16-05-2025
Toby Keith's 2025 Kentucky Derby Horse Carries on Late Singer's Legacy
Toby Keith's legacy will be on display at the 2025 Kentucky Derby.
The late singer was the owner of Dream Walkin Farms, which partnered with other stables to train horses. Keith had a dream to get one of those horses into the Kentucky Derby, which will be achieved on Saturday when Render Judgment takes the track in Lexington.
Advertisement
As Baccari Racing Stable owner Chris Baccari told the Louisville Courier Journal, Keith's job was to name the horses that came through his stable.
'We had about 20-something of them, and he was quick to name them where I'm very slow at that,' Baccari said.
Keith died in February 2024, close to two years after he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. The singer was able to name Render Judgment before his passing, and the horse has now made a surprise entry into the Kentucky Derby. As the Courier Journal noted, the colt was originally not slated to run in the derby but an injury to Tappan Street on April 26 left an opening.
Keith's family shared the news in a post on Instagram.
'It was Toby's dream….Render Judgment is going to the @kentuckyderby,' the Keith estate wrote. 'He worked so hard to finally have one there! Toby will have the best seat in the house to watch.'
Advertisement
Despite the late entry, Render Judgement fell near the middle of the Kentucky Derby pack with 15-to-1 odds early in the day on Saturday.
Related: Simone Biles, Livvy Dunne Earn Huge 2025 Kentucky Derby Honor
