The 2026 Kentucky Derby is upon us as the 152nd “Run for the Roses” will be held at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday, May 2. Renegade, who won the Arkansas Derby, is aiming to become the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby from the No. 1 post position since Ferdinand in 1986. Runaway Blue Grass Stakes hero Further Ado and Florida Derby champ Commandment are next on the odds board at 6-1. The Bill Mott-trained Chief Wallabee (8-1) and Tampa Bay Derby victor The Puma (10-1) round out the top five in the odds in the 20-horse Kentucky Derby 2026 field, with So Happy and Emerging Market next at 15-1. Post time for the 2026 Kentucky Derby is 6:57 p.m. ET. Before making any 2026 Kentucky Derby picks, be sure to see the 2026 Kentucky Derby predictions and best bets from SportsLine’s elite horse racing expert Gene Menez.Bet the Kentucky Derby with the latest TwinSpires offer code CBSSPORTS to receive up to $400 in bonus bets here: A former reporter and editor at Sports Illustrated, Menez covered an array of sports, including horse racing, for the magazine and its website for almost 14 years. Between 2010 and 2012, he served as SI’s handicapper for the Triple Crown races and correctly predicted Super Saver to win the Kentucky Derby in 2010.
In 2015, while writing for Sports on Earth, Menez accurately gave out the Kentucky Derby superfecta (American Pharoah, Firing Line, Dortmund and Frosted), which paid $1,268.20 for $2. Then in 2017, he tweeted out his Kentucky Derby picks, including Always Dreaming to win, and hit the Pick 4, which paid almost $6,900 on a $1 bet. In 2024, Menez gave out 18-1 Mystik Dan as a live longshot in the Kentucky Derby. Menez excels on horse racing’s biggest days. In 2024 he crushed the late Pick 4 on Breeders’ Cup Saturday for a $5,303 windfall. Last year he nailed the winner, trifecta and superfecta in the Florida Derby for a $529.60 score and the winner and trifecta in the Blue Grass Stakes for a $761.96 jackpot. He hit the late Pick 4 on Kentucky Oaks day for $915.48. In the Kentucky Derby, he hammered the exacta and trifecta for a $1,045 payout. And earlier this year, on Fountain of Youth day, he struck big, hitting the late Pick 5 for $4,648.Last year Menez put his handicapping skills up against the best horseplayers and finished 115th out of 643 entries in the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge, the biggest live-money handicapping…
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2026-04-29 03:05:26
