2025 Kentucky Derby Results: Who Won Last Year's Kentucky Derby?

Key Takeaways:

• The 2025 edition of the Kentucky Derby showed how a contested early pace can set the race up for a strong closer, as the speed duel created the conditions that allowed a patient runner to finish best in the final furlong.
• Sovereignty confirmed his class after the Derby by adding major victories in the Belmont Stakes and the Travers Stakes, a campaign that ultimately secured Horse of the Year honors.
• Trainer Bill Mott demonstrated patience in managing his Derby winner’s schedule, skipping the Preakness Stakes and focusing on longer-term targets that strengthened the colt’s overall résumé.
• The 2025 Derby weekend also highlighted the value of strong horse racing ownership programs, as Godolphin completed the Derby–Oaks double when Good Cheer captured the Kentucky Oaks the day before.

Before diving into the 2026 Kentucky Derby, let’s take a look back at the 2025 edition of the most exciting two minutes in sports: the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. The 2025 Kentucky Derby featured the ascent of Sovereignty, a Bill Mott trainee ridden by Junior Alvarado who carried the Godolphin blue. The Kentucky Derby was the first suggestion that Sovereignty was something truly special, and the son of Into Mischief went on to win both the Belmont and the Travers (G1). He earned not only champion three-year-old male honors, but the Horse of the Year crown.

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Who Won the 2025 Kentucky Derby?

The pace of the 2025 Kentucky Derby, run over a sloppy track at Churchill Downs, was lively early. Rail-drawn Citizen Bull, the champion juvenile of 2024, brought real California speed, but Neoequos was swift from the gate as well. A contested early lead was on. The opening quarter of 22.81 seconds and opening half of 46.23 seconds, set by Citizen Bull with Neoequos breathing down his neck, made sure that a good horse coming from off the pace had a fair shot, as long as they had enough left in the tank at the end of a mile and a quarter.

The leading pair remained the same down the backstretch and the far turn. 3-1 favorite Journalism, who spent much of the earlier stages of the race saving ground midfield, had emerged around the outside around that second bend, picking off horses one by one and getting ready to tussle with the pacesetters. Surging just behind him after racing near the rear of the field early was Sovereignty, getting ready to make a race with the favorite.

Owen Almighty, just behind the leading pair for the early and middle stages of the race, briefly nipped Neoequos for the lead in upper stretch, but “brief’ was the key word. Journalism swept to the front almost immediately thereafter, with Sovereignty looming beside. They went head-to-head until a few strides before the sixteenth pole.

From that point, Sovereignty ruled. He drove clear of Journalism, bounding to the wire 1 ½ lengths clear. Journalism dug in to save second, holding by a neck over the belatedly surging Baeza. It was another 2 ½ lengths back to Final Gambit, who closed from last to capture the final piece of the superfecta. The final piece of the purse went to Owen Almighty, who ran the race of his life to hold fifth after running so close to that blistering pace.

2025 Kentucky Derby Winner

Sovereignty, a son of Into Mischief out of the Bernardini mare Crowned, was trained by Bill Mott and ridden by jockey Junior Alvarado in the Kentucky Derby. Sovereignty was the second Kentucky Derby winner for Mott, who also trained 2019 winner Country House. He was the first Kentucky Derby winner for Alvarado, who was riding in the Run for the Roses for the sixth time. Sovereignty’s owner-breeders, Godolphin, won the Kentucky Derby for the first time.

Sovereignty was already a graded-stakes winner at Churchill Downs before he won the Kentucky Derby: he had won the Street Sense (G3) over the course the year before. He began his three-year-old year with a victory in the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream, showing his stakes win the autumn before was no fluke. However, he couldn’t quite get to Tappan Street in the Florida Derby (G1), his final prep.

This likely led to his generous price on the first Saturday in May – he was the 7-1 third choice behind Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner Journalism and Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Sandman. Those who stayed faithful to Sovereignty were rewarded at the windows with a $17.96 win payout.

After winning the first leg of the Triple Crown, Sovereignty was not pointed to the Preakness Stakes by trainer Bill Mott. Meanwhile, Michael McCarthy sent Journalism to Pimlico, where he achieved a troubled and heroic victory. Sovereignty won their rematch in the Belmont Stakes with confidence, and then won at the top level again in the Travers. Though Sovereignty was scratched from the Breeders’ Cup Classic after spiking a temperature, his resume was enough to earn him Horse of the Year honors.

2025 Kentucky Derby Full Field Results

This is the finish order of the 2025 Kentucky Derby, including the finishing position, post position, trainer, jockey, and post-time odds for each horse.

Both Grande and Rodriguez were scratched from the 2025 Kentucky Derby. Baeza was the only horse on the also-eligible list, so the race was run with a field of just 19.

Kentucky Derby - Kentucky Oaks Double

The victory in the Kentucky Derby closed out an exciting weekend at Churchill Downs for owner Godolphin. Not only did they own and breed Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty, but Kentucky Oaks winner Good Cheer was also a Godolphin homebred.

On May 2, 2025, Good Cheer came into the Kentucky Oaks a perfect 6-for-6 for trainer Brad Cox; she was the 6-5 favorite in the Oaks thanks to that record. Ridden by jockey Luis Saez, she settled midfield while La Cara set the pace, pressured by west coast shipper Tenma. She rallied into the lane, took over approaching midstretch, and ran on to be a clear winner, 2 ¼ lengths ahead of the late-rallying Drexel Hill. Good Cheer paid her backers $4.78 to win, and the Godolphin Derby-Oaks Double paid $15.78 for each dollar on her and Sovereignty.

The victory was the second Kentucky Oaks win for owner Godolphin, who had also won the Kentucky Oaks in 2023 with Pretty Mischievous. The win was the third for Brad Cox, who also won the Kentucky Oaks in 2018 with Monomoy Girl and 2020 with Shedaresthedevil. Luis Saez won the lilies for the second time; he also rode winning horse Secret Oath in 2022.

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