Complete List of Kentucky Derby Winners (2026 Update)

The Kentucky Derby is one of the most exciting moments in American sports. Every year on the first Saturday of May, the best three-year-old Thoroughbreds in the world line up at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky for the Run for the Roses. Fans pack the stands. Millions more watch from home. And every year, a new name is added to one of the oldest record books in horse racing.

Below you will find the complete list of Kentucky Derby winners from 2000 through 2026, fully verified and updated to include Golden Tempo’s historic victory in the 152nd Kentucky Derby on May 2, 2026.

Most Recent Kentucky Derby Winner: Golden Tempo (2026)

Golden Tempo won the 152nd Kentucky Derby on May 2, 2026, in front of a crowd of 150,415 at Churchill Downs. Trained by Cherie DeVaux and ridden by Jose Ortiz, the 23-1 long shot rallied from near the back of the pack to catch favorite Renegade in the final strides, winning by a nose in a final time of 2:02.27. A $2 win bet returned $48.24. Ocelli finished third at 70-1 and Chief Wallabee, ridden by 2025 Derby winner Junior Alvarado, came home fourth.

The win made history. Cherie DeVaux became the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby in its 152-year history, and only the second woman to train the winner of a Triple Crown race. Jena Antonucci was the first when she saddled Arcangelo to victory in the 2023 Belmont Stakes. Before Saturday, the closest a female trainer had come at Churchill Downs was Shelley Riley, who finished second with Casual Lies in 1992. Just 18 women had saddled a horse in the Kentucky Derby across its first 151 runnings.

The race also produced a memorable family story. Winning jockey Jose Ortiz held off his older brother Irad Ortiz Jr., who was riding Renegade. The win was Jose Ortiz’s first Kentucky Derby victory in 11 attempts and gave him the rare Kentucky Oaks-Derby double after he piloted Always a Runner (trained by Chad Brown) to victory in Friday’s Kentucky Oaks. He became just the ninth jockey ever to sweep both races in the same year.

Golden Tempo is a homebred owned by Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable (Vincent Viola), and is a son of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin out of Carrumba, a Bernardini mare. The win gave Curlin his first Kentucky Derby winner as a sire after three previous runners-up in Exaggerator, Good Magic, and Journalism. The victory also extended the Phipps Stable’s storied legacy, adding to the family’s 2013 Derby win with Orb (co-owned with Stuart Janney III).

The race was run under cool, overcast conditions with temperatures around 56 degrees, one of the coldest Derby Days on record. The field was reduced to 19 starters after five pre-race scratches (The Puma, Right to Party, Silent Tactic, Fulleffort, and Corona de Oro). A late drama unfolded at the gate when Great White, the largest horse in the field, reared up and flipped over while loading, throwing jockey Alex Achard. Great White was scratched after the incident before the race finally began.

The 2025 Kentucky Derby: Sovereignty’s Triple Crown Run

Sovereignty won the 151st Kentucky Derby on May 3, 2025, under sloppy conditions at Churchill Downs. Trained by Bill Mott and ridden by Junior Alvarado, the colt rallied from 16th place in a 19-horse field to catch favorite Journalism in deep stretch, winning by 1 1/2 lengths in a final time of 2:02.31. Baeza finished third.

Sovereignty went off at 7-1 and earned $3.1 million from the $5 million purse. The win was Bill Mott’s second Kentucky Derby, after Country House in 2019, and the first Derby victory ever for Godolphin, the racing operation of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

After the Derby, Bill Mott chose to skip the Preakness Stakes with Sovereignty. Journalism went on to win the Preakness on May 17 at Pimlico. The two horses then met again in the Belmont Stakes on June 7, 2025, contested at 1 1/4 miles at Saratoga Race Course while Belmont Park was under renovation. Sovereignty caught Journalism late once more to win the Belmont, becoming the first horse since Justify in 2018 to win two legs of the Triple Crown. Sovereignty added the Jim Dandy and Travers later in the summer at Saratoga.

Complete List of Kentucky Derby Winners (2000 to 2026)

Year	Winner	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
2026	Golden Tempo	Jose Ortiz	Cherie DeVaux	Phipps Stable & St. Elias Stable	2:02.27
2025	Sovereignty	Junior Alvarado	Bill Mott	Godolphin	2:02.31
2024	Mystik Dan	Brian Hernandez Jr.	Kenny McPeek	Lance Gasaway, 4 G Racing & Daniel Hamby III	2:03.34
2023	Mage	Javier Castellano	Gustavo Delgado	OGMA Investments	2:01.57
2022	Rich Strike	Sonny Leon	Eric R. Reed	RED TR-Racing	2:02.61
2021	Mandaloun **	Florent Geroux	Brad H. Cox	Juddmonte Farms	2:01.02
2020	Authentic	John R. Velazquez	Bob Baffert	Spendthrift Farm, MyRaceHorse Stable, Madaket Stables & Starlight Racing	2:00.61
2019	Country House ***	Flavien Prat	William I. Mott	Mrs. J.V. Shields, E.J.M. McFadden Jr. & LNJ Foxwoods	2:03.93
2018	Justify *	Mike E. Smith	Bob Baffert	China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners, Starlight Racing & WinStar Farm	2:04.20
2017	Always Dreaming	John R. Velazquez	Todd Pletcher	Brooklyn Boyz Stables et al.	2:03.59
2016	Nyquist	Mario Gutierrez	Doug F. O’Neill	Reddam Racing	2:01.31
2015	American Pharoah *	Victor Espinoza	Bob Baffert	Zayat Stables (Ahmed Zayat)	2:03.02
2014	California Chrome	Victor Espinoza	Art Sherman	Steve and Carolyn Coburn & Perry and Denise Martin	2:03.66
2013	Orb	Joel Rosario	Claude R. “Shug” McGaughey III	Stuart Janney III & Phipps Stable	2:02.89
2012	I’ll Have Another	Mario Gutierrez	Doug O’Neill	J. Paul Reddam	2:01.83
2011	Animal Kingdom	John Velazquez	H. Graham Motion	Team Valor International	2:02.04
2010	Super Saver	Calvin Borel	Todd Pletcher	WinStar Farm	2:04.45
2009	Mine That Bird	Calvin Borel	Bennie Woolley Jr.	Double Eagle Ranch & Buena Suerte Equine	2:02.66
2008	Big Brown	Kent Desormeaux	Richard Dutrow Jr.	IEAH Stables & Paul P. Pompa Jr.	2:01.82
2007	Street Sense	Calvin Borel	Carl Nafzger	James B. Tafel	2:02.17
2006	Barbaro	Edgar Prado	Michael Matz	Lael Stables (Roy & Gretchen Jackson)	2:01.36
2005	Giacomo	Mike Smith	John Shirreffs	Mr. & Mrs. Jerome S. Moss	2:02.75
2004	Smarty Jones	Stewart Elliott	John Servis	Someday Farm	2:04.06
2003	Funny Cide	Jose Santos	Barclay Tagg	Sackatoga Stable	2:01.19
2002	War Emblem	Victor Espinoza	Bob Baffert	The Thoroughbred Corporation	2:01.13
2001	Monarchos	Jorge Chavez	John T. Ward Jr.	John C. Oxley	1:59.97
2000	Fusaichi Pegasus	Kent Desormeaux	Neil D. Drysdale	Fusao Sekiguchi	2:01.12

* Triple Crown winner. ** Mandaloun was placed first after the disqualification of Medina Spirit, who failed a post-race drug test. *** Country House was placed first after Maximum Security was disqualified for interference.

Notes on the 2019 and 2021 Disqualifications

The list above reflects the official record. Two recent Kentucky Derby winners reached the finish line first but were later disqualified.

In 2019, Maximum Security crossed the line first but was disqualified for drifting out on the far turn and impeding several rivals. It was the first on-track disqualification in Derby history. Country House, who had finished second at 65-1, was elevated to the win.

In 2021, Medina Spirit crossed the line first but tested positive for the corticosteroid betamethasone, which is not permitted on race day in Kentucky. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission disqualified Medina Spirit on February 21, 2022, and named Mandaloun, the original runner-up, the official winner. Trainer Bob Baffert was suspended for 90 days and fined $7,500. Equibase, the official Thoroughbred database, updated its chart in February 2024 after the appeal process ended.

Triple Crown Winners on This List

Only two horses since 2000 have swept the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes in the same year. American Pharoah ended a 37-year drought in 2015 to become the 12th Triple Crown winner. Justify followed in 2018 to become the 13th. No horse has won the Triple Crown since.

Long Shots Take Over the Run for the Roses

Golden Tempo’s 23-1 victory continued a remarkable trend at Churchill Downs. The favorite has not won the Kentucky Derby since Justify in 2018, an eight-year stretch that ranks among the longest in Derby history. Recent long shot winners include Country House at 65-1 in 2019, Rich Strike at 80-1 in 2022, Mage at 15-1 in 2023, Mystik Dan at 18-1 in 2024, and now Golden Tempo at 23-1 in 2026.

Kentucky Derby Winners FAQ

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