As the post-position draw nears, what does the Kentucky Derby field look like?

Cameron Drummond, Lexington Herald-Leader on Apr 24, 2025

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — There’s less than a week to go until the field for the Grade 1, $5 million Kentucky Derby is officially set.

The 2025 Kentucky Derby will be run May 3 at Churchill Downs in Louisville.

This coming Saturday, April 26, is when the post-position draw will take place for both the Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky Oaks. Both the Derby and the Oaks will celebrate their 151st editions this year.

A significant amount of reshuffling has taken place in recent weeks when it comes to the projected 20-horse field for the Kentucky Derby.

The final qualifying points leaderboard for the Derby was set April 8, after Burnham Square won the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland in Lexington.

But plenty of changes have occurred to the projected Derby field since that race, as the connections for the top 3-year-old thoroughbreds mulled whether or not to compete in the Run for the Roses.

This included one horse, Owen Almighty, going from in the Derby field, to out of the field and then back in again.

With the dust now largely settled, this is what the projected 2025 Kentucky Derby field looks like.

What does the 2025 Kentucky Derby field look like?

The following horses are projected to be in the 2025 Kentucky Derby field.

These 18 horses are set to make the starting gate via the American Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying pathway.

— 1: Burnham Square: 130 points, ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr. and trained by Ian Wilkes.

— 2: Sandman: 129 points, ridden by Jose Ortiz and trained by Mark Casse.

— 3: Journalism: 122.5 points, ridden by Umberto Rispoli and trained by Michael McCarthy.

— 4: Rodriguez: 121.25 points, ridden by Mike Smith and trained by Bob Baffert.

— 5: Tiztastic: 119 points, ridden by Joel Rosario and trained by Steve Asmussen.

— 6: Tappan Street: 110 points, ridden by Luis Saez and trained by Brad Cox.

— 7: Sovereignty: 110 points, ridden by Junior Alvarado and trained by Bill Mott.

— 8: Final Gambit: 100 points, ridden by Luan Machado and trained by Brad Cox.

— 9: Coal Battle: 95 points, ridden by Juan Vargas and trained by Lonnie Briley.

— 10: Chunk of Gold: 75 points, ridden by Jareth Loveberry and trained by Ethan West.

— 11: Citizen Bull: 71.25 points, ridden by Martin Garcia and trained by Bob Baffert.

— 12: Owen Almighty: 65 points, ridden by Javier Castellano and trained by Brian Lynch.

— 13: East Avenue: 60 points, ridden by Manny Franco and trained by Brendan Walsh.

— 14: Publisher: 60 points, ridden by Flavien Prat and trained by Steve Asmussen.

— 15: American Promise: 55 points, ridden by Nik Juarez and trained by D. Wayne Lukas.

— 16: Flying Mohawk: 50 points, ridden by Joseph Ramos and trained by D. Whitworth Beckman.

— 17: Grande: 50 points, ridden by Dylan Davis and trained by Todd Pletcher.

— 18: Built: 45 points, ridden by Jose Ortiz and trained by Wayne Catalano. (It is not yet known which jockey will ride Built in the Kentucky Derby).

Among the notable recent changes to the projected Kentucky Derby field was Bob Baffert’s Madaket Road going from a potential Derby run to instead be pointed toward the $600,000, Grade 2 Pat Day Mile, which is a Derby undercard race.

Currently, Neoequos, Render Judgment and Baeza are projected to be the next horses available to make the Kentucky Derby starting gate if further defections from the race occur.

In addition to these horses, one horse each from the Euro/Mideast Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying series and the Japanese Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying pathway will be competing in the Kentucky Derby.

Admire Daytona, a Japan-bred horse, won the UAE Derby and will be the representative from the Euro/Mideast Road. Last year, Forever Young became the first horse from the UAE Derby, a race that has existed since 2000, to finish in the money in the Kentucky Derby. That result also made Forever Young the first horse from Japan to record a top-three Kentucky Derby finish.

Admire Daytona will be ridden by Christophe Lemaire in the Kentucky Derby.

Luxor Cafe, a Kentucky-bred son of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, won the Fukuryu Stakes in March to secure his spot in the Derby via the Japanese route. Luxor Cafe will be ridden by Joao Moreira in the Kentucky Derby.

Horses entered in the Kentucky Derby must be on-site at Churchill Downs by Saturday.

The post-position draws for the Oaks and the Derby will take place from 7:15-7:45 p.m. Saturday (between Races 5 and 6) on opening night at Churchill Downs.