LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Renegade opened Saturday as the morning line favorite for the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby, looking to overcome the inside rail post position that has not produced a winner in four decades.
The colt trained by Todd Pletcher and set to be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. is 4-1 after drawing the No. 1 post in the field of 20 horses for the May 2 race. No horse has finished first in the Derby from there since Ferdinand in 1986, and the most recent to be in the top three was Lookin At Lee, who was second in 2017.
Trainer Brad Cox’s No. 6 Commandment and No. 18 Further Ado are the second and third choices on the morning line each at 6-1, followed by No. 12 Chief Wallabee at 8-1 and The Puma at 10-1. Cox's third entrant is 20-1 long shot Fulleffort, who drew the far-outside No. 20 post.
Cox's jaw dropped when he saw Fulleffort's draw, calling it "probably the one I’m maybe not as wild about, as excited about as the other two. He was most happy with Further Ado at No. 18, with three-time Derby-winning jockey John Velazquez aboard.
“Very happy with that post: I wanted him to draw outside, and it looks like there’s some speed to the inside of him there,” Cox said. “I do like the 6 with Commandment. Hopefully he can break and go forward. It looks like there’s a little speed around him. He can maybe save some ground going into the first turn, maybe even into the second turn.”
Two-time Triple Crown champion Bob Baffert has two chances to win the Derby for a seventh time and break a tie with Ben Jones for the most of any trainer, saddling No. 4 Litmus Test (30-1) and No. 14 Potente (20-1). Litmus Test was the last horse to get into the field earlier Saturday when Steve Asmussen and owners decided Chip Honcho will skip the race and point toward the Preakness Stakes on May 16.
A year after Bill Mott's Sovereignty won the Derby and then the Belmont Stakes, son Riley is training his first two horses in the Triple Crown opener. He has No. 2 Albus (30-1) and No. 11 Incredibolt (20-1).
His dad's bid to go back-to-back is Chief Wallabee.
“I don’t know him right now,” Riley Mott said. “He’s our competition. Very formidable, obviously, but we’re just focused on our horses and trying to control the things we can control — unlike the draw. It’s been fun just trying to stay focused but enjoy the moment at the same time.”
Rounding out the field are No. 3 Intrepido (30-1), No. 5 Right To Party (30-1), No. 7 Danon Bourbon (20-1), No. 8 So Happy (15-1), Japan-bred No. 10 Wonder Dean (30-1), No. 13 Silent Tactic (20-1), No. 15 Emerging Market (15-1), No. 16 Pavlovian (30-1), No. 17 Six Speed (50-1) and No. 19 Golden Tempo (30-1)
If there are scratches, there are four also-entered possibilities to join the field: Great White, Ocelli, Robusta and Corona de Oro.
Post time for the race is set for 6:57 p.m. EDT.
AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing
FILE - - In this May 6, 2020, file photo, a statue of Barbaro is silhouetted at the entrance of Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)
FILE - The winners circle at Churchill Downs sits empty, Wednesday, April 22, 2020, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)
The San Antonio Spurs' kids look ready, even if Victor Wembanyama may not be.
With the Spurs star unavailable, second-year guard Stephon Castle delivered 33 points and rookie Dylan Harper pitched in a career-high 27 points along with 10 rebounds in a 120-108 victory in Portland on Friday to take a 2-1 series lead.
Wembanyama, the 7-foot-4 Defensive Player of the Year averaging 25 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and a league-best 3.1 blocks, sustained a concussion in the first half of Game 2 and did not return. The Blazers went on to win in San Antonio 106-103.
Wembanyama traveled with the Spurs to Portland and hoped to play, but coach Mitch Johnson announced before the game that Wembanyama was progressing though not yet available to play.
It turned out that the Spurs didn't need him. The Blazers led by as many as 15 points in the third quarter before Castle and Harper took over and Portland collapsed.
Wembanyama's status for Sunday's game is unknown.
Harper scored 22 points in the second half. At 20, the No. 2 pick in last June's NBA draft became the second-youngest player to score 20 or more points off the bench in a playoff game. The youngest was 18-year-old Kobe Bryant.
“When I came in the game, my biggest focus was just not trying to get it all at once and just try to be that energy guy that came in and played hard,” Harper said. “Once I started doing that, I think the game kind of just opened up.”
When/Where to watch: Game 4, 3:30 p.m. EDT (ESPN)
Series: Spurs lead, 2-1
Betting line: Spurs by 5.5
What to Know: Luke Kornet filled in for Wembanyama with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Coach Mitch Johnson would only say that Wembanyama was progressing but would not reveal his status for Sunday’s game.
When/Where to watch: Game 4, 7 p.m. EDT (Prime Video)
Series: Celtics lead, 2-1
Betting line: Celtics by 7.5
What to Know: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scored 25 points to help the Celtics beat the 76ers in Game 3 and take back the home-court edge. Tyrese Maxey, voted an All-Star starter for the first time in his career, has gamely tried to carry the Sixers with Joel Embiid still out as he recovers from an appendectomy. Embiid, listed as doubtful, did individual work on court Saturday. Coach Nick Nurse said he hoped to know more about Embiid’s potential availability after the Game 4 shootaround. VJ Edgecombe did have his second double-double of the series but missed all seven of his 3-point attempts. The Celtics won both games with a significant 3-point edge. Boston hit 16 in Game 1 and the Celtics made 20 of 47 in Game 3.
When/Where to watch: Game 4, 9:30 p.m. EDT (NBC Peacock)
Series: Lakers lead 3-0
Betting line: Rockets by 8.5
What to Know: Houston's Kevin Durant sat out of Houston's 112-108 overtime loss to the Lakers on Friday that put the Rockets in a 3-0 hole going into Game 4. He also missed the opening game with a knee injury and is listed as questionable for Sunday's elimination game. Ageless superstar LeBron James scored 29 points, including a tying 3-pointer with 13 seconds left in regulation for the Lakers, who rallied from a six-point deficit with under 30 seconds left for the win. The Lakers are missing Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, leaving 41 year-old James to help pick up the slack. As a result, he played more than 45 minutes on Friday night.
When/Where to Watch: Game 4, 1 p.m. EDT (ESPN)
Series: Cavaliers lead 2-1
Betting line: Cavaliers by 3.5
What to Know: After losing the first two games, the Raptors returned home to Canada and got big performances from Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett for a 126-104 victory to narrow the series. Barnes and Barrett each had 33 points, career playoff highs for both. The Raptors outscored the crumbling Cavs 43-23 in the fourth quarter. The win snapped Cleveland's 12-game playoff winning streak over the Raptors. However, Toronto got bad news on Friday when starting guard Immanuel Quickley was ruled out for rest of the first round because of a setback in his rehab of a hamstring injury.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Toronto Raptors' Collin Murray-Boyles (12) celebrates a basket against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the second half of an NBA playoff basketball game in Toronto on Thursday, April 23, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Philadelphia 76ers' VJ Edgecombe (77) goes up for a shot against Boston Celtics' Payton Pritchard (11) during the second half of Game 3 in a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series Friday, April 24, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper (2) reacts to a play during the second half in Game 3 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series against the Portland Trail Blazers in Portland, Ore, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
Los Angeles Lakers forwards Jarred Vanderbilt (2) and LeBron James (23) celebrate after their overtime win against the Houston Rockets in Game 3 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series Friday April 24, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, center, wears street cloths on the bench as he sits out Game 3 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series against the Portland Trail Blazers in Portland, Ore, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
