Five stallions have sired multiple contenders for 2023 Kentucky Derby. Meet the fathers.

Cameron Drummond
·5 min read
1

The background and bloodlines of a horse say a lot about its potential chances in a stakes race, and the Kentucky Derby is no different.

The sire of a horse provides information about the horse’s racing ability on different surfaces, which race lengths suit the horse the best, and other advantages over the rest of the field come race day.

With this in mind, here’s a look at the sire of each 2023 Kentucky Derby contender, including the five horses that have sired multiple horses set to race in this year’s Run for the Roses.

The sires are listed in alphabetical order.

Candy Ride

▪ Kentucky Derby horses: Confidence Game (20-1 morning-line odds from post No. 4) and Hit Show (30-1 odds from post No. 1).

▪ An Argentinian horse, Candy Ride was a perfect 6-for-6 in his racing career, and he recorded Equibase speed figures of 120 or greater in each of his final three races.

▪ Candy Ride is also the sire of Gun Runner, who is himself the sire of 2023 Derby contender Disarm.

Classic Empire

▪ Kentucky Derby horse: Angel of Empire (8-1 odds from post No. 14).

▪ A five-time winner in nine career starts, Classic Empire won the Arkansas Derby in 2017 and was fourth in that year’s Kentucky Derby.

▪ The final race of Classic Empire’s career was a second-place showing in the 2017 Preakness Stakes.

Curlin

▪ Kentucky Derby horses: Lord Miles (30-1 odds from post No. 19) and Skinner (20-1 odds from post No. 9).

▪ The legendary horse won 11 of 16 career starts, including the Rebel Stakes, Arkansas Derby, Preakness Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2007, as well as American Horse of the Year honors in 2007 and 2008.

▪ Curlin earned more than $10 million during his racing career.

Drefong

▪ Kentucky Derby horse: Continuar (50-1 odds from post No. 20).

▪ Drefong won six of nine career starts, including a stretch of five consecutive wins from November 2015 to November 2016.

▪ Continuar received an invitation to the Kentucky Derby via the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby qualification series.

Good Magic, with jockey Jose Ortiz aboard, wins the 94th running of Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland in April 2018.
Good Magic, with jockey Jose Ortiz aboard, wins the 94th running of Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland in April 2018.

Good Magic

▪ Kentucky Derby horses: Mage (15-1 odds from post No. 8) and Reincarnate (50-1 odds from post No. 7).

▪ Good Magic only won three of nine career starts, but his career was littered with quality finishes in high-level races: Good Magic finished in the money in six of eight career graded stakes races.

▪ Good Magic finished second in the 2018 Kentucky Derby and fourth in that year’s Preakness Stakes.

Gun Runner

▪ Kentucky Derby horse: Disarm (30-1 odds from post No. 11).

▪ The legendary Gun Runner was the 2017 Horse of the Year after winning five consecutive Grade 1 races, and ultimately won 12 of his 19 career starts.

▪ Gun Runner finished third in the 2016 Kentucky Derby.

Hard Spun

▪ Kentucky Derby horse: Two Phil’s (12-1 odds from post No. 3).

▪ A seven-time winner in 13 career starts, Hard Spun was second in the 2007 Kentucky Derby behind Street Sense.

▪ It’s hard to have a better Triple Crown season, without actually winning a race, than Hard Spun did in 2017: He ran second in the Kentucky Derby, third in the Preakness Stakes and fourth in the Belmont Stakes.

Into Mischief

▪ Kentucky Derby horses: Rocket Can (30-1 odds from post No. 18) and Sun Thunder (50-1 odds from post No. 13).

▪ Into Mischief finished first or second in all six of his career starts, which all came in California.

▪ At the time of Monday afternoon’s post position draw, Cyclone Mischief, who is also sired by Into Mischief, is the first horse out of the projected 20-horse Kentucky Derby field. Cyclone Mischief had 30-1 morning-line odds.

Trainer Bob Baffert watches as Triple Crown winner Justify arrives at Ashford Stud in Versailles in September 2018.
Trainer Bob Baffert watches as Triple Crown winner Justify arrives at Ashford Stud in Versailles in September 2018.

Justify

▪ Kentucky Derby horse: Verifying (15-1 odds from post No. 2).

▪ A perfect 6-for-6 in his racing career, Justify won the Triple Crown in 2018.

▪ Verifying will be Justify’s first progeny to race in the Kentucky Derby.

Mind Your Biscuits

▪ Kentucky Derby horse: Derma Sotogake (10-1 odds from post No. 17).

▪ A heavily raced horse who finished in the money in a remarkable 21 of his 25 career starts, Mind Your Biscuits raced in graded stakes all over the world, including in the United Arab Emirates.

▪ Mind Your Biscuits closed his racing career at Churchill Downs in Louisville, but he ran 11th in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Practical Joke

▪ Kentucky Derby horse: Practical Move (10-1 odds from post No. 10).

▪ Practical Joke was second in the 2017 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland and fifth in that year’s Kentucky Derby.

▪ Practical Move was co-bred by trainer Chad Brown, who also trained both Practical Joke and Ack Naughty, the dam of Practical Move.

Quality Road

▪ Kentucky Derby horse: Jace’s Road (50-1 odds from post No. 12).

▪ Quality Road went 8-3-1 in 13 career races. His only finish outside of the money came in his final race, when he ran 12th in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs.

Tapit

▪ Kentucky Derby horse: Tapit Trice (5-1 odds from post No. 5).

▪ Tapit has a strong record as a sire in the Triple Crown, and in particular the Belmont Stakes. Tapit has been the sire for the following Belmont Stakes winners: Tonalist (2014), Creator (2016), Tapwrit (2017) and Essential Quality (2021).

▪ Tapit was also the sire of a Derby horse last year: Charge It finished 17th in last year’s Run for the Roses.

Uncle Mo

▪ Kentucky Derby horse: Kingsbarns (12-1 odds from post No. 6).

▪ Uncle Mo, a race favorite, was scratched the day before the 2011 Kentucky Derby after losing significant weight prior to the race due to a gastrointestinal infection.

▪ As a sire, Uncle Mo produced the 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist.

▪ Uncle Mo was the sire of Mo Donegal, who had a very respectable showing in last year’s Triple Crown races: fifth in the Kentucky Derby and first in the Belmont Stakes.

Violence

▪ Kentucky Derby horses: Forte (3-1 odds from post No. 15) and Raise Cain (50-1 odds from post No. 16).

▪ Forte is the morning line favorite for the 2023 Kentucky Derby.

▪ Violence was lightly raced during his career, making only four starts. He won three of those races, and finished second in the other.

▪ Violence is one of five sires to have multiple horses in the projected 2023 Derby field, at the time of Monday’s post position draw.

We know the post positions for Kentucky Derby 149. Their importance is up for debate.

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