2026 Santa Anita Derby Betting Odds and Contenders Preview

Key Takeaways:

• The compact field in the Santa Anita Derby at Santa Anita Park centers on pace control, with multiple forward runners likely to create a tactical chess match rather than a speed collapse.
• Proven local form remains a powerful angle, as recent winners of the race have typically exited the San Felipe Stakes, making horses who performed well in that prep particularly reliable contenders.
• Tactical versatility stands out as a key separator, giving runners like Potente and Intrepido the ability to adapt to changing pace scenarios in a small but competitive field.
• With 100 qualifying points on the line toward the Kentucky Derby, the race often identifies a legitimate West Coast contender capable of carrying strong form forward into the Triple Crown trail.

The series of Kentucky Derby preps in Southern California concludes Saturday, April 4, with the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. The race offers a $500,000 purse as well as 100-50-25-15-10 Road to the Kentucky Derby points – enough to practically guarantee the top two finishers a trip to Churchill Downs, and others may go as well if they have run well enough in other prep races.

Bob Baffert trainee Potente, who won the San Felipe (G2) on March 7, returns to prove that victory was no fluke. He will face a field of seven that includes his stablemate, the flashy maiden winner Cherokee Nation, as well as Grade 1 winner Intrepido and San Vicente (G2) winner So Happy.

The Santa Anita Derby is one of the most important races on the Kentucky Derby trail. Ten of its winners have gone on to become Kentucky Derby winners, including two Triple Crown winners, Justify (2018) and Affirmed (1978). Other recent winners to win this race and the blanket of roses include locally bred hero California Chrome (2014) as well as I’ll Have Another (2012). 2025 Santa Anita Derby winner Journalism was second in the Run for the Roses in 2025 and went on to win the Preakness and the Haskell (G1).

Santa Anita Derby 2026 Information

• Race Date: Saturday, April 4, 2026
• Track: Santa Anita Park
• Post Time: 4:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time
• Distance: 1 1/8 miles
• Age/Sex: three-year-olds
• Where to Watch: FanDuel TV
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

Santa Anita Derby Odds

This is the field for the 2026 Santa Anita Derby, including the post positions, trainers, jockeys, and official morning-line odds for each runner.

Santa Anita Derby Prep Results

Four of the seven horses in the Santa Anita Derby come out of the San Felipe, the final local prep for the race. The top two horses were separated by just a head, as Potente caught Robusta late. So Happy disputed the pace and weakened to third late, while Start the Ride was a never-involved sixth after a slow break.

One other horse comes out of a Kentucky Derby points race. Intrepido disputed the pace and finished second, three-quarters of a length behind Plutarch, in the Robert B. Lewis (G3).

The other two runners come out of non-stakes races. Vitruvian Man, the only horse without any stakes-company starts, was third in a first-level allowance mile at Turfway on December 27. Cherokee Nation has some stakes experience, but comes out of a 10-length victory in a maiden special weight mile on February 27 at Santa Anita.

Santa Anita Derby Contenders

These are the contenders in the 2026 Santa Anita Derby, organized by post position:

1. Cherokee Nation: Cherokee Nation has tables to turn on several of these, including Robusta and Intrepido from previous races. However, when he’s good, he’s very good: he broke his maiden by ten lengths last out, and also finished second by a nose to Mr. A.P. in another very fast maiden race last year, also going a mile at Santa Anita. Pace looks like the major factor here: He hasn’t been quite as good when the start went poorly, and someone else gets to the lead first, but if he comes away well and is battling for the lead early, then he runs his better races. He is likely to have company up front – Robusta usually vies on the pace, and Intrepido, So Happy, and even Potente sometimes show pace. But, to Cherokee Nation’s credit, as long as he starts well, he has shown the ability to battle.
2. Potente: With two starts, this son of Into Mischief is the least experienced horse in the field, but he has yet to do anything wrong: he battled on the pace and won by three-quarters of a length in his six-furlong debut, then stalked a fast pace and pounced to win the San Felipe by a head. That tactical speed stands to help him. His distance pedigree also appeals strongly: sire Into Mischief is a proven Derby sire, and he is out of an Awesome Again daughter of long-winded turf mare Perfect Sting.
3. Vitruvian Man: Trainer Doug O’Neill goes big for Vitruvian Man’s sophomore debut, sending him out for his stakes-level debut. He graduated in an auction-restricted maiden special weight at Keeneland last fall despite a slow break, but the race didn’t come back particularly fast. He has since been defeated in a starter allowance, which he was eligible for because he graduated in an auction maiden, and then an allowance-optional claimer at Turfway. The stretch out to 1 ⅛ miles could help this son of Vino Rosso, as may the possibility of a fast pace, but he has to improve a lot, and O’Neill’s horses don’t usually fire their best first off a layoff.
4. Robusta: The top-stringer from the O’Neill barn, Robusta missed by just a head in the San Felipe last out, moving first but getting pegged late by Potente. It was a major step up from his flat sixth in the Robert B. Lewis two back. In terms of pace, he is appealing here – he is versatile enough to stalk the pace or set it, and three starts back, he beat Cherokee Nation to the top and led the field all the way around. The step up to 1 ⅛ miles also appeals, as he is by Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Accelerate out of an Into Mischief daughter of Urbane, a Grade 1 winner at 1 ¼ miles.
5. So Happy: Two turns is the big question for this Mark Glatt trainee. He won his first two starts over extended sprint distances, a 6 ½-furlong maiden special at Del Mar and then the seven-furlong San Vicente. He disputed the pace next out in the 1 1/16-mile San Felipe, but flattened out for third, not a late threat to Potente or So Happy. If he can tap into the tactical speed he showed in his sprint efforts, perhaps he stands a chance, but going to the lead with the likes of Robusta and Cherokee Nation won’t leave him likely to have much left late over this 1 ⅛-mile trip.
6. Start the Ride: He figured it out at second asking against California-breds, graduating in the 1 1/16-mile Cal Cup Derby in January despite a slow break. He broke slowly again in the San Felipe next out, but couldn’t keep pace in the lane despite fast fractions unfolding in front of him in that open-company race. Though trainer Dan Blacker tends to be one to watch at a price in graded-stakes races, and he stands to get a lively pace in front of him, he needs to improve a lot to be more than just a minor threat for lower exotics.
7. Intrepido: The American Pharoah (G1) winner last fall, he has freshened up two months since a three-quarter length defeat in the Lewis. He battled on the pace in the Lewis, but especially if he taps back into the more tactical style he showed when he won the American Pharoah, he could get a better trip this time. He has upside on the stretch out as well; sire Maximus Mischief won the 1 ⅛-mile Remsen (G2) as a juvenile, and damsire Pleasantly Perfect is a good stamina influence.

Santa Anita Derby Past Winners Past Performances

In the last ten years, nine of the last ten winners of the Santa Anita Derby made their last start at Santa Anita. Among those, six of them last raced in the San Felipe (G2). The last two San Felipe horses to subsequently win the Santa Anita Derby, Journalism (2025) and Practical Move (2023), won that final prep. Looking a bit further back, Honor A. P. (2020) was second in the San Felipe before winning the Santa Anita Derby, Exaggerator (2016) was third, and Gormley (2017) was fourth.

Rock Your World (2021) won the Pasadena, a listed race on the lawn. Justify (2018) and Roadster (2019) came out of allowance wins; Justify made his stakes debut in the Santa Anita Derby, while Roadster was a Grade 1-placed juvenile. Taiba (2022) came out of a debut maiden win.

The only recent winner to make his last start away from Santa Anita is Stronghold (2024). He got a confidence-builder in the Sunland Park Derby (G3) and parlayed that win into Santa Anita Derby glory as well.

Santa Anita Derby 3 Best Bets

These are the three best bets in the 2026 Santa Anita Derby:

1. Intrepido (7-2)

Freshened up since a runner-up effort in the Robert B. Lewis, he should be ready to fire for trainer Jeff Mullins, who is not only having a hot meet but also does well off similar layoffs. He has the tactical speed to work a nice trip just off the speed from this outside gate, and in a field of just seven, he isn’t likely to lose a ton of ground from the post. His pedigree should give him the stamina he needs to stretch out to 1 ⅛ miles; the mile was just too sharp for him last out, and this is the kind of trip where he is likely to belong.

And, despite being the only Grade 1 winner in the field, Intrepido stands to go off at an appealing price given the presence of two Bob Baffert trainees who are likely to take money. With Mullins having such a good meet, and firing well when he unites with jockey Hector Berrios, he looks likely to be overlaid.

2. Potente (2-1)

Bob Baffert has two in here. There’s the inconsistent Cherokee Nation, who needs the lead to be brilliant … and then there’s Potente, who cedes experience to his foes but has run good races in both his starts. He showed an exciting new dimension last out – though he wired his debut in a maiden sprint, he not only stretched out effectively to two turns last out but was able to show a stalking gear, proving that he does not need to make the top to get the job done. With multiple speed horses in this race, that style should pay dividends again.

That last-out stalking win in the San Felipe also came with Juan Hernandez aboard him for the first time. Hernandez, a regular rider of Baffert’s best, takes the mount again. Add to that the fact that Potente’s pedigree should thrive over 1 ⅛ miles – and perhaps even longer down the line – and there’s a lot to like about Potente.

3. Robusta (8-1)

Robusta just missed behind Potente last out, and though he won’t be anywhere near the 67-1 he was last time, he figures nonetheless. Though his second-out maiden win came on the front end, since he was allowed to set a slow pace, he worked a stalking trip in the San Felipe. This proves he doesn’t need to gun it to the top in order to run an excellent race.

The concern is whether he regresses from that race – his San Felipe effort wasn’t easy, and was a major step forward from his previous three starts. But, he is still young, and lightly enough raced that he may be just getting better. That was also his first start at any longer than a mile. Given his pedigree, it’s reasonable to think that step up in trip helped, and the step up further to 1 ⅛ miles could help even more.

Santa Anita Derby Undercard

On Santa Anita Derby day, the Santa Anita Derby is the tenth race out of twelve on Saturday at Santa Anita, with five of the races on the card being stakes races. In addition to the Santa Anita Derby, the card also features the $200,000 Santa Anita Oaks (G2), a 100-point prep race for the Kentucky Oaks.

Other major races on the card include the $100,000 Monrovia (G3) for fillies and mares sprinting on the downhill turf course, and a pair of $125,000 stakes races for older California-bred dirt sprinters, the Echo Eddie and the Evening Jewel. With classy fields and excitement all day long, make plans to watch on FanDuel TV, and to bet the races online at FanDuel!

Santa Anita Park

Santa Anita Park began as a part of Rancho Santa Anita. After a series of owners, it was acquired by horse breeder Lucky Baldwin, who built the original Santa Anita Park in 1904. That facility closed in 1909 after a California law banning racetrack gambling, and it burned down in 1912. Horse racing became legal again in California in 1933, after which the Los Angeles Turf Club was formed. They built a new track, the present Santa Anita, which opened on Christmas Day in 1934. Signature Grade 1 races include the Santa Anita Derby, Santa Anita Handicap (known as the Big ‘Cap), and the Goodwood in the fall.

Santa Anita's main track is a one-mile dirt oval. The turf track inside of it is a 0.9-mile grass oval. A unique feature of that Santa Anita turf track is the downhill course, which juts out to the northwest over the far turn, crosses over the dirt, and then joins the turf oval. Santa Anita runs 6 1/2-furlong turf sprints over that course, and also uses it as a start for some of its longer turf routes. The track offers free admission and parking for Friday afternoon racing.

Santa Anita Derby FAQ

Q: When is the Santa Anita Derby?

A: The 2026 Santa Anita Derby happens Saturday, April 4, at 4:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time. It is carded as the tenth race of 12 on the card.

Q: Where is the Santa Anita Derby?

A: It takes place at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Santa Anita Derby?

A: Trainer Bob Baffert leads all trainers with nine wins in the Santa Anita Derby, most recently in 2019 with Roadster. Cherokee Nation and Potente give him two chances at a tenth in 2026.

Q: Who is the favorite for the 2026 Santa Anita Derby?

A: Coming off a victory in the San Felipe, Potente is the 2-1 morning-line favorite for the Santa Anita Derby. He is likely to hold as the favorite, especially since he is trained by Bob Baffert, who is always live on the tote. Watch for money on his stablemate Cherokee Nation (5-2), who doesn’t have a stakes win yet but does come out of a very fast maiden win.

Q: Who is the best Santa Anita Derby jockey?

A: Gary Stevens won the Santa Anita Derby nine times between 1988 and 2003. Among jockeys entered in 2026, Mike Smith leads with five wins, most recently with Taiba in 2022. He can win a sixth if he guides So Happy to victory.

Q: Who was the 2025 Santa Anita Derby winner?

A: Journalism won the 2025 Santa Anita Derby for trainer Michael McCarthy and jockey Umberto Rispoli. Neither returns to the field in 2026.

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