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  • Irad Ortiz Jr. will ride Arkansas Derby winner Renegade — our No. 1-ranked contender — in the Kentucky Derby.
  • The draw for the Kentucky Derby is set for April 25 at Churchill Downs.

And now we wait.

The prep races for the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby were completed Saturday with the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland, and now there’s a prospective field for the Run for the Roses on May 2 at Churchill Downs.

Perhaps the biggest news of last week was jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. choosing to ride Arkansas Derby winner Renegade in the Kentucky Derby.

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Ortiz also had ridden Commandment and Further Ado — both trained by Brad Cox — in previous races. Cox named riders for both of those horses last week, with Luis Saez set to ride Commandment and John Velazquez getting the mount on Further Ado.

The Kentucky Derby draw is set for 2 p.m. on April 25.

With three weeks to go until the Kentucky Derby, here’s our ranking of the top five contenders:

Owners: Robert and Lawana Low; Repole Stable (Mike Repole).

Trainer: Todd Pletcher.

Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.

Sire: Into Mischief.

Road to Kentucky Derby points: 125 (No. 3)

Career earnings: $1,031,500.

Last race: Won Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on March 28 at Oaklawn Park.

Owner: Wathnan Racing (Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani). 

Trainer: Brad Cox.

Jockey: Luis Saez.

Sire: Into Mischief.

Road to Kentucky Derby points: 150 (No. 1).

Career earnings: $1,017,339.

Last race: Won Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 28 at Gulfstream Park.

Owners: OGMA Investments LLC (Gustavo Delgado); JR Ranch (Ramiro Restrepo); High Step Racing LLC (Randy Guy, Joe Noble, Kevin Avera, Jim Ferreira, Todd Perry).

Trainer: Gustavo Delgado.

Jockey: Javier Castellano.

Sire: Essential Quality.

Road to Kentucky Derby points: 106 (No. 6).

Career earnings: $442,280.

Last race: Second in Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 28 at Gulfstream Park.

Owner: Spendthrift Farm (Eric Gustavson).

Trainer: Brad Cox.

Jockey: John Velazquez.

Sire: Gun Runner.

Road to Kentucky Derby points: 135 (No. 2).

Career earnings: $1,146,328.

Last race: Won Grade 1 Blue Grass on April 4 at Keeneland.

Owner: Danox Co. Ltd.

Trainer: Manabu Ikezoe.

Jockey: Atsuya Nishimura.

Sire: Maxfield.

Road to Kentucky Derby points: Qualified via Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby.

Career earnings: $222,762.

Last race: Won Fukuryu Stakes on March 28 at Nakayama Racecourse.

Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com. Follow on X @KentuckyDerbyCJ.



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