The 151st Kentucky Derby could be a mudder's delight with rain in the forecast

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Derby is tough to win, with a huge field of stampeding horses and 150,000 screaming fans in the stands. Toss in a rainy forecast that could turn the Churchill Downs dirt strip into something resembling peanut butter and it gets trickier.

A field of 19 3-year-olds is set to run 1 1/4 miles for a $3.1 million prize and the garland of red roses on Saturday. Mucking things up is a forecast of 65 degrees (18 degrees Celsius) with a 90% chance of rain.

The soggy weather isn't just a bummer for those wanting the fairest of track conditions. The Derby is also a big party and fashion show, and rain means pulling out ponchos — no umbrellas allowed — to protect the huge hats and floral dresses.

Thirteen of the Derby contenders — including early 3-1 favorite Journalism — have never raced on a wet track. Clods of flying mud hitting their faces could be a turnoff.

“I may go through three pairs of goggles,” said Brian Hernandez Jr., who will be aboard Burnham Square.

Six longshots have experience in the muck, with four winning. Coal Battle is 2 for 2, while Japan-based Luxor Cafe is 3 for 4. The others are Neoequos and American Promise, trained by 89-year-old D. Wayne Lukas.

The last Derby run on a sloppy track was in 2019, when Country House won via a disqualification that had nothing to do with the weather. The last muddy track was in 1989, when Sunday Silence won.

Trainer Bob Baffert goes for a record-setting seventh victory in his return from a three-year suspension. He'll saddle Citizen Bull, last year's 2-year-old champion. The colt breaks from the dreaded No. 1 post, leaving him little choice but to get to the front before the rest of the field comes over, potentially cutting him off.

“We're going to tell him to get out of there like he just robbed a bank,” Baffert said.

No horse has won from the No. 1 post since Ferdinand in 1986.

Baffert's other horse, Rodriguez, was scratched Thursday with a bruised foot, moving Baeza into the field. Trainer Todd Pletcher's only entry, Grande, was scratched Friday for the same reason.

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen tries to snap an 0 for 26 Derby losing streak with a pair of 20-1 shots: Publisher and Tiztastic. Both are next to each other in the starting gate.

Sovereignty, the early 5-1 second choice, won at Churchill Downs last fall. He'll try to snap an 0 for 13 Derby skid for Godolphin, the racing stable of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

“I know he loves this track,” jockey Junior Alvarado said, “so I'm sitting on a good run with him now.”

Sandman, the early 6-1 third choice, is the most expensive horse in the field at $1.2 million. Conversely, 30-1 shot Chunk of Gold was bought for $2,500.

“There's been a lot of expensive horses not pan out and there's been a lot of cheap ones that have panned out,” Chunk of Gold trainer Ethan West said. “It's not like he's a big, robust, grand-looking animal. He's very good-looking, but he doesn't look like Journalism, that's for sure.”

Journalism looked the part of the Derby favorite while training during a mostly rain-free week on the track and breaks from the No. 8 post.

“The history of the Derby is usually a pretty vibrant opening quarter-mile," trainer Michael McCarthy said. ”He'll be part of that, probably just back off the speed."

The Southern California-based colt's mother's name is Mopotism and wanting a name ending in “ism,” co-owner Aron Wellman took inspiration from his old gig as sports editor of the Beverly Hills High School newspaper.

“Now more than ever, in the climate that we're living in, journalists and responsible journalism is so important,” he said. “It's so poignant that a horse named Journalism is going to have all eyes on him.”

AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing

Graphic shows horses in the Kentucky Derby with post positions, silks and odds.

A race fan sits in the stands at Churchill Downs before the 151st running of the Kentucky Oaks horse race Friday, May 2, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

A fan looks out at the paddock at Churchill Downs before the 151st running of the Kentucky Oaks horse race Friday, May 2, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas watches a workout at Churchill Downs Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Trainer Bob Baffert motions to a visitor outside his barn at Churchill Downs Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kentucky Derby entrant Coal Battle works out at Churchill Downs Monday, April 28, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kentucky Derby entrant Luxor Cafe, from Japan, works out at Churchill Downs Monday, April 28, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Horses workout as the sun rises at Churchill Downs Friday, May 2, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kentucky Derby entrant Journalism works out at Churchill Downs Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

People chat as they stand around the paddock at Churchill Downs before the 151st running of the Kentucky Oaks horse race Friday, May 2, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)

Kentucky Derby entrant Journalism gets a bath after a work out at Churchill Downs Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media that the U.S. Coast Guard had boarded the Motor Tanker Veronica early Thursday. She said the ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”

U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”

Noem posted a brief video that appeared to show part of the ship’s capture. The black-and-white footage showed helicopters hovering over the deck of a merchant vessel while armed troops dropped down on the deck by rope.

The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.

The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, it was partially filled with crude.

The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.

According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Galileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for moving cargoes of illicit Russian oil.

As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”

However, other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear that they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.

Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.

This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro's capture.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)