Two Weeks and Counting - Time to Get a Move On
- Apr 18
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 28
Our annual Derby pep talk usually takes a nostalgic trip back to the glory days of the past.
Last year, we hearkened back to the past with Bobby Darin’s “Beyond the Sea” and paid tribute to the 1959 Kentucky Derby champion, Tomy Lee, who made it to America by pure chance and grabbed that trophy by a nose over Sword Dancer.
This year, for the 152nd Kentucky Derby, we’re shattering tradition. No looking backward. No romanticizing the legends of yesteryear. Not this year.
Instead, we’re shining the spotlight on fresh, electrifying, raw talent. Never too old to recognize high skill and talent.
Enter Justin - that flawless, gorgeous voice, strutting his stuff onstage with uncontainable happiness in his first live concert in four years. This young superstar radiates pure gifted talent, and the night explodes into a breathtaking, well-deserved fireworks finale.
No huge production, no fancy dancers. Just a young man with his microphone and his voice.
This one video of that "Daisies" performance has already rocketed past 8.5 million views in just 4 days. That’s the level of talent we’re talking about. It's infectious and you can't help but smile watching him back in action.
Everything about it screams the perfect setup for this year’s Derby. And yes - I’ll confess - I’ve mimicked that same strut around my living room after quite a few preps this season, blasting that song!
This year feels entirely different. It’s fresh. It’s alive. It’s bursting with happiness and raw excitement to witness gifted, untamed talent everywhere you look. We’ve waited and worked very hard this year - and it’s finally here.
Throw in the 24 brand-new Chefs-de-Race handpicked by Dr. Roman himself, and the entire season bursts with new energy.
Now it's 2026. Louisville, Kentucky. And the talent is overflowing this year.
Whoever fights their way to that finish line and receives those roses will have conquered one of the deepest, strongest fields in recent Derby memory.
Look at Further Ado - in just one maiden and one Derby prep, he absolutely devoured his competition by a staggering combined 31 lengths.
We have the undefeated Danon Bourbon flying in from Japan, who shattered the track record in the Fukuryu Stakes.
We have Commandment, who unleashed a monstrous late Beyer of 121 in the Florida Derby to beat out another gifted colt in The Puma.
We have two fiercely competitive colts in Potente and Emerging Market, both unraced as two-year-olds but still exuding class from day one.
We have Renegade, who finally high-tailed it out of Aqueduct and then crushed both of his final prep races.
We have Wonder Dean, who powered through a forward lead speed track bias to dominate the 9.5-furlong UAE Derby and secures the riding skills of Forever Young's Jockey, Ryusei Sakai.
And we have several exciting up-and-coming colts quietly waiting to unleash their brilliance at the 10f distance.
What a year this has been so far! We began the season with a few very high caliber stand-out horses with Ted Noffey, Plutarch, Paladin and Thunderously who will make a very welcome return to rejoin this talented group.
The second half of the year promises to be even more star-studded than the first.
I can't even imagine what the Travers Stakes will be like this year if they are all back in time.
I’m thrilled to be even a small part of it and incredibly grateful to every single member of the Dirty Horse Club. This is shaping up to be one of the most unforgettable Derbies in recent memory. "How many days? How many days?"
The post position draw for the 152nd Kentucky Derby (and the Kentucky Oaks) is scheduled for:
Saturday, April 25, 2026
at 2:15 pm on the East Coast
Live Stream: KentuckyDerby.com, Kentucky Derby YouTube, and FanDuel TV
Saturday, May 2nd, 2026
Derby Day Race 1: Starts at 11:00 a.m. ET
Kentucky Derby Post Time: 6:57 p.m. ET
2026 Kentucky Derby Viewing Schedule (May 2, 2026):
10:30 a.m. – Noon ET: Early Coverage (FanDuel TV).
Noon – 2:30 p.m. ET: Undercard Races (USA Network, Peacock).
2:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. ET: Main Derby Coverage (NBC, Peacock).
7:30 p.m. ET – Final Race: Post-Race Coverage (FanDuel TV).
Streaming and Other Viewing Options:
Streaming: Peacock, Fubo, and DirecTV.
Online/Apps: NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, and the Churchill Downs App.
THE DIRTY HORSE CLUB
The 2026 Kentucky Derby Notes & Analysis, a long tradition here at the Club, will be posted soon with tracking notes and then updated with the Analysis at the earliest possible time after the Past Performances are released. The PP Sheets will also be posted with it.
The Annual Head to Head article with Brian, Gerard and myself will also be posted at the earliest possible time.
I may not be able to do the Track day bias results and analysis this year throughout the day, but I'll keep you posted.
The handicapping process for the Kentucky Derby is constantly evolving - right up until the “Riders Up” call and the Post Parade. Track bias can shift, horses can behave unpredictably, and fresh information can drop at any moment. That’s why it pays to check back often.
And finally, for those who want a head-start to the 152nd Kentucky Derby... HERE YA GO!!!! And we're off!!
The 1973 Derby included Horse of the Century Secretariat, the unlucky Sham; even future three-time Horse of the Year Forego finished fourth. Time will tell if this year's crop will achieve greatness. Hope my futures bets on Further Ado and Incredibolt have an inch more success than my 80-1 win ticket on Sierra Leone.
And Lisa, you spend your time and effort just to please us. And I want you to know, it's working.
I just checked - not sure if anyone cares but - Justin's video now at 6 days - has just climbed past 12 million views. That is insane. I wish that young man was into horse racing! What a promo that would be.
I have to thank Lisa and this site for teaching me new ways of looking at the derby contenders. I have incorporated her mares numbers into what I thought I knew. Previous to stumbling onto this site I had learned first from Dr. Roman about Dosage and the difference between what it means to be Phalaris(Speed) and Non-Phalaris(Stamina). We have seen over many decades that breeders have either consciously or sub-consciously bred stamina out of our thoroughbreds. We wish this were not so, however, this led me to a thought: What if I were to go back down through the mares line and find the first dam who's four generation sire's were all non-Phalaris, meaning an all stamina mare…
Just an observation. Just a few weeks out and, as usual, I haven't seen any TV advertisng reminding viewers of the upcoming Derby. Among the many problems facing american horse racing, promoting the sport through the general media is woefully lacking.
Ottinho out. Chief Wallabee in.