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Bob Baffert was even more of a popular figure at Churchill Downs last year.
The longtime trainer made his return to the Kentucky Derby after serving a three-year suspension with two horses in the field: Citizen Bull and Rodriguez, the latter of which was a scratch before the 151 Run for the Roses due to a foot bruise.
Sired by Into Mischief, Citizen Bull finished 15th in the Derby but was the runner-up in the Grade 1 Breeder’s Cup Dirt Mile six months later. Meanwhile, Rodriguez’s foot trouble persisted, keeping him out of the Preakness, though Goal Oriented, another Baffert-trained horse, finished fourth in the race. Rodriguez was healthy enough to compete in the Belmont Stakes a few weeks later and finished fourth.
Baffert will look to be back in Louisville this year with more Derby-contending horses. He currently only has two horses among the top 20 on the Kentucky Derby points leaderboard. Litmus Test was Baffert's only horse in the Arkansas Derby, and he didn’t have any entries in the Florida Derby last weekend. The Grade 1 Blue Grass, Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby and Grade 2 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, all of which take place this weekend, are the final major Derby prep races left.
Here’s which Baffert-trained horses are still in the hunt for a spot in the 152nd Kentucky Derby on May 2:
Record: 2-0-0 in two starts
Jockey: Juan Hernandez
Sire: Into Mischief
Career earnings: $162,000
Prior to Potente winning the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita Park on March 7 — his first-ever graded race — Baffert told FanDuel Racing that he instructed Hernandez to “just ride (Potente) like a Derby horse.”
“They’re probably going fast and I knew they were going to be at a fast pace because there always is in these races,” Baffert continued. “But for him to pull it off like that, it was so exciting.”
Currently No. 14 on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard and tops among Baffert horses with 50 points, the colt is scheduled to return to the California-based track to compete in the Santa Anita Derby on Saturday in hopes of adding another win to his Kentucky Derby prep resume. Potente opened as the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the race.
Record: 1-2-1 in five starts
Jockey: Martin Garcia
Sire: Tiz the Law
Career earnings: $260,500
Buetane made his graded-stakes debut with a second-place finish in the Grade 2 Spendthrift Farm Hopeful Stakes on Sept. 1. Most recently, he finished third in the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes on Feb. 6 and fourth in the Virginia Derby on March 14. The colt is currently 29th on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 16 points but has a big opportunity ahead of him in the Wood Memorial on Saturday. He can earn 100 qualifying points if he wins or 50 if he comes in second place. A top-two showing would secure his spot in the Derby, while 25 points for third place would likely leave him on the bubble. Buetane opened at 8-1 to win the Wood, tied with two other horses for the fourth-lowest odds.
Record: 1-2-0 in six starts
Jockey: Florent Geroux
Sire: Not This Time
Career earnings: $86,605
Sitting 41st on the Derby leaderboard with only three points, the upcoming Santa Anita Derby is crucial for Cherokee Nation's chances of making the Run for the Roses. He opened at 5-2, the second choice behind Potente. The winner of the Santa Anita Derby is awarded 100 points and the runner-up gets 50.
Cherokee Nation has only competed in two graded stakes races so far — the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes and Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes — and finished fifth in both. Twenty days after the latter stakes race, he broke his maiden in a one-mile race on Feb. 27 at Santa Anita. He recorded a 100 Beyer Speed Figure, which is the fastest in the Santa Anita Derby field.
Record: 2-0-2 in seven starts
Jockey: Francisco Arrieta
Sire: Nyquist
Career earnings: $477,688
It’ll be a stretch, but there’s always a chance that Litmus Test can make the Derby field like his sire, 2016 Derby winner Nyquist. He has 34 points and is No. 20 on the Derby leaderboard. Racing without his blinkers for the first time ever, Litmus Test produced a seventh-place finish in the Arkansas Derby last Saturday. Earlier in the month, the colt was third in the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park.
Litmus Test’s lone graded win was the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity on Dec. 13 to conclude his 2-year-old season. As of now, he is not slated to compete in any more Derby prep races.
Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at [email protected] and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Derby 2026, see Bob Baffert horses among points leaders
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The longtime trainer made his return to the Kentucky Derby after serving a three-year suspension with two horses in the field: Citizen Bull and Rodriguez, the latter of which was a scratch before the 151 Run for the Roses due to a foot bruise.
Sired by Into Mischief, Citizen Bull finished 15th in the Derby but was the runner-up in the Grade 1 Breeder’s Cup Dirt Mile six months later. Meanwhile, Rodriguez’s foot trouble persisted, keeping him out of the Preakness, though Goal Oriented, another Baffert-trained horse, finished fourth in the race. Rodriguez was healthy enough to compete in the Belmont Stakes a few weeks later and finished fourth.
Baffert will look to be back in Louisville this year with more Derby-contending horses. He currently only has two horses among the top 20 on the Kentucky Derby points leaderboard. Litmus Test was Baffert's only horse in the Arkansas Derby, and he didn’t have any entries in the Florida Derby last weekend. The Grade 1 Blue Grass, Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby and Grade 2 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, all of which take place this weekend, are the final major Derby prep races left.
Here’s which Baffert-trained horses are still in the hunt for a spot in the 152nd Kentucky Derby on May 2:
Potente
Record: 2-0-0 in two starts
Jockey: Juan Hernandez
Sire: Into Mischief
Career earnings: $162,000
Prior to Potente winning the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita Park on March 7 — his first-ever graded race — Baffert told FanDuel Racing that he instructed Hernandez to “just ride (Potente) like a Derby horse.”
“They’re probably going fast and I knew they were going to be at a fast pace because there always is in these races,” Baffert continued. “But for him to pull it off like that, it was so exciting.”
Currently No. 14 on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard and tops among Baffert horses with 50 points, the colt is scheduled to return to the California-based track to compete in the Santa Anita Derby on Saturday in hopes of adding another win to his Kentucky Derby prep resume. Potente opened as the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the race.
Buetane
Record: 1-2-1 in five starts
Jockey: Martin Garcia
Sire: Tiz the Law
Career earnings: $260,500
Buetane made his graded-stakes debut with a second-place finish in the Grade 2 Spendthrift Farm Hopeful Stakes on Sept. 1. Most recently, he finished third in the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes on Feb. 6 and fourth in the Virginia Derby on March 14. The colt is currently 29th on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 16 points but has a big opportunity ahead of him in the Wood Memorial on Saturday. He can earn 100 qualifying points if he wins or 50 if he comes in second place. A top-two showing would secure his spot in the Derby, while 25 points for third place would likely leave him on the bubble. Buetane opened at 8-1 to win the Wood, tied with two other horses for the fourth-lowest odds.
Cherokee Nation
Record: 1-2-0 in six starts
Jockey: Florent Geroux
Sire: Not This Time
Career earnings: $86,605
Sitting 41st on the Derby leaderboard with only three points, the upcoming Santa Anita Derby is crucial for Cherokee Nation's chances of making the Run for the Roses. He opened at 5-2, the second choice behind Potente. The winner of the Santa Anita Derby is awarded 100 points and the runner-up gets 50.
Cherokee Nation has only competed in two graded stakes races so far — the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes and Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes — and finished fifth in both. Twenty days after the latter stakes race, he broke his maiden in a one-mile race on Feb. 27 at Santa Anita. He recorded a 100 Beyer Speed Figure, which is the fastest in the Santa Anita Derby field.
Litmus Test
Record: 2-0-2 in seven starts
Jockey: Francisco Arrieta
Sire: Nyquist
Career earnings: $477,688
It’ll be a stretch, but there’s always a chance that Litmus Test can make the Derby field like his sire, 2016 Derby winner Nyquist. He has 34 points and is No. 20 on the Derby leaderboard. Racing without his blinkers for the first time ever, Litmus Test produced a seventh-place finish in the Arkansas Derby last Saturday. Earlier in the month, the colt was third in the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park.
Litmus Test’s lone graded win was the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity on Dec. 13 to conclude his 2-year-old season. As of now, he is not slated to compete in any more Derby prep races.
Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at [email protected] and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Derby 2026, see Bob Baffert horses among points leaders
Continue reading...
