Rodriguez trainer, jockey, owner and more to know about 2025 Kentucky Derby horse
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Kentucky Derby 2025 contender Rodriguez works out at Churchill Downs
Trainer Bob Baffert's Kentucky Derby contender Rodriguez trained at Churchill Downs ahead of the 2025 race. Rodriguez is 2-2-1 in five starts.
Rodriguez will enter the Kentucky Derby off a front-running victory in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct
Trainer Bob Baffert is looking for his record seventh Kentucky Derby victory
Rodriguez is one of 20 horses expected to enter the 2025 Kentucky Derby on May 3 at Churchill Downs.
Spots for the Run for the Roses are earned by gaining points through a series of Kentucky Derby prep races that began last September.
The post-position draw for the Kentucky Derby is set for Saturday, April 26. Post time for the Kentucky Derby is set for 6:57 p.m. on Saturday, May 3.
Rodriguez will enter the Kentucky Derby off a victory in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial on April 5 at Aqueduct. He currently ranks fourth on the Kentucky Derby points leaderboard with 121.25.
Color: Dark bay.
Bred in: Kentucky.
Sire: Authentic.
Dam: Cayala, by Cherokee Run.
Price tag: $485,000 at 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
Owners: SF Racing (Gavin Murphy); Starlight Racing (Jack Wolf); Madaket Stables (Sol Kumin); Stonestreet Stables (Barbara Banke); Dianne Bashor; Determined Stables (Matt Dorman); Robert Masterson; Tom Ryan; Waves Edge Capital (Gregg Slager); Catherine Donovan. Madaket and Starlight were co-owners of 2020 Kentucky Derby winner Authentic. The majority of this group teamed on Messier (15th in 2022) and Reincarnate (13th in 2023). Kumin and Wolf were co-owners of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify.
Trainer: Bob Baffert. He's 6 for 34 in the Derby, tied with Ben Jones for the most victories by any trainer. His last win came with Authentic — Rodriguez's sire — in 2020.
Jockey: Mike Smith. He's 2 for 28 in the Derby, winning with Giacomo (2005) and Justify (2018).
Record: 2-2-1 in five starts.
Career earnings: $522,800.
Road to the Kentucky Derby points: 121.25 (No. 4).
Last race: Won Grade 2 Wood Memorial on April 5 at Aqueduct by 3 ½ lengths over Grande.
Running style: Front-runner.
Notes: Baffert is set to return to the Kentucky Derby for the first time since 2021. He was suspended three years following the disqualification of Medina Spirit from the 2021 Kentucky Derby. … Both of Rodriguez's victories have come in wire-to-wire fashion, and he figures to be at or near the front early in the Kentucky Derby. … The horse is named for Sixto Rodriguez, an American musician who gained fame in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand and was the subject of the 2012 documentary 'Searching for Sugar Man.'
What they're saying: 'He's a May baby that is really starting to come into himself at the right time, not widely different from his father,' co-owner Tom Ryan said. 'Authentic took a while to mature, not necessarily physically, but the mental aspect needed to come together. Mike (Smith) got along well with Rodriguez (in the Wood), and that's the key to it — understanding the horse's mentality. He ran the way he likes to (in the Wood), and he sure as hell showed up.'
Last May, NBC Sports announced a partnership with Churchill Downs to present the Kentucky Derby on NBC and Peacock through 2032.
The extension includes multiplatform rights to the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks and Derby and Oaks Day programming, which will be presented on NBC, Peacock, USA Network and additional NBCU platforms.
You can stream the 2025 Kentucky Derby on Fubo and Peacock.
Post time for the 151st Kentucky Derby is set for 6:57 p.m. on Saturday, May 3.
Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com. Follow on X @KentuckyDerbyCJ.
More horse racing: Which horses are in or on bubble for May 3 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs?
This story was updated to add a gallery.
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