2026 Kentucky Derby horses, odds, predictions, post draw: Expert who hit 12 Derby-Oaks Doubles unveils picks

Commandment is looking to make it three straight years that a horse broken maiden at Churchill Downs and then went on to win the Kentucky Derby at the fabled track. Both Sovereignty (2025) and Mystik Dan (2024) saw their first victories come at Churchill Downs before then returning to the venue to prevail at the Derby. Commandment's maiden win came in Louisville in Nov. 2025, and he hasn't lost since as he enters the 2026 Kentucky Derby with four straight victories.

That success has the horse as one of the favorites, according to the latest 2026 Kentucky Derby odds. He's priced at 6-1, trailing only Renegade (9-2) and Further Ado (5-1) for the race on Saturday. Others that figure to factor into horse racing bets include The Puma (10-1), So Happy (15-1) and Potente (15-1). Before making any 2026 Kentucky Derby picks, be sure to see the 2026 Kentucky Derby predictions and best bets from SportsLine's elite horse racing expert Jody Demling.

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A fixture in the horse racing world who has been writing about, talking about and betting on races for years, Demling has nailed the Kentucky Oaks-Derby double 12 times in the last 17 years. He also predicted the top three 2025 Kentucky Derby finishers in the correct order and called the exacta in last year's Preakness. Anyone who has followed him on horse racing betting sites could be way up. 

Now, with the 2026 Kentucky Derby approaching and horse racing futures odds on the board, Demling is sharing his 2026 Kentucky Derby betting picks and 2026 Kentucky Derby predictions over at SportsLine. Go here to see them.

Top 2026 Kentucky Derby predictions

One of Demling's surprising 2026 Kentucky Derby picks: He is fading Chief Wallabee (10-1). The horse has only raced at Gulfstream Park, but he's performed worse in each of his three starts despite familiarity with the race track. He won his first start, was runner-up in his second, and placed third in his most recent start. Those last two races were both graded stakes events, so Chief Wallabee has no stakes victories to his name.

Just as noteworthy as his results in those three races are Chief Wallabee's speed figures. They have also gone in the wrong direction as he posted a career-best mark of 133 in his racing debut. That speed figure then dropped to 123 in his second start and bottomed out at 121 in his third start. A horse on a downward trend in multiple areas like this is one that's hard to get behind with 2026 Kentucky Derby picks. See who to back at SportsLine.

Another stunner: Demling is high on Fulleffort, even though he's a longshot at 20-1 and will start from out wide at post No. 20. Sired by Liam's Map, Fulleffort's father won multiple G1 races in his thoroughbred career. Fulleffort also has impressive genes on his mom's side as his damsire, Awesome Again, also won multiple G1 races. Fulleffort has participated in just one graded stakes race, but he won that in his last start at the Jeff Ruby Steaks.

The horse appears to be following the route that 2022 Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike took. Both horses only competed on a synthetic surface in their 3-year-old seasons prior to the Derby, and the two even raced the same three races in the Ruby Steaks, Battaglia Memorial and Leonatus. But while Rich Strike never finished in the top two in any of those, Fulleffort has one victory and two runners-up across them. So, the latter is already ahead of the 2022 Derby champion and shouldn't be overlooked with your horse racing bets. See which other horses to back at SportsLine, and you can make 2026 Kentucky Derby picks at TwinSpires here with the offer code CBSSPORTS:

How to make 2026 Kentucky Derby picks, bets

Demling is also high on a longshot who "demolished the field" in his last start. Anyone who backs this colt could hit it big. Demling is sharing which horse it is, along with his entire projected 2026 Kentucky Derby leaderboard, over at SportsLine.

Which horse wins the Kentucky Derby 2026, and which longshot is a must-back? Check out the latest 2026 Kentucky Derby odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Demling's picks for the Kentucky Derby, all from the expert who has nailed 12 Derby-Oaks doubles.

2026 Kentucky Derby odds