KSR Today: Happy Derby Day!

Is it the first Saturday in May or is it the first Saturday in May? It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for, our Super Bowl here in the Bluegrass State. Everybody needs to be on their best behavior and dressed up like a million bucks to win a million bucks, because it’s time for the Kentucky freaking Derby, folks. The spotlight is on Louisville, obviously, but it’s the entire Commonwealth garnering all the attention, starting on Friday with the appetizer that is the Oaks, followed by the Derby entree on Saturday at Churchill Downs.

It’s a bit chilly with some slight drizzles here and there, but who cares? All of it is beautiful and there is truly nothing better. Day one was a success, and now, we’re ready to keep it rolling to wrap things up at the track this weekend.

Let’s recap yesterday’s events and get ready for Derby Day.

Always a Runner is your Oaks 152 winner

The 152nd running of the Kentucky Oaks was seen as a battle of the favorites, with a wide gap between the top and bottom of the field. Zany (5-1), Percy’s Bar (5-1), Always a Runner (5-1), Meaning (5-1), Prom Queen (6-1), Counting Stars (6-1) and Explora (7-1) were seen as the serious contenders, and that’s exactly how things unfolded.

Always a Runner earned the win, followed by Meaning, Counting Stars, Explora, Prom Queen, Zany and Percy’s Bar, in that order. All seven of the final favorites finished in the top seven.

It’s almost impressive how chalky the battle of the three-year-old filles finished.

1. Always a Runner (5-1)
2. Meaning (5-1)
3. Counting Stars (6-1)
4. Explora (7-1)
5. Prom Queen (6-1)
6. Zany (5-1)
7. Percy’s Bar (5-1)
8. Dazzling Dame (40-1)
9. Resist (56-1)
10. Search Party (45-1)
11. Pashmina (20-1)
12. Lovely Grey (14-1)
13. Brooklyn Blonde (32-1)

Always a Runner, trained by Chad Brown, held on for the $13.04/$7.46/$5.44 payout. A $2 Exacta bet earned $97.58, followed by $193.87 for a $0.50 Trifecta and $1845.74 for a $1 Superfecta.

Take a look at the winning race:

Always a Runner lived up to her name in the Kentucky Oaks. pic.twitter.com/UfVvbWxaNY

— Kentucky Derby (@KentuckyDerby) May 2, 2026

A late Kentucky Derby 152 shake-up

We woke up this morning to the news that The Puma, one of the trendy picks to win Derby 152, has been scratched just hours away from the big race.

Emerging as the co-favorite at 5-1 going into Saturday, Derby officials announced the scratch, followed by a statement from the horse’s trainer, Gustavo Delgado Sr., confirming that The Puma is dealing with some unfortunate swelling this morning.

“We discovered some swelling in his leg due to a skin infection,” he said. “It’s incredibly disappointing, but the swelling should go down within a day or two. It’s just really bad timing.”

Updated Derby field and morning lines

Now up to five scratches ahead of Kentucky Derby 152, here are the latest odds and post positions for the remaining field as of Saturday morning.

Get your FREE $25 Derby Bet, plus a $200 deposit match for new members at nyrabets.com/KSR25. Thanks to the team at NYRA Bets.

KSR’s Derby Preview is LIVE

Ready to get down to business with the expert picks so you look smart around friends at your Derby party today? Look no further than the KSR YouTube channel, as KSR’s Nick Roush was joined by The Money Media’s Pete Fornatale to talk through favorite horses in the undercard, Derby long shots to watch, and, of course, the winning picks.

It’s 32 minutes guaranteed to be worth your time before the chaos today.

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.

Bat Cats go for the series win against the Vols

It’s been a tough SEC schedule for Nick Mingione and Kentucky baseball, entering the weekend with a 9-12 conference record and six straight series losses. That didn’t appear to be getting any easier with No. 24 Tennessee coming to town.

Fortunately for the Bat Cats, though, it was smooth sailing at Kentucky Proud Park on Friday, cruising to a dominant 9-2 victory on the heels of a phenomenal pitching effort from Ben Cleaver. He allowed just four hits and a pair of walks to lead the way in the win, with Ethan Hindle and Braxton Van Cleave also hitting multi-run dingers to break the game open.

That’s back-to-back SEC wins for a team that desperately needed them to move to 28-15 overall and 10-12 in league play. Game two is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET on Saturday — a chance for the first conference series victory since Alabama in mid-March.

BBNBA Playoffs: Reed Sheppard goes home

It was a day of redemption for Kentucky’s own Reed Sheppard in a game five victory for Houston against the Los Angeles Lakers. Game six was a different story, unfortunately, as the Rockets fell 98-78 to lose the series 4-2 and go home. It was a rough night for Sheppard individually, going for 10 points on just 4-19 shooting and 1-10 from three — his team desperately missing his shooting spark in a 5-28 overall effort from three. Adou Thiero did get some run on the winning side for LA, however, finishing with two points and a board in three minutes off the bench.

Elsewhere, it was an electric night of Game 7 pushes, the Detroit Pistons defeating the Orlando Magic 93-79 to force a win-or-go-home battle, while the Toronto Raptors did the same against the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 112-110 overtime victory. Those Game 7s will be playd on Sunday.

Tonight? Well, all eyes are on the Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers, tipping off at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Can Tyrese Maxey win it for the latter on the road alongside Justin Edwards or will Amari Williams hold down the fort for the former?

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Happy Derby Day to you and yours, BBN. Enjoy every second of it.