{"id":57426,"date":"2026-04-25T17:22:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T21:22:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/derby-favorite-renegade-gets-challenging-rail-position-in-saturdays-race\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T17:22:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T21:22:26","slug":"derby-favorite-renegade-gets-challenging-rail-position-in-saturdays-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/derby-favorite-renegade-gets-challenging-rail-position-in-saturdays-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Derby Favorite Renegade Gets Challenging Rail Position in Saturday’s Race"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

The top contender for this year’s Kentucky Derby faces an uphill battle after being assigned the challenging inside rail position during Saturday’s official post position draw at Churchill Downs.<\/p>

Renegade, who captured the Arkansas Derby and is owned by American billionaire Mike Repole, enters as the betting favorite at 4-1 odds for the 152nd Run for the Roses scheduled for Saturday, May 2, in Louisville, Kentucky.<\/p>

Under the guidance of Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, the three-year-old colt has delivered impressive performances in his two starts this season. Renegade staged a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on February 7, then dominated the field with a commanding four-length triumph in the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park on March 28.<\/p>

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. will guide Renegade in his quest for Derby glory, though the veteran rider is still seeking his first Kentucky Derby victory after nine previous attempts. However, Ortiz Jr. has found success in the Triple Crown series, capturing two Belmont Stakes titles in 2016 and 2022.<\/p>

The rail assignment places Renegade in a historically difficult position, as no horse has won the Derby from the first gate since Ferdinand accomplished the feat in 1986. While eight horses total have won from Gate No. 1, most of those victories occurred when Derby fields were considerably smaller.<\/p>

Sharing co-second choice status at 6-1 odds are Commandment, who will break from the sixth gate, and Further Ado, starting from the outside 18th position. Both horses are trained by Brad Cox.<\/p>

Legendary trainer Bob Baffert, who returned to Derby competition last May following a three-year suspension, will saddle two contenders: Potente and Litmus Test.<\/p>

The complete 20-horse field with opening odds includes: Renegade (4-1), Albus (30-1), Intrepido (50-1), Litmus Test (30-1), Right To Party (30-1), Commandment (6-1), Danon Bourbon (20-1), So Happy (15-1), The Puma (10-1), Wonder Dean (30-1), Incredibolt (20-1), Chief Wallabee (8-1), Silent Tactic (20-1), Potente (20-1), Emerging Market (15-1), Pavlovian (30-1), Six Speed (50-1), Further Ado (6-1), Golden Tempo (30-1), and Fulleffort (20-1).<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Top Kentucky Derby contender Renegade will start from the difficult inside rail position in Saturday’s 152nd Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs. The Arkansas Derby champion opened as the 4-1 betting favorite despite drawing the historically challenging first gate position.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":57425,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[836],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1777152146236.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbtNqq-eWe","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":60963,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/historic-derby-win-cherie-devaux-first-female-trainer-to-win-at-churchill-downs\/","url_meta":{"origin":57426,"position":0},"title":"Historic Derby Win: Cherie DeVaux First Female Trainer to Win at Churchill Downs","author":"Admin","date":"May 2, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Cherie DeVaux made history Saturday as the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner when Golden Tempo captured the race at 23-1 odds. 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The withdrawal marks the third last-minute change to the 20-horse field for racing's most famous event.","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1777652613778.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1777652613778.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1777652613778.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1777652613778.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1777652613778.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":61248,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/kentucky-derby-breaks-viewership-records-with-historic-win\/","url_meta":{"origin":57426,"position":2},"title":"Kentucky Derby Breaks Viewership Records with Historic Win","author":"Admin","date":"May 3, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The 152nd Kentucky Derby shattered television ratings records when 24.4 million viewers tuned in to watch Golden Tempo's dramatic comeback victory. The race featured the first female trainer to ever win the Derby and saw a 12% jump in viewership from the previous year.","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1777857855483.jpg?fit=450%2C298&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":60979,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/historic-win-first-female-trainer-claims-kentucky-derby-victory\/","url_meta":{"origin":57426,"position":3},"title":"Historic Win: First Female Trainer Claims Kentucky Derby Victory","author":"Admin","date":"May 2, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Golden Tempo secured victory at the Kentucky Derby with 23-1 odds, making trainer Cherie DeVaux the first woman to train a winner of the Triple Crown's opening race. The historic achievement took place at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45538,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/driver-faces-court-after-plowing-into-7-people-on-derby-street\/","url_meta":{"origin":57426,"position":4},"title":"Driver Faces Court After Plowing Into 7 People on Derby Street","author":"Admin","date":"April 1, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A 36-year-old man will appear in court Wednesday following a weekend incident where a vehicle struck seven pedestrians on a busy Derby street. The victims, ranging in age from 36 to 52, were hospitalized with four already released.","rel":"","context":"In "World News"","block_context":{"text":"World News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/world-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775032679328.jpg?fit=1000%2C665&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775032679328.jpg?fit=1000%2C665&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775032679328.jpg?fit=1000%2C665&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775032679328.jpg?fit=1000%2C665&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44137,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/derby-england-driver-arrested-after-vehicle-plows-into-7-pedestrians\/","url_meta":{"origin":57426,"position":5},"title":"Derby, England Driver Arrested After Vehicle Plows Into 7 Pedestrians","author":"Admin","date":"March 29, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A 36-year-old man faces attempted murder charges after driving into pedestrians on a busy Derby street Saturday night, hospitalizing seven people. 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