Reagan's Honor Cracks Derby Dozen; Paladin on Top

1. Paladin 

Owner/Trainer: Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Peter Brant, Brook Smith, and Summer Wind Equine/Chad Brown

Gun Runner  —Secret Sigh , by Tapit   

Breeder: Summer Wind Equine (KY)

Two years ago, many of Paladin's owners and trainer Chad Brown came within a nose of winning the Kentucky Derby (G1), settling for second when Sierra Leone   finished second behind Mystik Dan   in a three-horse photo that included Japanese star Forever Young  in third. (One of those owners, Michael Tabor, won the Derby separately as owner of the D. Wayne Lukas-trained Thunder Gulch in 1995.) Paladin, unbeaten in three starts and winner of the 2025 Remsen Stakes (G2) and the Feb. 14 Risen Star Stakes (G2), gives his connections a strong chance at the elusive Derby prize. The April 4 Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at Keeneland is next. 

WATCH: King Reviews Great White's Victory in John Battaglia

2. Further Ado 

Owner/Trainer: Spendthrift Farm/Brad Cox

Gun Runner—Sky Dreamer , by Sky Mesa

Breeder: John C. Oxley (KY)

Perfect in two starts since being stretched out to a route, rolling by 20 lengths in a maiden race at Keeneland Oct. 10 and then winning the Nov. 29 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs, Further Ado rates behind Paladin in part due to Further Ado's success at 1 1/16 miles. Paladin is proven over a bit more distance at 1 1/8 miles. Trainer Brad Cox, who won the Derby by disqualification in 2021 when Mandaloun   was elevated to first after Medina Spirit was disqualified for a medication infraction, has Further Ado clipping along in his breezes at Payson Park Training Center in South Florida in preparation for the March 7 Tampa Bay Derby (G3). 

3. Nearly 

Owner/Trainer: Centennial Farms/Todd Pletcher

Not This Time  —Ib Prospecting , by Mineshaft  

Breeder: Wind Hill Farm (FL)

Considered by many the best 3-year-old to race at Gulfstream Park this winter, the Jan. 31 Holy Bull Stakes (G3) winner will sit out the Feb. 28 Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) there to await the March 28 Florida Derby (G1). The move is meant to leave something in the tank for the Florida Derby, and later the May 2 Kentucky Derby. Pletcher has a phenomenal strike rate in the 1 1/8-mile Florida Derby—a race he has won eight times, all since 2007. Nearly's regular jockey, John Velazquez, was aboard four of those Pletcher winners, plus another two for other trainers. This colt breezed a slowish half-mile in :50.98 Feb. 20 at Palm Beach Downs, but that was a maintenance breeze so far removed from the Florida Derby.

4. Commandment 

Owner/Trainer: Wathnan Racing/Cox

Into Mischief  —Sippican Harbor , by Orb 

Breeder: Lee Pokoik (KY)

Saturday's 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth should provide clarification on his ability to handle two turns. All three of his starts have come around one turn at a mile or less, and he has finished well, most recently pulling away to blowout victory in the Jan. 3 Mucho Macho Man Stakes. Into Mischief has sired three Kentucky Derby winners and gets a blend of sprinters and routers among his progeny. Commandment's dam, Sippican Harbor , scored her most important victory in taking the 2018 Spinaway Stakes (G1) at 7 furlongs, but she never had much of a chance to prove herself as a router. She exited a sixth-place finish in the 1 1/16-mile Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) that fall with a fractured ankle, and when that flared up with a return to training, she was retired.

5. Silent Tactic 

Owner/Trainer: John C. Oxley/Mark Casse

Tacitus  —Magical Sign , by Gun Runner

Breeder: Don Alberto Corporation (KY)

Hall of Famer Mark Casse doesn't emphasize spacing of his stakes horses as much as other prominent trainers, preferring to run them. So Silent Tactic, after winning the Feb. 6 Southwest Stakes (G3), returns in the March 1 Rebel Stakes (G2)  at Oaklawn Park along with stablemate Strategic Risk . Silent Tactic must avoid a bounce after a career-best performance in the Southwest, when he blitzed the opposition with a potent stretch rally. The Rebel seems a contentious race with three Derby Dozen horses in the lineup, plus some others that have flirted with joining the rankings.

6. Brant 

Owner/Trainer: Zedan Racing Stables/Bob Baffert

Gun Runner—Tynan , by Liam's Map  

Breeder: PTK (KY)

A $3 million purchase at auction last year, he won his first two starts at Del Mar, including the 7-furlong Del Mar Futurity (G1), before weakening to third after setting the pace in the 1 1/16-mile Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1). Staying power is the uncertainty with Brant. The Bob Baffert trainee retreated late in the Juvenile, though perhaps his lack of a two-turn prep heading into that race contributed to his fade. After some easy breezes to begin the year, Baffert tightened the screws with a 6-furlong gate breeze Feb. 21 at Santa Anita Park in 1:11 4/5. The March 7 San Felipe Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita appears next.

7. Litmus Test 

Owner/Trainer: SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Golconda Stable, Waves Edge Capital, and Catherine Donovan/Baffert

Nyquist  —Study Hard , by Malibu Moon

Breeder: Machmer Hall (KY)

Baffert scratched him from the postponed Southwest, never sending him to Oaklawn from his Southern California base, and now takes aim at Sunday's Rebel Stakes there with him. The Hall of Fame trainer has won the Rebel eight times, though not since Concert Tour  in 2021. Litmus Test has stayed on course in his training as he readies for his first race since taking the Dec. 13 Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) with a perfect trip. All three of his routes have been encouraging, with a third-place finish in the Breeders' Futurity (G1) and fourth-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) preceding his success at Los Alamitos Race Course.

8. Renegade 

Owner/Trainer: Repole Stable and Robert and Lawana Low/Pletcher

Into Mischief—Spice Is Nice , by Curlin  

Breeder: Robert and Lawana Low (KY)

Like stablemate Nearly, Sam F. Davis Stakes winner Renegade breezed a relatively easy half-mile this week, clocked in :50.80 Feb. 20 at Palm Beach Downs in South Florida. Pletcher has him pointed toward the March 28 Arkansas Derby (G1). By racing Renegade at Tampa Bay Downs before heading to Oaklawn Park, Pletcher is following a similar schedule to Super Saver , the trainer's first Derby winner in 2010. (Super Saver raced in the Tampa Bay Derby and not the Sam F. Davis, however.) Pletcher's second Derby winner in 2017, Always Dreaming, took a racing path through Gulfstream Park, topped by winning the Florida Derby.

9. Plutarch 

Owner/Trainer: Magnier, Derrick Smith, and Tabor/Baffert

Into Mischief—Stellar Wind , by Curlin 

Breeder: Orpendale/Chelston/Wynatt (KY)

He has yet to work since winning the Feb. 7 Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita Park, though there is no great rush to breeze him, as Baffert plans to skip running him in the San Felipe. Plutarch was not among his eight nominees to the 1 1/16-mile race. Immature as a 2-year-old, Plutarch seems to be on the upswing at age 3. "This horse reminds me of Authentic," Baffert said after the Robert B. Lewis, referring to his 2020 Derby winner. "He keeps getting better every week. I don't think distance will be a problem with him. This is very exciting. He's legit."

10. Blackout Time  

Owner/Trainer: BR Thoroughbreds, Lance Gasaway, and Magdalena Racing/Kenny McPeek

Not This Time—Beauty Parlor , by Elusive Quality

Breeder: Newstead (KY)

One of the most talented horses in Sunday's Rebel, he is nevertheless a tricky read in the $1 million race, not having raced since his runner-up finish in the Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland in early October. Recall that he was a regulatory scratch from the Oct. 31 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Del Mar. Given some time off after being diagnosed with bone remodeling, his training has seemingly gone without issue, though McPeek acknowledged earlier this winter the relatively tight window to have him ready for the Rebel. Blackout Time would seem likely to improve once he gets this comeback behind him.

11. Canaletto 

Owner/Trainer: Magnier, Tabor, Derrick Smith, Brant, and Brook Smith/Brown

Into Mischief—Distorted Music , by Distorted Humor 

Breeder: Lothenbach Stables (KY)

Brown considered running him in Saturday's Fountain of Youth before deciding to stick to his initial plan of running in the Tampa Bay Derby in another week. Having made just one start—an exciting victory on debut Jan. 25 at Gulfstream—Canaletto is on pace to have just two more starts before the first Saturday in May and can ill afford any regression. He needs to secure Kentucky Derby qualifying points and gain seasoning if he is going to participate in the Derby, let alone challenge. Justify   (2018) and Mage   (2023) both won the Derby as unraced 2-year-olds with three pre-Derby starts, though numerous others tried without success.

12. Reagan's Honor  

Owner/Trainer: West Point Thoroughbreds, David Ingordo, and Gabriel Duignan/Cherie DeVaux

Honor A. P.  —Rutile , by Medaglia d'Oro 

Breeder: David Ingordo & Jerome S. Moss (KY)

Reagan's Honor displaces fellow Cherie DeVaux trainee and Lecomte Stakes (G3) winner Golden Tempo  for the final spot in the Derby Dozen rankings after walloping first-level allowance competition at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots Feb. 19. In notching his second consecutive victory at a route, he sped 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.02, just off eventual grade 1 winner Olympiad  's time of 1:42.01 in the 2022 Mineshaft Stakes (G3). DeVaux told Daily Racing Form his next start could come in the Blue Grass at Keeneland. Based on historical trends, Reagan's Honor would need a 1-2 finish there to secure sufficient qualifying points to make the Derby.