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Kentucky Derby: Who Will Finish Last in the Run for the Roses?

  • Alex Dudley
  • Apr 29, 2026 at 6:56 AM EDT

All of the attention this weekend will be on finding the winner of the Kentucky Derby, with the glory of joining the likes of Secretariat and American Pharoah on the prestigious roll of honor ensuring that a horse’s name will live on forever.

However, there will also be betting options in terms of finding the horse that will finish last in the opening leg of the Triple Crown. You can find the odds and our pick for the horse that will finish last in the Kentucky Derby here.

Who Will Finish Last in the Kentucky Derby Odds

HorseOdds
Six Speed+375
Intrepido+600
Right To Party+800
Albus+900
Litmus Test+1000
Wonder Dean+1000
Pavlovian+1000
So Happy+1200
Other Selections+1400 & Bigger

ALSO SEE: Kentucky Derby Cheat Sheet: Runner-by-Runner Guide & Odds

Horses That Have Finished Last in the Kentucky Derby

While the winner of the Kentucky Derby writes their name into the history books, there have been countless occasions when talented horses have failed to fire when the lights have shone brightest at Churchill Downs.

Thunder Snow was pulled up after a slow start in the 2017 Derby, but he later showed his class to finish second in the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas, before winning the Dubai World Cup and finishing third in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Aidan O’Brien’s Derby hopes were dashed when Mendelssohn finished last in 2018, but the runner would still win over $2.5 million in prize money before being retired.

However, not all last-place finishers in the Derby recapture their form, with Admire Daytona having failed to get his career back on track after being last seen when 14th of 16 in the G3 Musashino Stakes in Tokyo.

Who Will Finish Last in the 2026 Kentucky Derby?

Pace setters dominate the betting to finish last in the Kentucky Derby this year, with Six Speed and Intrepido both expected to struggle after the opening stages. The latter has also struggled for form since an excellent juvenile campaign, and will be a massive outsider based on his efforts in 2026.

Right To Party is also expected to struggle for the Kenneth McPeek team. The three-year-old shares form lines with Albus after finishing second to his reappearing rival in the G2 Wood Memorial. That looked like one of the weakest prep races on paper, and cases could be made for both when considering who will finish last in the Kentucky Derby.

However, at the odds available, Japanese-trained Wonder Dean could be the value. The three-year-old doesn’t exactly have a pedigree that screams that he will see out the Derby trip, and he was a slightly fortunate winner of the G2 UAE Derby after capitalizing on a poor ride on Pyromancer. Lacks the form figures to get involved in the Derby shake-up, and the fact that he will have a fifth new jockey aboard is also a striking negative.

If you’re looking to find the winner of the race, you can find our Kentucky Derby picks here.

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