No Kentucky Derby horse is more destined to be a star than Sandman. With his gray, almost white, coat and catchy name, this late-running sensation already has built up a big fan base. But he could take his stardom to another level if Sandman were to enter the winner’s circle at Churchill Downs on Saturday.
17 Sandman (6-1 on morning line, now 9-2)
- Trainer: Mark Casse
- Jockey: Jose Ortiz
- Last race: First in the Arkansas Derby by 2½ lengths
- Career record: 8 starts: 3 wins, 1 second, 2 thirds
- Career earnings: $1,254,595
- Best career Beyer Speed Figure: 99 (2025 Arkansas Derby)
- Sire: Tapit
Below, we’ll dig further into Sandman as part of our series profiling all the horses competing in the 151st Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 3. We’ll look back into his past performances, what questions need to be answered on Saturday and analyze how the post draw affects his chances.
Kentucky Derby profiles 1 Citizen Bull | 2 Neoequos | 3 Final Gambit | 5 American Promise | 6 Admire Daytona | 7 Luxor Cafe | 8 Journalism | 9 Burnham Square | 11 Flying Mohawk | 12 East Avenue | 13 Publisher | 14 Tiztastic | 15 Render Judgment | 16 Coal Battle | 17 Sandman | 18 Sovereignty | 19 Chunk of Gold | 20 Owen Almighty | 21 Baeza
Kentucky Derby picks Michelle Yu | Gene Menez | Jody Demling | Jeff Hochman
Now that you know who’s in the field, you’ll want to know how to bet the Kentucky Derby on the top horse racing betting apps.
2025 Kentucky Derby start time, odds, preview: Journalism favored, plus horse profiles, bet strategies
Gene Menez
What to know about Sandman
This 3-year-old colt has been a star from birth. He is a son of Tapit, the country’s top sire. He was sold at auction last year for $1.2 million, the highest amount of any horse in the Kentucky Derby field. Contrary to what has been reported, he was given the catchy name Sandman because of the name’s marketing possibilities and not after the Metallica song (though the band has since come along for the ride).
Since getting to the racetrack, he has shown he is as much substance as style. A late-running horse who likes to unleash his powerful kick down the stretch, Sandman has won three of his eight starts. His most recent, the Arkansas Derby, was his best yet. In that race he sat near the back of the pack, watched a furiously hot pace unfold in front of him, and came with his tremendous kick to win by 2½ lengths. The effort earned a 99 Beyer Speed Figure, the best of his career.
There is a strong argument for Sandman entering the winner’s circle on Saturday. First, as a son of Tapit, he is bred to run all day; the Derby distance does not figure to be an issue for him. Second, he’s a consistent closer who always puts in a late run. Even in his losses in the Rebel and Southwest Stakes, he came running at the end.
But as a late-running closer, Sandman will always be at the mercy of two things: a fair pace and a clean trip. The former does not figure to be a problem; the pace for the Kentucky Derby shapes up to be hot, on paper at least.
With his running style, however, Sandman will likely have to run wide around the turn to pass tiring horses, and that could lead to massive ground loss. You only need to look at last year’s Kentucky Derby to see a late-running closer (Sierra Leone) losing the race by a nose to a horse who saved ground (Mystik Dan).
And if Sandman gets both a fair pace in front of him and a clean trip, he also will still have to outfinish Sovereignty, who already proved he can outrun Sandman when he did so in the Street Sense Stakes at Churchill Downs last year.
Because of his popularity, he could very well go off as the second choice at FanDuel Racing, TwinSpires and 1/ST BET, behind only Journalism.
Post draw analysis
As a late-running closer, Sandman could leave from any spot in the starting gate without any issue, but the outside is better for this big horse, and the No. 17 post is ideal. One interesting fact: Since the starting gate was first used in the Kentucky Derby in 1930, 45 horses have left from the No. 17 post, and none has won. But horses have won from every other post, from 1 to 20, which suggests this is just a statistical anomaly, one that could come to an end on Saturday.