Who won the 2026 Florida Derby?

Commandment won the 75th running of the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park on March 28, 2026, edging The Puma by a nose in a dramatic photo finish. Trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Flavien Prat, the Into Mischief colt completed a worst-to-first rally in the stretch to win in 1:49.99 over a fast track. Commandment earned 100 Kentucky Derby qualifying points with the victory.

Who won the 2026 Arkansas Derby?

Renegade won the 90th Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park, pulling four lengths clear of Silent Tactic under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. Trained by Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher — who claimed a record sixth Arkansas Derby win — Renegade earned 100 Kentucky Derby qualifying points and is headed to Churchill Downs on May 2. Taptastic finished third.

Who won the 2026 Dubai World Cup?

Magnitude, a four-year-old Not This Time colt trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Jose Ortiz, won the 30th Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse, upsetting heavily favoured Forever Young by one length in the $12 million feature. Magnitude led from the front throughout and held on despite a sustained late challenge from the Japanese superstar. Meydaan finished third.

Who won the 2026 Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn?

Counting Stars, trained by Mark Casse and ridden by Francisco Arrieta, won the $1 million Fantasy Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park on March 27, earning 75 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points and moving to third on the leaderboard with 100 total points. Stablemate Search Party finished second. Pre-race favourite Explora was scratched after developing a fever earlier in the week.

Can I bet on the Kentucky Derby at MyWinners?

Yes. MyWinners offers full pari-mutuel wagering on the Kentucky Derby and every major prep race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, including win, place, and show bets as well as exactas, trifectas, superfectas, and Pick sequences. The 152nd Kentucky Derby runs May 2 at Churchill Downs. Place your bets at app.mywinners.com or at your nearest Winners venue in CT.

Weekend Racing Review: Florida Derby, Arkansas Derby & Dubai World Cup 2026

The biggest global racing day of the year so far. Three Grade 1s in the same afternoon, $30 million in Dubai, and a record crowd of 73,000 at Oaklawn. Here's how our calls landed — and what Saturday's results mean heading into the final stretch before Louisville.

Florida Derby (G1) — Gulfstream Park 🟡 HALF RIGHT

In one of the most dramatic finishes of the entire prep season, Commandment got up by a nose in the final stride to deny The Puma, completing a worst-to-first rally in the field under Flavien Prat. The Brad Cox trainee — our second-choice win contender at 5-2 — won the race in 1:49.99.

Our top pick was Nearly, who we made a strong case for on the strength of three dominant Gulfstream wins, the Pletcher–Velazquez juggernaut, and his Holy Bull form. He didn't fire. The race belonged to Commandment — a horse we specifically called as a win contender — and The Puma, who we also had onside. Our top three picks (Nearly, Commandment, The Puma) all ran in the race. The winner came from our list. But the horse we put on top didn't deliver the goods, so we'll call this one half right.
One other footnote: Redland Rebels scratched, which we flagged as a concern — we called him a toss for the win and suggested he'd struggle at nine furlongs. His absence didn't change the result.
Derby implications: Commandment heads to Churchill Downs with 150 total points — a near-guaranteed gate spot. The Puma, already on 50 before Saturday, moves to 100. Chief Wallabee ran and picks up more points. Nearly will need to find another prep. The Florida Derby's record of producing Kentucky Derby winners is unmatched — 26 since 1952 — and Commandment fits the profile.

Arkansas Derby (G1) — Oaklawn Park ✅ NAILED IT

Renegade did exactly what we said he would. Our case was simple: when Irad Ortiz Jr. turns down a Fountain of Youth winner in Florida to stay on your horse in Arkansas, you pay attention. He did, and Renegade delivered with a devastating stretch kick — pulling four lengths clear of Silent Tactic before an Oaklawn record crowd of more than 70,000.

Todd Pletcher claimed a record-breaking sixth Arkansas Derby win. We called Renegade as the one to beat at 3-2. He won. We also named Litmus Test as our value play — he ran, though wasn't good enough on the day — and Silent Tactic as a solid each-way option who could outfinish the field. Silent Tactic ran second, 9½ lengths behind Renegade.
The trifecta structure we recommended — Renegade and Litmus Test on top, Silent Tactic underneath — would have landed if Litmus Test had placed. Renegade and Silent Tactic 1-2 was our core ticket. Taptastic, our longshot call at 20-1, completed the trifecta in third. Our exacta and trifecta structure hit.
Derby implications: Renegade earns 100 points and is headed to Churchill Downs. Pletcher now has Renegade and Florida Derby runner-up Nearly as Derby contenders. With the Arkansas-Florida double in play, the field is beginning to take shape.

Fantasy Stakes (G2) — Oaklawn Park 🟡 HALF RIGHT

Friday's card threw us a curveball. Explora — the horse we specifically highlighted as one to watch alongside Sticker Shock — was scratched before the race after developing a fever. With the program favorite gone, the race fell to Counting Stars, a Mark Casse trainee who we had as a logical second choice behind Explora. Casse's trio dominated a reduced five-horse field, finishing 1-2 with Counting Stars and Search Party.

We called Sticker Shock (Brad Cox) as one of the two to watch. She ran but couldn't land a blow in fourth. The scratch of Explora — our primary angle — wasn't something any form student could have predicted earlier in the week. In that sense, this is the racing gods intervening rather than a bad call. We'll split the difference.
Oaks implications: Counting Stars earns 75 points and moves to third on the Oaks leaderboard with 100 total. Explora, injury aside, is reportedly still heading to the Kentucky Oaks on May 1 and remains one of the most interesting fillies in the division.

Dubai World Cup (G1) — Meydan Racecourse ❌ BEATEN BY A SHOCK

This one hurt — but there's no shame in being on the wrong side of one of the biggest upsets in recent Dubai World Cup history.

Our call was Forever Young, and the case was watertight: Saudi Cup winner, Breeders' Cup Classic winner, highest-rated dirt horse on the planet, going for what would have been an unprecedented sequence of the three richest dirt races in the world. He went off as the 8-11 favourite and ran a solid second. He was beaten — by a front-runner he simply couldn't reel in.
Magnitude, trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Jose Ortiz, led wire-to-wire on the rail from gate one and simply never surrendered. Forever Young closed but couldn't get there. As Ortiz put it: "We knew we had a good enough horse to win the race and he showed up." He did. Magnitude was 8-1. We didn't have him.
Where we were right: Calandagan won the Dubai Sheema Classic exactly as flagged — five Group 1s in a row now for the world's best-rated horse. Ombudsman took the Dubai Turf for Godolphin. Our best bet for value, Commissioner King in the Godolphin Mile, finished out of the frame after Banishing won. Al Nayyir in the Dubai Gold Cup — our logical win — was pipped, finishing third behind Fairy Glen.
On the Dubai World Cup itself: every analyst in the world made Forever Young the horse to beat. A 15/2 shot beating the 8-11 favourite by a length in a front-running masterclass is just racing. It happens. We move on.

Weekend Scorecard

🟡 Florida Derby: Called Commandment as a win contender — he won by a nose. Top pick Nearly didn't fire. Two of our named horses filled 1-2.
✅ Arkansas Derby: Made Renegade the one to beat, backed by the Irad angle. He won by four. Silent Tactic second (our each-way pick). Taptastic third (our longshot in exotics). Trifecta landed.
🟡 Fantasy Stakes: Called Explora and Sticker Shock as the two to watch. Explora scratched sick. Counting Stars — a Casse trainee we had onside — won the depleted field.
❌ Dubai World Cup: Forever Young was beaten by a front-running 15/2 shock from Magnitude. One of racing's biggest upsets. Our Sheema Classic and Dubai Turf calls came through.

What's Next

The Kentucky Derby picture sharpened enormously on Saturday. Renegade and Commandment are headed to Churchill Downs with serious momentum. The Puma now has 100 points. Nearly needs one more run.

The Santa Anita Derby (G1) is next Saturday, April 5 — another 100 qualifying points up for grabs on the West Coast. Then the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland and the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 12 — the final major preps before the gates close for May 2. Woodbine opens April 18. The Derby is 34 days away.

On the Oaks side, Explora is still the one to watch. Counting Stars is now firmly in the picture after the Fantasy. Life of Joy punched her ticket out of Fair Grounds last weekend. The first Friday in May is setting up as a compelling race in its own right.

Keep it here for the races that matter.

Place bets at app.mywinners.com, download the MyWinners: Racing & Sports app on iOS h ere or Android he re, or find your nearest Winners venue in CT.

Frequently Asked Questions

Commandment won the 75th running of the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park on March 28, 2026, edging The Puma by a nose in a dramatic photo finish. Trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Flavien Prat, the Into Mischief colt completed a worst-to-first rally in the stretch to win in 1:49.99 over a fast track. Commandment earned 100 Kentucky Derby qualifying points with the victory.escription text goes here
Renegade won the 90th Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park, pulling four lengths clear of Silent Tactic under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. Trained by Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher — who claimed a record sixth Arkansas Derby win — Renegade earned 100 Kentucky Derby qualifying points and is headed to Churchill Downs on May 2. Taptastic finished third.
Magnitude, a four-year-old Not This Time colt trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Jose Ortiz, won the 30th Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse, upsetting heavily favoured Forever Young by one length in the $12 million feature. Magnitude led from the front throughout and held on despite a sustained late challenge from the Japanese superstar. Meydaan finished third.
Counting Stars, trained by Mark Casse and ridden by Francisco Arrieta, won the $1 million Fantasy Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park on March 27, earning 75 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points and moving to third on the leaderboard with 100 total points. Stablemate Search Party finished second. Pre-race favourite Explora was scratched after developing a fever earlier in the week.
Yes. MyWinners offers full pari-mutuel wagering on the Kentucky Derby and every major prep race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, including win, place, and show bets as well as exactas, trifectas, superfectas, and Pick sequences. The 152nd Kentucky Derby runs May 2 at Churchill Downs. Place your bets at app.mywinners.com or at your nearest Winners venue in CT.

MyWinners Weekend Racing Review — March 30, 2026