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Handicapping the 2026 Kentucky Derby Trainers

by Spencer Toth - 4/29/2026

Handicapping the Kentucky Derby trainers Cherie DeVaux

The 152nd Kentucky Derby is just days away as the trainers do last-minute preparations with their respective horses and jockeys. While the field of three-year-old horses changes each year, there are a few mainstay trainers who have found success over the years at Churchill Downs. 

While there is plenty of merit in going over the horses racing on Saturday, taking a deep dive into the trainers who have raised them their entire lives can also be fruitful. Some familiar names are preparing for another Derby, as well as trainers getting ready to make their Kentucky Derby debuts. 

Before making any bets on the Kentucky Derby, knowing about the horse, the trainer, and the jockey on its back is essential to finding consistent success. We will go into detail about each horse and jockey another time, but for now, let’s take a good look at the 16 trainers with horses in the Kentucky Derby. 

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Brad Cox: Further Ado (5-1), Commandment (7-1), Fulleffort (19-1)

Brad Cox has eclipsed the 2,500 career win mark and is now looking for his second Kentucky Derby win after getting his first in 2021. He has a real shot to add to his impressive resume, as both Further Ado and Commandment are frontrunners to win the 2026 Derby. 

Cox has a handful of significant wins this year, but the majority of his success came more than five years ago. The 46-year-old still has plenty to prove and is the only trainer with three horses in the Derby this year. Anything short of a victory would be a huge disappointment for Cox. According to the odds, he has a 27.5% chance of one of his three horses winning and appears to be a shoo-in for at least one podium finish. 

Bob Baffert: Potente (30-1), Litmus Test (40-1)

What does Bob Baffert have left in the tank? The 73-year-old trainer has now recorded more than 3,500 race wins, has won two Triple Crowns, and is now hunting for his seventh Kentucky Derby victory. 

Baffert returned from his two-year suspension last May, but was unable to get back in the win column with a 15th-place finish at the 2025 Kentucky Derby. There is still plenty of optimism that Baffert can return to the summit of the horse racing world, but with a pair of 30-1 and 40-1 horses at this year’s Derby, he may have to wait a few more weeks for his next American Classic victory. 

Riley Mott: Incredibolt (40-1), Albus (50-1)

Riley Mott is the son of legendary trainer Bill Mott and is getting set to make his Kentucky Derby debut. He has not one but two horses running on Saturday and will look to follow in his dad's footsteps after cheering his father on during his 2025 Kentucky Derby win. 

Riley Mott has 114 wins to his name heading into this race, with 13 of them coming this year in 93 starts. Both of his horses are seen as underdogs, but anything can happen with two entrants in the Kentucky Derby. 

Todd Pletcher: Renegade (9-2)

There aren’t many, if any, horse trainers who can stand among Todd Pletcher. He has been at the top of the horse racing world for decades, accumulating more than 5,700 race wins. He claimed Kentucky Derby victories in 2010 and 2017 and is poised to have another strong showing with the outright favorite in his stables. He also won the Belmont Stakes on four occasions, with his first major race win coming back in the 1990s. 

He was voted into the United States Racing Hall of Fame in 2021 and has shown no signs of slowing down, physically or metaphorically, during the twilight of his career. 

Gustavo Delgado: The Puma (6-1)

Gustavo Delgado is making his fourth Kentucky Derby appearance and will be looking to harness some of the magic he had in 2023. After a pair of bottom-seven finishes in 2016 and 2019, Delgado trained the race-winning horse, Mage, in 2023. Delgado has more than 300 race wins in his career, but has slowed down as of late, with only four this year.

The Puma appears to be one of the strongest horses Delgado has ever trained, and he has focused all of his efforts on getting him ready for this race. 

Mark Glatt: So Happy (7-1)

Mark Glatt will be racing on Saturday with a heavy heart, as the legendary trainer is mourning the passing of his wife after meeting at the racetrack in 1996. Glatt has aptly named So Happy to lean on, and is looking to add to his 1,300+ career wins. He has multiple graded wins but has yet to win any of the Triple Crown races. 

Bill Mott: Chief Wallabee (14-1)

Bill Mott will have one eye on his son, who is making his Kentucky Derby debut, but his primary focus will be on Chief Wallabee. Mott has already won both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes twice before, as he completed two of the three Triple Crown legs last year with Sovereignity. He is right back in the mix this year as he looks to add to his impressive resume. 

Kenny McPeek: Right to Party (14-1)

Kenny McPeek won the 2024 Kentucky Derby and is among the top contenders to do so again this year with Right to Party. McPeek completed his career Triple Crown with that win after his 2002 Belmont Stakes and 2020 Preakness Stakes wins got him two-thirds of the way there. 

McPeek has more than 2,000 career wins, with his first big break coming back in 1991 with his first First Stakes winner. He has more than $125 million in career earnings and would love nothing more than to add to that total on Saturday evening. 

Manabu Ikezoe: Danon Bourbon (14-1)

Manabu Ikezoe is a Japanese trainer with multiple graded stakes wins in Japan. He is making his Kentucky Derby debut, and should not be confused with his son, jockey Kenichi Ikezoe. Danon Bourbon appears to be one of the legitimate contenders in this crowded field, and recent success from his Japanese countrymen will have Ikezoe confident he can claim a stunning win in his Derby debut. 

Daisuke Takayanagi: Wonder Dean (20-1)

We have another Japanese debutant with Daisuke Takayanagi training Wonder Dean in preparation for the 2026 Kentucky Derby. Takayanagi has found success in Japan, but this is a huge step up in competition, as he has rarely competed internationally in the past. He is a steady, methodical trainer with plenty of room to grow at this stage of his career. 

Chad Brown: Emerging Market (14-1)

Chad Brown has two Preakness Stakes wins under his belt but is still searching for his first Kentucky Derby victory. Brown is a grass specialist and has his best showings when the ground is dry and hard. Chad Brown had the most earnings for a horse racing trainer in four consecutive years, from 2016 to 2019, and has finished in the top five annually every year since 2012. There are very few trainers who have posted the same level of consistency as Brown, and he will have some extra motivation for a race with these stakes.

Bhupat Seemar: Six Speed (45-1)

Bhupat Seemar trains out of the United Arab Emirates and is making his Kentucky Derby debut with Six Speed. Originally from India, Seemar has found plenty of success racing overseas and is now trying his luck in the United States. The new owner of Zabeel Stables, Seemar, is seen as one of, if not the best, current trainers in the Middle East and is poised for a long career near the top if he commits to racing abroad. 

Doug O’Neill: Pavlovian (50-1)

Doug O’Neill is a two-time Kentucky Derby winner, but hasn’t tasted gold in this race since 2016. O’Neill has dealt with controversy earlier in his career, but few trainers are better at getting three-year-olds ready for the Triple Crown races. 

Cherie DeVaux: Golden Tempo (50-1)

Cherie DeVaux spent years working under the legendary Chad Brown before starting her own stable. She hasn’t found any personal success as of yet, but she is widely considered one of the next great horse racing trainers. She has picked up other smaller wins, but nothing would compare to a Kentucky Derby victory. No female trainer has ever won the Kentucky Derby, giving her a chance to make history with Golden Tempo on Saturday. 

Jeff Mullins: Intrepido (60-1)

Jeff Mullins has yet to taste success in any of the Triple Crown races despite being a veteran presence in the California racing world. He has a longshot in Intrepido to change that at the Kentucky Derby and only has one major racing win since 2010 on his resume. Mullins appears to be making a late career surge, and a strong Kentucky Derby showing could be the platform he needs for a new life as a trainer. 

John Ennis: Great White (90-1)

John Ennis has the longest odds to win the Kentucky Derby at 90-1. He had one previous appearance back in 2024, where his horse finished 14th, and he will be looking to best that mark this time around. After a decade of mediocrity, Ennis has found plenty of success in the last 24 months and cannot be underestimated despite his long odds. 

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