
Breeder: Sierra Fria Farm
Trainer: Jeff Mullins
Jockey: Hector I. Berrios

Top Speed Rating: (99) when winning the American Pharoah (G1) at Santa Anita.
Total Earnings: $312,800

Sire: Maximus Mischief
Dam: Overly Indulgent
Color: Bay

Intrepido has performed well in two previous Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifiers at Santa Anita. Last fall, he rallied to beat a quality field in the American Pharoah (G1). Then in February—in his first start off a three-month break from racing—he finished a close second in the Robert B. Lewis (G3). A typical performance from Intrepido should put him in the hunt for a top-three finish in the Santa Anita Derby, and if he improves in his second start of the year, he’ll have a strong shot to visit the winner’s circle.