2025 Kentucky Derby Horse Owners List (Do Any Celebrities Own Horses in this Year's Race?)

All kinds of people are involved in horse racing, and all kinds of people own Kentucky Derby starters.

From average people who buy into microshare ownership groups or get lucky with a sale bargain, all the way up to corporate magnates and world leaders, any Thoroughbred owner with a horse good enough can make it to the Kentucky Derby. The 2025 Kentucky Derby field reflects that range well.

From homebreds to sale bargains to million-dollar headline-makers, horses with all kinds of backgrounds are coming to the Run for the Roses, and any of them can become a Kentucky Derby winner if they run fast enough.

Get ready to bet on the Kentucky Derby winner with FanDuel Racing. Explore the exciting 2025 Derby promos available on FDR. Stay updated on the Kentucky Derby Odds and Contenders as we approach the Run for the Roses!

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Do Any Celebrities Own 2025 Kentucky Derby Horses?

There are several famous people with horses in the 2025 Kentucky Derby.

Entertainment

If you’re a country music fan, you may well be in luck. Render Judgment is co-owned by Dream Walkin Farms, which was started by the late musician Toby Keith.

Internet denizens can cheer on Sandman. Griffin Johnson, a vlogger and comedian with almost 10 million followers on TikTok, has a share of Sandman through West Point Thoroughbreds, and is making videos to help get the younger generation into horse racing.

Business

Quite a few food and drink magnates have horses in the 2025 Kentucky Derby.

If you’ve ever had a bottle of Vitaminwater or Bodyarmor sports drink? Those companies were started by Mike Repole, the owner of Grande.

A bottle of Kendall-Jackson wine? That’s Barbara Banke of Stonestreet Farm, co-owner of both Citizen Bull and Rodriguez … and yes, Stonestreet wine is her, too.

Winchell Thoroughbreds, co-owner of Tiztastic, is the racing operation of Ron Winchell, son of Verne Winchell—founder of Winchell’s Donut House and also a former CEO of Denny’s.

Owen Almighty is owned by Flying Dutchmen Breeding and Racing—the nom de course of Travis Boersma, co-founder of Dutch Bros. Coffee.

Political Figures

If you follow politics, you’ll recognize several of the owners as well. Publisher and Chunk of Gold were both bred by the late Kentucky governor Brereton Jones, and Jones’ estate still co-owns Publisher.

Godolphin, who owns both East Avenue and Sovereignty, is the racing operation of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai as well as the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates.

Juddmonte, owner of Final Gambit, was started by Khalid bin Abdullah al Saud, a businessman and member of the Saudi royal family.

Kentucky Derby 2025 Horse Owners

These are the owners of each horse slated to run in the 2025 Kentucky Derby on May 4 at Churchill Downs, as well as of the horses on the outside looking in due to points.

These Kentucky Derby contenders are listed in the order of their post positions, along with their trainer names.

1. Citizen Bull (Bob Baffert)
   1. SF Racing LLC
   2. Starlight Racing
   3. Madaket Stables LLC
   4. Stonestreet Stables LLC
   5. Dianne Bashor
   6. Determined Stables
   7. Robert E. Masterson
   8. Tom J. Ryan
   9. Waves Edge Capital LLC
   10. Catherine Donovan
2. Neoequos (Saffie Joseph, Jr.)
   1. C2 Racing Stable LLC
   2. Ian Parsard
   3. Shining Stables LLC
   4. Stefania Farms LLC
   5. Ken T. Reimer
   6. Paul Braverman
   7. Timothy Pinch
3. Final Gambit (Brad Cox)
   1. Juddmonte
4. Rodriguez (Bob Baffert)
   1. SF Racing LLC
   2. Starlight Racing
   3. Madaket Stables LLC
   4. Stonestreet Stables LLC
   5. Dianne Bashor
   6. Determined Stables
   7. Robert E. Masterson
   8. Tom J. Ryan
   9. Waves Edge Capital LLC
   10. Catherine Donovan
5. American Promise (D. Wayne Lukas)
   1. BC Stables LLC
6. Admire Daytona (Yukihiro Kato)
   1. Junko Kondo
7. Luxor Cafe (Noriyuki Hori)
   1. Koichi Nishikawa
8. Journalism (Michael McCarthy)
   1. Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners
   2. Bridlewood Farm
   3. Don Alberto Stable
   4. Robert V. LaPenta
   5. Elayne Stables 5 LLC
   6. Mrs. John Magnier
   7. Michael Tabor
   8. Derrick Smith
9. Burnham Square (Ian Wilkes)
   1. Whitham Thoroughbreds LLC
10. Grande (Todd Pletcher)
    1. Repole Stable
11. Flying Mohawk (Whit Beckman)
    1. Two Eight Racing
    2. Berry Family Racing LLC
    3. Kaleta Racing
12. East Avenue (Brendan Walsh)
    1. Godolphin LLC
13. Publisher (Steve Asmussen)
    1. Gus King
    2. Estate of Brereton C. Jones
14. Tiztastic (Steve Asmussen)
    1. Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC
    2. Mrs. John Magnier
    3. Michael Tabor
    4. Derrick Smith
15. Render Judgment (Kenny McPeek)
    1. Baccari Racing Stable LLC
    2. Dream Walkin Farms, Inc.
    3. MJM Racing
    4. Rocket Ship Racing
    5. Magdalena Racing
16. Coal Battle (Lonnie Briley)
    1. Norman Stables LLC
17. Sandman (Mark Casse)
    1. D. J. Stable LLC
    2. St. Elias Stable
    3. West Point Thoroughbreds
    4. CJ Stables
18. Sovereignty (Bill Mott)
    1. Godolphin LLC
19. Chunk of Gold (Ethan West)
    1. Terry L. Stephens
20. Owen Almighty (Brian Lynch)
    1. Flying Dutchmen Breeding and Racing
21. Baeza (John Shirreffs)
    1. CRK Stable LLC
    2. Grandview Equine

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