2026 Kentucky Oaks Post Position Draw: Field, Odds, and What We're Watching

The 152nd Kentucky Oaks field is set. The draw at Churchill Downs locked in 14 starters and three also-eligibles for the 1 1/8 mile classic on Friday, May 1, the night before the Derby. Zany drew post 2 and earned the morning-line favorite tag at 4-1, while last year's winning trainer Brad Cox returns to defend with Prom Queen. Here's the full field and what we'll be watching.

The Field

PP	Filly	Jockey	Trainer	ML
1	Explora	Flavien Prat	Bob Baffert	6-1
2	Zany	Irad Ortiz Jr.	Todd Pletcher	4-1
3	Search Party	Cristian Torres	Mark Casse	30-1
4	Counting Stars	Francisco Arrieta	Mark Casse	8-1
5	Meaning	Juan Hernandez	Michael McCarthy	5-1
6	My Miss Mo	TBD	Saffie Joseph Jr.	20-1
7	Dazzling Dame	Luis Saez	Brittany Russell	30-1
8	Bottle of Rouge	Mike Smith	Bob Baffert	15-1
9	Always a Runner	Jose Ortiz	Chad Brown	10-1
10	Prom Queen	Javier Castellano	Brad Cox	8-1
11	Percy's Bar	Luan Machado	Ben Colebrook	6-1
12	Bella Ballerina	Tyler Gaffalione	Brendan Walsh	12-1
13	Pashmina	Ramon Vazquez	Rob Atras	30-1
14	Brooklyn Blonde	Kazushi Kimura	Michael McCarthy	30-1

Also-eligibles: Lovely Grey (Dylan Davis, 30-1), Nycon (Jaime Torres, 50-1), Resist (Brian Hernandez Jr., 50-1).

Headline Storylines

Four fillies at the top of the board. Zany (PP2, 4-1), Meaning (PP5, 5-1), and Explora and Percy's Bar both at 6-1 give this Oaks more depth at the top than recent renewals. Zany's Demoiselle win and Meaning's Santa Anita Oaks score bring different prep paths into the gate. Meaning's 126 Road to the Kentucky Oaks points leads the field.

Brad Cox defends with one. Prom Queen (PP10, 8-1) is Cox's only main-field starter, a leaner look than his depth in the Derby. The 2025 winner had a heavy hand last year with Good Cheer. This year he's threading a single needle.

Two trainers double up. Mark Casse runs Search Party (PP3) and Counting Stars (PP4) in adjacent posts. Michael McCarthy has Meaning (PP5) and Brooklyn Blonde (PP14).

Bob Baffert with two. Explora (PP1) on the rail with Prat, and Bottle of Rouge (PP8) with Mike Smith. Both are stalker types, and post 1 is less brutal in a 14-horse Oaks than in a 20-horse Derby.

What We're Watching

Zany may be the one to beat. Post 2 with Irad is a winning trip, and Pletcher knows what to do with a tactical filly. But our E-Z Win® Forms have some longshots that rate better than their morning lines and are worth a look on their own or combining underneath in your gimmicks.

Percy's Bar at 6-1 is the value play. The Ashland winner already beat Zany head-to-head by 2¼ lengths last out, and now she gets PP11, room to rate clear of trouble and sweep wide in the lane. Colebrook and Machado aren't the marquee names in the program, but the form is real. If she runs back to her Ashland number, she's live at a price.

Meaning and the prep math. McCarthy's filly leads the points standings and beat a strong Santa Anita field. PP5 is a clean rate-and-stalk post. At 5-1, she's the second-choice many will overlook.

Weather looks clean. Forecasts for Friday currently lean dry, though projections still vary across sources. We'll recheck closer to post time.

For more on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks prep season, our pre-draw Oaks preview covers the contender form, and the Kentucky Oaks prep races page has the full points trail and prep recaps. We'll update our Oaks picks page through the week.