2026 Pennsylvania Derby Preview

Key Takeaways:

• The Pennsylvania Derby is the final Grade 1 opportunity of the year for three-year-old dirt routers, with a deep field that includes several Triple Crown alumni.
• Further Ado, Iron Honor, The Puma, and Zihnal headline a race where pace could be important, with several horses likely to race forward at 1 ⅛ miles.
• Sassmaster is the value play, as the lightly raced late bloomer has improved with distance and should get the tactical trip he needs at Parx.
• Further Ado gets back on a dry track and has the right stalking style for Parx, while the switch to Flavien Prat adds confidence after his Haskell effort.
• Our Moneyman offers another appealing price if he stays near his 8-1 morning line, with strong recent form, tactical speed, and a positive jockey switch to Manny Franco.

The last chance of the year for sophomore dirt routers to get a top-level win happens Saturday, with the Grade 1, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby. The 1 ⅛-mile race, contested over the Parx dirt, is perennially important as both a Breeders’ Cup prep, and just part of a late-season bid to get into the championship conversation.

The 2026 edition of the flagship event of the Parx horse racing meet drew a field of 11, including some Triple Crown alumni. The morning-line favorite is Further Ado, the beaten Kentucky Derby favorite who will try to bounce back from a fifth-place run in a sloppy edition of the Haskell (G1). Other leading contenders include Florida Derby (G1) runner-up The Puma, Preakness (G1) runner-up Iron Honor, and runaway West Virginia Derby winner Zihnal.

The Pennsylvania Derby dates back to 1979 at Keystone Race Track, and some memorable horses won early editions. Those include Broad Brush, Summer Squall, Harlan’s Holiday, and Sun King. 1989 winner Western Playboy, the last Illinois-bred to contend the Kentucky Derby, still holds the record for the largest winning margin when he won by 17 lengths.

However, it was only promoted to Grade 1 status in 2016, as it emerged as a race that premier horses were pointed to. 2013 winner Will Take Charge was nosed out in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, 2014 winner Bayern won that race, and 2015 winner Frosted dazzled in the Met Mile the next year. More recent winners include the honest Hot Rod Charlie in 2021 and Preakness winner Seize the Grey in 2024.

Pennsylvania Derby Information

• Race Date: Saturday, September 19
• Track: Parx Racing in Bensalem, PA
• Post Time: 5:48 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
• Distance: 1 ⅛ miles on the dirt
• Age/Sex: three-year-olds
• Where to Watch: FanDuel TV
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

2026 Pennsylvania Derby Draw and Odds

This is the field for the 2026 Pennsylvania Derby, along with post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning lines for each horse.

Pennsylvania Derby Prep Race Results

Five of the 11 runners in the Pennsylvania Derby come out of graded-stakes races. The only last-out graded winner was Zihnal, who bounced back from a troubled fourth in the Indiana Derby (G3) to win the West Virginia Derby by 6 ¼ emphatic lengths. Our Moneyman, just a neck behind next-out Travers (G1) winner Leading Change in the Indiana Derby, makes his first start since that race in the Pennsylvania Derby. The Puma also has form through Leading Change; he makes his first start since running fourth behind him in the Travers. Two others have freshened up since the Haskell on July 18: Iron Honor chased on for third, four lengths behind Baby Vino, while Further Ado must bounce back from a fifth-place try.

Five others come out of ungraded stakes. Three formed the trifecta in the Smarty Jones, the local prep going 1 1/16 miles at Parx on August 18. Micanopy reeled in Ponder and Dream to win by 1 ½ lengths, and it was another 8 ½ lengths back to Freedom’s Echo, who will try to improve here. Igniter ran to the money in the Ellis Park Derby on August 9, stalking the pace and clearing off to win by four lengths in the one-mile race. Talk to Me Jimmy was second as the favorite in the Albany, a New York-bred stakes on August 23 at Saratoga, where he had to handle sloppy footing.

One horse comes out of an allowance race. Sassmaster has just three starts in his career; last out he won a first-level allowance at 1 ⅛ miles on the Saratoga dirt, tracking the pace and winning by a length.

Pennsylvania Derby Contenders

These are the 11 entrants for the 2026 Pennsylvania Derby, in order of their post positions:

1. Zihnal: An up-and-comer, he woke up on the dirt at Horseshoe Indianapolis, and though he was only fourth after a troubled start in the Indiana Derby, he looked great when adding blinkers for the West Virginia Derby, stalking the pace before winning in a procession. Jockey John Velazquez returns from that race, a positive. It’s good that he has a stalking gear since there’s other speed outside him, horses like Ponder and Dream, Talk to Me Jimmy, and possibly Iron Honor and Igniter. But, don’t take too short of a price since he is an inexperienced horse who has to handle the fence in a big field.
2. Iron Honor: Iron Honor wore blinkers for his first three starts; he hasn’t in his last two, but Chad Brown is strapping them back on for this. The hope may be to put more speed in him; his only wins came in his first two starts, where he was forward, battled for the lead, and ran on to win. However, those races were both just one-turn races – his runner-up finish in the Preakness offers hope that he’ll find his way going two turns at some point, but he’s probably going to be overbet on the Chad Brown factor, and he has yet to be more than an underneath sort going two turns.
3. Our Moneyman: He has freshened up since the Indiana Derby, where he was second just a neck behind Leading Change – a good form line not only because it happened after his rider lost the corp late, but also because Leading Change turned around and won the Travers next out. Whether he will stretch out to 1 ⅛ miles is a question; both sides of his pedigree lean more sprinter-miler than this longer distance. His tactical speed is a plus, especially at Parx, but he needs to prove he can go this far.
4. Igniter: An up-and-comer, he ran his best race yet last out in the Ellis Park Derby, a one-mile race where he stalked the pace and drew off to win by four lengths. The switch to a more aggressive style came with the switch to Luis Saez in the irons; Saez returns for this, and he should be a good fit riding at Parx. Igniter was well beaten in his only previous try at 1 ⅛ miles, but that came last fall as a juvenile, and he should be more ready for it now.
5. Talk to Me Jimmy: He’s a nice New York-bred who even won the listed Withers in February – meaning he is a winner at 1 ⅛ miles, unlike a lot of these runners. He even finished second in the Peter Pan (G3) behind Growth Equity, another 1 ⅛-mile race. Even though this is his best distance, he still has to prove that he can perform at this class level. His forward running style will be an asset, but with some other pace inside and outside of him, it won’t be an easy task, especially since he hails from a barn that underperforms at the graded level.
6. The Puma: After tries in the top events of the summer, even though he stays at the Grade 1 level for this, the race is a class drop compared to squaring off against Triple Crown race winners and other similarly talented foes. His off-pace style isn’t the best at Parx, but he has run some races where he raced up closer to the pace, suggesting that the addition of blinkers has a real chance to sharpen him up. Javier Castellano has shipped successfully to Parx for this race before, and he has a quality contender.
7. Further Ado: His work at Keeneland has been brilliant; his work at other tracks has been fine, but not quite the same level. That isn’t to say he has run exclusively poorly elsewhere; he did beat Our Moneyman in the Matt Winn (G3) and ran close to The Puma in the Tampa Bay Derby (G3). A run back to that Matt Winn form would make him competitive here, both in terms of speed and in terms of that tactical-speed running style. The switch to Flavien Prat riding is also a solid move – Irad Ortiz is injured, meaning the jockey change isn’t a vote of no confidence, and his replacement is today’s best big-race rider in the United States, Flavien Prat, who hops off an up-and-comer to ride him instead.
8. Freedom’s Echo: Guadalupe Preciado trains a lot of day-in and day-out winners at Parx, but he looks overmatched in this spot. He was a no-threat third in the Smarty Jones, the local prep, 8 ½ lengths behind the second-place runner. His speed should have him forward early, but he has yet to prove he can stay past a mile. And, it’s hardly a confident sign that he does not have a rider assigned yet.
9. Sassmaster: The only horse in the field without stakes experience, this lightly-raced son of Curlin has been a late-developing type who has improved with time and distance. He ran off the board in his sprint debut, but rallied from midfield to win a 1 1/16-mile race in his sophomore debut on June 27 at Churchill Downs, and then came back to win a 1 ⅛-mile allowance in stalk-and-pounce style. It’s a running style that should fit well. It’s not a great sign that Flavien Prat, who rode in both of those races, rides Further Ado instead. But, he gets an experienced replacement in Tyler Gaffalione, the running style should play well at Parx, and he is going the right way.
10. Micanopy: Winner of the local prep, he showed that he was able to handle the dirt at Parx, a footing that can be very love-it-or-hate-it, and even pass horses over it. It was his best race yet, but now he has to stretch out to the longest distance he has tackled to date, and will have to face the best horses he has ever seen. He’d be a fascinating story, to be sure – he went to his current connections via an $8,000 claim at Tampa Bay Downs in April – but he’ll need a big step forward from a race that was already his best yet.
11. Ponder and Dream: The pacesetter in the local prep, he chased on for second after getting run down by Micanopy that day. He loves Parx; in nine starts over the track, he has never been off the board, and regular jockey Mychel Sanchez (a high-percentage local) stays in the saddle. Basically, he’s going to have to gun it from the outside post, battle against horses with more class than he has yet to see, and hope he can stay on. It’s a lot to ask him to find a career best under those conditions.

Pennsylvania Derby: 3 Best Bets

These are the three best bets in the Pennsylvania Derby:

1. Sassmaster (10-1)

Sassmaster cedes experience to the rest of the field, but this late bloomer is on the rise. He graduated first off an extended layoff in June, in his first two-turn start, and then ran right back to that effort when stretching out to 1 ⅛ miles for an allowance at the Spa a month and a half ago. In that allowance win, he showed good tactical speed, always tracking within a length or two of the pace before forging to the front in the lane.

It would be nice if Flavien Prat had stayed with him instead of hopping over to morning-line favorite Further Ado, but Further Ado is proven enough that it’s not a huge red flag. And, for a horse who is likely to be in the 8-1, 10-1 range due to his inexperience? He has already proven that he can get a forward trip, something a horse needs at Parx, but doesn’t have to get embroiled in a battle with cheap speed. He was bred to get at least this far. He has done so on the track once, and if he can handle Parx, then he should be in contention from start to finish.

2. Further Ado (2-1)

Last time he had to handle the slop in the Haskell, but now he’ll get back on a dry track. He has a good style for Parx – he doesn’t need the lead, good since there are a couple of other speed horses in the field, but he’ll be just behind them, ready to pounce.

It’s interesting that Flavien Prat did jump onto this horse instead of sticking with Sassmaster; that reads as a sign of confidence for this horse. And, even if he can’t tap into the brilliance he has shown at Keeneland, the Blue Grass did show he can handle the 1 ⅛-mile distance. If he can work a tactical trip and even run back to an effort like he found in the Matt Winn (G3) two starts back, that’ll make him a tough customer down the lane.

3. Our Moneyman (8-1)

The 1 ⅛-mile distance of the Pennsylvania Derby is a question, as Our Moneyman has only gone as long as 1 1/16 miles so far. His pedigree may or may not stretch this far, and that’s

enough to demand that his price stay at least somewhat close to his morning line. However, if he does stay in that range, there’s a lot to like.

He had a little trouble last out, his rider lost the crop, and he still finished within a neck of Leading Change, the next-out winner of the Travers. He was at the rear of the small field before rallying in that spot, but didn’t wait too long to make his run, which is something that will help at Parx, where a horse really should not leave themself too much to do late. The jockey change is also a positive move – his regular jockey Axel Concepcion is off, but he gets a switch to Manny Franco, a far more experienced rider who has never been riding better in his career. That could make the difference and get this consistent runner over the top in graded company.

Pennsylvania Derby FAQ

Q: When and where is the Pennsylvania Derby?

A: The race happens on Saturday, September 20, at Parx Racing in Bensalem, PA. The race is the 14th of 15 races on the card, and the scheduled post time is 5:48 Eastern Daylight Time.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Pennsylvania Derby?

A: Trainer Bob Baffert leads all conditioners with four wins. Those came with Bayern (2014), West Coast (2017), McKinzie (2018), and Taiba (2022). Baffert does not have an entrant in 2022. No trainer in the 2026 edition has more than one win. The ones who have won this before include Chad Brown (Iron Honor), who won in 2016 with Connect; Brad Cox (Further Ado), who won in 2023 with Saudi Crown; Rick Dutrow (Igniter), who won in 2004 with Love Of Money; and Todd Pletcher (Sassmaster), who won in 2002 with Harlan’s Holiday

Q: Who is the favorite for the Pennsylvania Derby?

A: Further Ado is the 2-1 morning-line favorite for trainer Brad Cox. He was the beaten favorite in the Kentucky Derby off of his impressive Blue Grass (G1) win at Keeneland, though he has to bounce back from an off-the-board finish over a sloppy track in the Haskell (G1) last out. His resume is enough to make him the likely favorite, especially since trainer Brad Cox always takes betting interest, but watch for action on Iron Honor, a Chad Brown trainee who outran Further Ado in the Haskell.

Q: Who is the best Pennsylvania Derby jockey?

A: Joe Bravo and Mike Smith are tied for the most wins with three, though neither has a call in 2026. Javier Castellano can tie them if he rides The Puma to victory. He won in 2007 with Timber Reserve and 2016 with Connect.

Q: Who won the Pennsylvania Derby in 2025?

A: Baeza broke through at the top level in the 2025 Pennsylvania Derby for the late John Shirreffs and jockey Hector Berrios. Berrios does not have a ride this year.