Here’s the full list of horses that ran in the 2025 Kentucky Derby (151st “Run for the Roses”) along with key context. 🏇

What horses are running in the Kentucky Derby 2025?

The 2025 Kentucky Derby has already been run (on May 3, 2025), and there were 19 starters after late scratches.

Below is the field that went to the gate on Derby day.

2025 Kentucky Derby Field (Official Starters)

Note: Rodriguez and Grande qualified but were scratched before the race, leaving 19 runners.

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[5] [5] [5] [5] [5] [5] [5] [1][5] [1][5] [3][5] [5] [1][5] [1][5] [5] [3][1][5] [3][1] [10][1] [10][1] [1][5] [1][5]
Post Horse Jockey
1 Citizen Bull Martin Garcia
2 Neoequos Luis Saez
3 Final Gambit Luan Machado
4 Baeza* (also- eligible) Flavien Prat
5 American Promise Nik Juarez
6 Admire Daytona Christophe Lemaire
7 Luxor Cafe Joao Moreira
8 Journalism Umberto Rispoli
9 Burnham Square Brian Hernandez Jr.
10 East Avenue Noted as part of field; detailed card lists East Avenue at 20–1 odds
11 Flying Mohawk Joseph Ramos
12 Render Judgment Part of the longshot group at 30–1
13 Coal Battle Included among 30–1 longshots
14 Publisher Listed at 20–1 in the morning line
15 Render Judgment (Also referenced among longshots; numbering may shift in some lists after scratches)
16 Coal Battle (Position adjusted in post-Derby writeups)
17 Sandman 6–1 on the morning line
18 Sovereignty 5–1; eventual winner
19 Chunk of Gold 30–1 longshot
20 Owen Almighty Also part of the 30–1 group; field reduced to 19 starters because of scratches

*Baeza was listed as an also-eligible/alternate and only drew in after scratches; Rodriguez and Grande were scratched before the race went off.

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Key Storylines & “Latest News” Angle

  • Winner: Sovereignty, at 5–1, won the 2025 Kentucky Derby in rainy, muddy conditions.
  • Beaten favorite: Journalism was the heavily hyped favorite and finished second.
  • International flavor: Luxor Cafe (Japan) and Admire Daytona (UAE/Japan form) were the notable overseas runners.
  • Longshots: Horses like Final Gambit, Coal Battle, Chunk of Gold, Neoequos, and Render Judgment all went off around 30–1.

Forum & Fan Discussion Vibes

If you browse fan forums and Derby handicapping threads, you’ll see a few recurring viewpoints:
  • Some fans framed 2025 as “the Journalism Derby,” expecting him to be nearly unbeatable off big prep wins.
  • Others gravitated to Sovereignty as the “closer who’d love the distance,” which is exactly how the race played out in the slop.
  • Japanese racing followers were especially interested in Luxor Cafe after strong prep wins in the Hyacinth and Fukuryu Stakes.
  • Value hunters on forums liked deep longshots such as Final Gambit (Jeff Ruby winner) and Coal Battle, both with solid prep résumés but big odds.

“This Derby feels wide open beyond Journalism. Sovereignty, Sandman, and Luxor Cafe all have legit cases if the pace melts down.” – Typical 2025 forum-style take distilled from Derby discussion threads.

Why some lists look slightly different

You might see minor differences in how some outlets number or present the field, because:
  • Rodriguez and Grande were scratched late, so earlier “projected field” graphics still include them.
  • Baeza appears as an alternate/also-eligible, so some charts highlight him differently than the 19 that actually started.

If you just need the answer to “what horses are (were) running in the Kentucky Derby 2025,” the list in the table above is the complete Derby field as raced on May 3, 2025.

Meta description (SEO-style):
Wondering what horses are running in the Kentucky Derby 2025? Here’s the full 19-horse field, key favorites, longshots, and storyline context from the 151st Run for the Roses.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.