Get caught up with Potente's past performances, jockey, trainer and full analysis heading into the Run for the Roses
By Gene Menez Apr 29, 2026 at 11:21 am ET • 3 min read 
USATSI A $2.4 million purchase two years ago, Potente is the highest-priced of this year's Kentucky Derby starters sold at public auction and the fifth highest since 1982. And while he has had an excellent start to his short career, he has a long way to go to live up to that price tag. On Saturday, he will get a chance to recoup all of those pennies—and then some—when he leaves the starting gate in the $5 million Kentucky Derby. Bet on the 2026 Kentucky Derby with TwinSpires, where new users who click through our links get a supersized $400 sign-up bonus:
14 Potente (20-1)
- Trainer: Bob Baffert
- Jockey: Juan Hernandez
- Last race: Second in the Santa Anita Derby by 2¾ lengths
- Career record: 3 starts: 2 wins, 1 second
- Career earnings: $262,000
- Best career Beyer Speed Figure: 95 (Santa Anita Derby)
- Sire: Into Mischief
Below, we'll dig further into Potente as part of our series profiling all the horses competing in the 152nd Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 2. We'll look back into his past performances, what questions need to be answered Saturday and analyze how the post draw affects his chances.
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What to know about Potente
Maybe no horse in the Kentucky Derby field is better bred than Potente. His sire, Into Mischief, already has sired three Kentucky Derby winners (Authentic, Mandaloun and Sovereignty), which is tied for the most ever. His damsire, Awesome Again, won the Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs in 1998 against one of the most loaded fields in the race's history.
With that first class pedigree, Potente sold for $2.4 million in August 2024, the highest auction price of any horse in this year's Kentucky Derby field.
He is bred to go long, which makes his victory in his career debut while setting solid fractions at six furlongs even more impressive. Baffert even said the horse was "short" on training entering the race. One start later, he stretched out to 8½ furlongs in the San Felipe Stakes and rallied from off the pace to just get up to win at the wire.
And then in his final Kentucky Derby prep, the Santa Anita Derby, he found himself setting the pace again after stablemate Cherokee Nation, the expected pacesetter, broke poorly from the gate. Though Potente fought valiantly he couldn't hold off So Happy in the stretch, losing by 2¾ lengths.
Speed figures across the board have rated the Santa Anita Derby as one of the fastest prep races this season, which makes Potente a live longshot on Saturday.
But if Potente couldn't win the Santa Anita Derby, how will he win the Kentucky Derby? Baffert says that Potente is better when he's not setting the pace, and he's not likely to set the pace on Saturday with Six Speed and Litmus Test in the field.
Also, the Santa Anita Derby was just the third career start for Potente, so he still has room to improve. Based on his morning workouts at Churchill Downs, he is moving in the right direction. On Sunday, he turned in a bullet five-furlong workout in 57⅘ seconds, which suggests he's sitting on a big race.
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Post draw analysis
Potente's ideal trip would be in the second flight just behind the leaders and stalking three-wide. The problem is he's one of about eight horses in the race that want that same trip. The good news is that his No. 14 post should help him get that position. If he's able to secure that spot and avoid traffic trouble, his distance breeding could make things interesting in the final furlong.
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