Render Judgment draws for a position for the Run for the Roses
The late Toby Keith is having his dream fulfilled with his Thoroughbred breeding and racing operation’s horse, Render Judgment, set to race in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 3rd.
Coming into the post position draw on Saturday, Render Judgment, co-owned by Keith’s Dream Walkin’ Farms, sat in 21st on the points leaderboard, just out of reach of an automatic placement in the race. But due to an injury that pulled one of the Top 20 leaders, Render Judgment entered the draw and now holds the No. 15 position in the Run for Roses.
In 2019, Keith told the Kentucky Derby’s Connections, “The derby is the one you want to win. Yeah, that’s the one that everybody wants to hang on their wall, saying ‘I won the Kentucky Derby.’ But, God, it’s hard to get there. …horse racing business is (frustrating but) dream more. Everything’s rolling the dice. The next one is too. And it’s exciting. You gotta live on the edge a little bit.”
Render Judgment is a Bay Colt, bred in Kentucky and a son of Blame out of the Commissioner mare Barbara Gordon. His trainer is Kenny McPeek (who also trained last year’s Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan) and jockey Julien Leparoux will ride him for the first time at the Kentucky Derby.
Keith had operated Dream Walkin’ Farms for more than three decades, and now his family has taken over the 330-acre facility out of Pauls Valley, Oklahoma.
The 151st Kentucky Derby will be held Saturday, May 3rd at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, and will be broadcast on NBC and the Peacock app. Check local listings for details.
