The trio of Mike Repole, Todd Pletcher, and Irad Ortiz, Jr. not only has the morning-line favorite for the $5 million Kentucky Derby (G1) in Renegade, but they’re also partnered with the $1.5 million Kentucky Oaks (G1) morning-line favorite Zany.
The 3-year-old filly was made the 4-1 early choice in a full field of 14 plus three also-eligibles going 1 1/8 miles on Friday, the day before the Derby. Renegade is also 4-1.
Post time for the Oaks is 8:40 p.m. ET, the centerpiece of a 13-race program that begins at 12:30 p.m.
Trained by four-time Oaks winner Pletcher, Zany won her first three races before her first loss three weeks ago in the Ashland Stakes (G1) at Keeneland. The winner was Percy’s Bar, who is 6-1 for the Oaks.
Ortiz was aboard for the Ashland, as well as victories in the Demoiselle Stakes (G2) and Suncoast Stakes. Zany leaves from post 2.
Meaning, a winner in three of four starts for trainer Michael McCarthy, is the 5-1 second choice. Honeybee Stakes (G3) winner Explora, trained by three-time Oaks winner Bob Baffert, is co-third choice with Percy’s Bar.
Percy’s Bar is one of two Grade 1 winners in the field. She finished first in the Alcibiades (G1) at Keeneland last fall but was disqualified for interference in the stretch. She followed with a troubled third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (GI). Luan Machado has the mount from post 11.
Explora was favored in her first seven starts and comes into the Oaks with four wins and three seconds. Flavien Prate rides from post 1.
Bottle of Rouge, winner of the Del Mar Debutante (G1) last summer and the recent Virginia Oaks, leaves from post 8 under two-time Oaks winner Mike Smith.
Brad Cox, who trains co-second Derby choices Commandment and Further Ado, sends out Prom Queen (8-1) in the Oaks. The filly has two wins in three starts.
Cox won last year’s Oaks with Good Cheer. The last trainer to win the Oaks two years in a row was D. Wayne Lukas with Open Mind (1989) and Seaside Attraction (1990).
| 2026 Kentucky Oaks Odds and Post Positions | ||
| Post | Horse / Jockey / Trainer | M/L Odds |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ExploraFlavien Prat · Bob Baffert | 6-1 |
| 2 | ZanyIrad Ortiz Jr. · Todd A. Pletcher | 4-1 |
| 3 | Search PartyCristian Torres · Mark E. Casse | 30-1 |
| 4 | Counting StarsFrancisco Arrieta · Mark E. Casse | 8-1 |
| 5 | MeaningJuan Hernandez · Michael W. McCarthy | 5-1 |
| SCR | ||
| 7 | Dazzling DameLuis Saez · Brittany Russell | 30-1 |
| SCR | ||
| 9 | Always a RunnerJose Ortiz · Chad C. Brown | 10-1 |
| 10 | Prom QueenJavier Castellano · Brad H. Cox | 8-1 |
| 11 | Percy's BarLuan Machado · Ben Colebrook | 6-1 |
| SCR | ||
| 13 | PashminaRamon Vazquez · Rob Atras | 30-1 |
| 14 | Brooklyn BlondeKazushi Kimura · Michael W. McCarthy | 30-1 |
| 15 | Lovely GreyDylan Davis · Kelsey Danner | 30-1 |
| SCR | 50-1 | |
| 17 | ResistBrian Hernandez Jr. · Thomas Drury Jr. | 30-1 |
Last Updated on 05/01/2026
Also-eligibles
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