Further Ado is back where Byron King put him at the start of April: No. 1 in the Kentucky Derby 2026 Derby Dozen. The colt reclaimed the top spot on April 9 after winning the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes by 11 lengths at Keeneland on April 4, a result that turned a crowded Derby picture back toward the horse that had already beaten the field once at Churchill Downs.
Further Ado is 2-for-2 at Keeneland with an average winning margin there of 15 1/2 lengths, and he also won the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs last fall. That kind of record is hard to ignore in a race this deep, especially with the 152nd Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve set for May 2 and several of King’s top names already on the grounds at Churchill Downs training for it.
Renegade, though, remains the horse the betting public and the national poll still trust most. He closed as the 4-1 favorite in the final Kentucky Derby Future Wager offered by Churchill Downs on Saturday and also leads the National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s Top 3-Year-Old Poll after victories in the Arkansas Derby and the Sam F. Davis Stakes. Further Ado may have the hotter latest résumé, but Renegade still has the broader profile of a horse that has kept winning when it counts.
Commandment also moved into the conversation with his narrow win in the Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa, where he edged The Puma by a head in 1:49.99 and earned a 101 Beyer Speed Figure and a 98 Equibase Speed Figure. Chief Wallabee, meanwhile, has turned a pair of graded-stakes tries into a steady climb, finishing second in the Feb. 28 Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes and third in the March 28 Florida Derby. The Puma has one win from four starts, and that win came when he defeated a returning Further Ado at Tampa Bay Downs.
The final Derby preps are now in the rearview mirror, with the three 200-point races run last weekend and the only remaining points race, the Stonestreet Lexington Stakes on April 11 at Keeneland, carrying no Derby weight because none of its entrants were qualified to run in the Kentucky Derby. That leaves the field to settle itself at Churchill Downs, where the contenders already on site will keep training and the arguments over the front of the Derby Dozen will only get louder before May 2.
