Get caught up with Silent Tactic's past performances, jockey, trainer and full analysis heading into the Run for the Roses
By Gene Menez Apr 28, 2026 at 11:52 am ET • 3 min read 
USATSI Last year, content creator and social media influencer Griffin Johnson brought fresh eyeballs to horse racing when he was part owner of Sandman, the handsome gray horse with the catchy name who ended up finishing seventh in the Kentucky Derby. This year, Johnson is back at the Derby again, this time as part of the team that brings Arkansas Derby runner-up Silent Tactic to Louisville. And just like his stablemate, Silent Tactic is a late-running closer who does his best running when everyone else is backing up. Bet Silent Tactic and the entire Kentucky Derby at TwinSpires, where new users who click through our links get a supersized $400 sign-up bonus:
13 Silent Tactic (20-1)
- Trainer: Mark Casse
- Jockey: Cristian Torres
- Last race: Second in the Arkansas Derby by 4 lengths
- Career record: 6 starts: 2 wins, 4 seconds
- Career earnings: $1,051,922
- Best career Beyer Speed Figure: 91 (twice)
- Sire: Tacitus
Below, we'll dig further into Silent Tactic 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.
Now that you know who's in the field, you'll want to know how to bet the Kentucky Derby on the top horse racing betting apps. FanDuel Racing offers a $25 bonus with a $5 bet. Claim it here:
What to know about Silent Tactic
Silent Tactic is nothing if not consistent. In six career starts, this late runner has finished in the top two all six times (two wins and four seconds).
A $500,000 purchase last year, he started his career on the synthetic surface at Woodbine in the fall. Trainer Mark Casse then moved the horse to Oaklawn Park to start his Kentucky Derby journey. After a second place finish in the paceless Smarty Jones Stakes, Silent Tactic rallied from well off the pace to win the Southwest Stakes going away. But the field he beat that day has subsequently proven to be distance-challenged milers.
Silent Tactic's last two starts — the Rebel Stakes and Arkansas Derby — have been underwhelming. In the former he looked poised to run by leader Class President but hung in the lane and lost by a nose. Then, in the Arkansas Derby, he made the lead at the top of the stretch but couldn't hold off the powerful late charge of Renegade, losing by 4 lengths.
In both the Rebel Stakes and Arkansas Derby, Silent Tactic was much closer to the lead early, which may have dulled his patented late kick. Casse has since said that Silent Tactic is more likely to return to his previous running style of rallying from the back of the pack for the Kentucky Derby. While that strategy may enhance his late kick, it also puts Silent Tactic more at risk of a slow pace and traffic trouble.
He will need to get faster in a hurry. His career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 91 is 15 points slower than Further Ado's and 10 points shy of Commandment's. But note: Speed figures for closers can be deceiving since they are often at the mercy of pace.
Speaking of pace, Silent Tactic would benefit from a meltdown up front on Saturday, but so too would many others in the field, including Renegade and Commandment.
Casse, 65, has won more than 4,100 races in his career and is a member of the sport's hall of fame, but hasn't had any Derby success. He has run 11 horses in the race, and his best finish is fourth.
Last year, Sandman, who also was trained by Casse, went off as the second choice at a paltry 6-1, largely because of the social media influence of Johnson. If Silent Tactic receives the same attention, he could be a major underlay at FanDuel Racing, TwinSpires and 1/ST BET. Claim our jumbo-sized 1/ST BET offer here to get a $500 sign-up bonus:
Post draw analysis
The draw didn't have any significant impact on Silent Tactic, who's likely to drop near the back of the pack anyway. From the No. 13 post, jockey Cristian Torres, who will be making his Kentucky Derby debut, will try to save as much ground as possible around the turns and pray for a pace meltdown up front. Bred to run all day, Silent Tactic should be running at the end, but finishing in the top two again, against this field, will be a much tougher task.
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