Renegade falls short in 2026 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs

Irad Ortiz Jr. brought Renegade to a halt in front of the Twin Spires and rested his head against the colt's neck. Tears streamed down his face.

Ortiz, the No. 3 jockey in North America when it comes to career earnings, fell to 0 for 10 in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday with Todd Pletcher's morning-line favorite. They crossed the finish line a neck behind Ortiz's younger brother, Jose, and Golden Tempo, a 23-1 shot who made Cherie DeVaux the first female trainer in 152 years to reach the winner's circle.

Renegade co-owner Mike Repole met his rider on the Churchill Downs dirt. The billionaire entrepreneur, who's now 0 for 9 in the iconic first leg of the Triple Crown, planted a kiss on Ortiz's cheek and brought him in for a hug that left brown smudges on the shoulders of his pinstriped suit.

"You did everything f****** right," Repole said — his young daughter sobbing in the background.

"Un-f******-believeable," he added. "I love you, OK? You're the best."

Ortiz hugged Repole's daughter, then headed toward the paddock. Reporters surrounded Repole, the 57-year-old native of Queens, New York, and wanted to know how it felt to come up short yet again on the sport's biggest stage.

"I'm actually more upset that Irad lost," he said. "That kid rode his ass off.

"I know, if I lost to my younger brother, we wouldn't be brothers."

A little joke to lighten the mood. After all, Renegade did deliver Repole his best Derby finish to date across more than two decades as an owner. Before Saturday, his high-water mark in the 1¼-mile, Grade 1 stakes race was fifth — with Ortiz aboard the Pletcher-trained Mo Donegal in 2022.

Ortiz and Mo Donegal were roughly five lengths behind 80-1 shot Rich Strike that day. In the four years since, the biggest obstacle for Repole's horses was reaching the starting gate.

Forte, the Derby 149 morning-line favorite, scratched hours before the race because of a veterinarian's concerns about a bruised right front foot. Fierceness, the morning-line favorite for Derby 150, finished 15th.

Grande, a 20-1 shot in the Derby 151 morning line, scratched because of a foot bruise.

Repole tries to look on the bright side. After Fierceness redeemed himself with a record-breaking run to victory in last year's Grade 2 Alysheba Stakes, the same day Grande scratched, he told reporters: "Racing's full of highs and lows. I'm blessed, because many people just have lows — no highs."

Here's how he put Renegade's close-but-not-quite performance into perspective: "It's a tough race to win, man; but you can't be disappointed with the effort."

Ortiz and the son of Into Mischief broke out of Post 1 just like he did with Mo Donegal four years ago. The position hasn't produced a winner since Ferdinand in 1986. 

When asked about the draw April 26, Pletcher said, "It just puts you in a position where you can't make a mistake."

In Renegade, he and Repole had a horse who, they felt, could overcome the challenge. The colt entered the Derby sitting at 2-2-1 across five career starts. Strong stretch runs highlighted the two wins of his 3-year-old season, including the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on March 28 at Oaklawn Park. 

"Irad's riding in great form right now," Pletcher told reporters April 26. "We just have to focus on getting out of the gate, breaking well and establishing the position we want."

"If this horse gets the same trip as Mo Donegal (out of Post 1), I think he’s five lengths better," Repole added April 30.

The break was far from clean. Renegade bumped with Albus at the start. Then, Litmus Test slammed into him. But neither Pletcher nor Repole used it as an excuse.

"We ended up getting the position we expected," said Pletcher, who fell to 2 for 66 in the Derby. "We were going to let him settle and make his run, and he did that; he made a heck of a run. Just a (neck) short."

"I don't want to hear about the f****** 1-post," Repole added. "I hope I get the No. 1 the rest of my life. ... (Golden Tempo) had to go wide; we had to go inside. I'm sure, if you look at his trip, he probably traveled a lot more ground than us. There's no excuse."

If it's any consolation to Ortiz, Saturday marked his first on-the-board finish in the Run for the Roses. Previously, his best finish was fourth place in 2019 with Improbable. 

"I really wanted it for him more than anybody else," Repole said.

"Hopefully, he gets the opportunity to win one day," Jose Ortiz added.

Renegade's connections, including co-owners Robert and Lawana Low, will split $1 million for his runner-up Derby performance. Then, they’ll have a decision to make regarding the Preakness Stakes, which will be held May 16 at Pimlico Race Course. 

Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at [email protected] and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.