Admire Daytona trainer, jockey, owner and more to know about 2025 Kentucky Derby horse

USA Today

03-05-2025

Admire Daytona trainer, jockey, owner and more to know about 2025 Kentucky Derby horse
Show Caption
Hide Caption
Bob Baffert: Kentucky Derby, Triple Crown championships and controversy
Horse racing trainer Bob Baffert has multiple Kentucky Derby wins, two Triple Crown champions, and a career marked by both triumph and controversy.
Admire Daytona will enter the Kentucky Derby off a win in the UAE Derby on April 5 at Meydan
Admire Daytona will try to become the first Japan-bred to win the Kentucky Derby
Admire Daytona 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.
Admire Daytona will enter the Kentucky Derby off a victory in the Group 2 UAE Derby on April 5 at Meydan. He qualified for the Run for the Roses as the winner of the Euro/Mideast Road to the Kentucky Derby.
Color: Bay.
Bred in: Japan.
Sire: Drefong.
Dam: Ice Pastel, by Shackleford.
Price tag: $480,276 at 2022 Japan Racing Horse Association Select Yearling and Foal Sale.
Owner: Junko Kondo. First Derby.
Trainer: Yukihiro Kato. First Derby.
Jockey: Christophe Lemaire. He's 0 for 2 in the Derby, best finish coming with Derma Sotogake (sixth) in 2023.
Record: 2-2-0 in six starts.
Career earnings: $672,047.
Road to the Kentucky Derby points: Qualified via Euro/Mideast Road to the Kentucky Derby.
Last race: Won Group 2 UAE Derby on April 5 at Meydan by a nose over Heart of Honor.
Running style: Pace-setter in UAE Derby.
Notes: Admire Daytona broke his maiden Feb. 8 in his fourth career start in Tokyo, then finished fourth in the Hyacinth Stakes before winning the UAE Derby. … Since 2019, six horses bred in Japan have competed in the Kentucky Derby. The top finisher was Forever Young, who came in third in 2024. … Admire Daytona was beaten twice by Luxor Café, who will compete in the Run for the Roses via the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby.
What they're saying: 'For sure he can go to Kentucky, but it is such a difficult race to win,' Lemaire said after the UAE Derby. 'It is one of the most iconic races in the world, and we have to go if we can.'
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; [e-mail]. Follow on X @KentuckyDerbyCJ.
More horse racing: Sovereignty, a top 2025 Kentucky Derby contender, gives Bill Mott another chance at roses