The Kentucky Derby is a full day of festivities which can lead to confusion on the start time for the headliner race. There are also a full day of races before the Kentucky Derby starts on NBC.
Today’s Kentucky Derby start time (also known as the post time) is at 6:57 p.m. Eastern, per ESPN. The Kentucky Derby race only lasts about two minutes as the horses go 1 1/4 miles at Churchill Downs.
NBC’s coverage of the Kentucky Derby begins at 2:30 p.m. Eastern, more than four hours before the race starts. Coverage on Peacock starts even earlier at 12 p.m. Eastern and subscribers can watch all the race festivities via the app.
Here’s a look at the full list of Kentucky Derby horses, post positions and everything you need to know about the race.
Kentucky Derby Horses & Post Positions for 2026
Three horses originally slated to be in the race have been scratched: Right to Party (post position No. 5), Silent Tactic (No. 13) and Fulleffort (No. 20). Silent Tactic was replaced by Great White.
Fulleffort has been replaced by Ocelli. Finally, Right to Party was replaced by Robusta.
Here’s a look at the updated post positions, list of horses and latest betting odds, per Kentucky Derby.
| POST POSITION | HORSE | ODDS |
| 1 | Renegade | 5/1 |
| 2 | Albus | 50/1 |
| 3 | Intrepido | 55/1 |
| 4 | Litmus Test | 34/1 |
| 6 | Commandment | 7/1 |
| 7 | Danon Bourbon | 14/1 |
| 8 | So Happy | 6/1 |
| 9 | The Puma | 8/1 |
| 10 | Wonder Dean (JPN) | 20/1 |
| 11 | Incredibolt | 27/1 |
| 12 | Chef Wallabee | 9/1 |
| 14 | Potente | 23/1 |
| 15 | Emerging Market | 11/1 |
| 16 | Pavlovian | 52/1 |
| 17 | Six Speed | 40/1 |
| 18 | Further Ado | 7/1 |
| 19 | Golden Tempo | 36/1 |
| 21 | Great White | 29/1 |
| 22 | Ocelli | 50/1 |
| 23 | Robusta | 50/1 |
Bob Baffert Has 2 Horses, Litmus Test & Potente, in the Kentucky Derby
Famed trainer Bob Baffert has two horses running in the Kentucky Derby. No. 4 Litmus Test and No. 14 Potente both face long odds to win at Churchill Downs.
No. 14 Potente holds Baffert’s best chance to win the Kentucky Derby at 23/1, while No. 4 Litmus Test faces even longer odds at 34-to-1. Baffert has trained six Kentucky Derby winners during his famed career, per USA Today.
“One’s bigger and stronger and one’s lighter,” Baffert said of the two horses during an April 26, interview with FanDuel TV. “They’re made differently and all.
“Potente, like I said, he’s coming off, I think his Santa Anita race, it was a good tough race for him. He needed that. Lightly race like that. It’s good to get a tough one into him,” Baffert added.
“The way he worked today, as long as he trains great the rest of the weekend, that’s the main thing. When I saw him turn around and came back, I saw he was still full of himself. He didn’t take a deep breath, so that’s a good sign.”
Renegade Is the Favorite to Win the Kentucky Derby
Despite being in the No. 1 post position, Renegade headlines the horses as the favorite to win the Kentucky Derby. Legendary trainer Todd Pletcher has worked with Renegade and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. will be on the saddle.
“It’s not the one we would have chosen if it would have been the old system where you draw one and get to pick first, but hopefully we can work out the best trip we can from there,” Pletcher said, per Paulick Report’s Mike Davey. “It’s not ideal, but it’s what we got, and we’ll do the best we can with it.”
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Kentucky Derby on TV Today: Start Time, Updated Post Positions & Horse List appeared first on HEAVY.