The son of Smarty Jones’ jockey nearly gets his own shot at Kentucky Derby greatness
Stewart Elliott rode Smarty to victory 22 years ago. His son Christopher, 20, was set to ride Right to Party in his debut Saturday at the Run for the Roses. But the horse was a late scratch.
The latest defection from the Kentucky Derby field means a local-ish jockey will have to wait to make his first appearance on horse racing’s biggest stage.
Right to Party, the No. 5 horse who was to be ridden by Christopher Elliott, was pulled from Saturday’s race with a right front leg injury. He was replaced by Robusta to keep the field at 20 horses.
Elliott is the son of Stewart Elliott, who rode Smarty Jones to victory in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in 2004 – two years before Christopher Elliott was born. Chris Elliott was raised in Lambertville, N.J. and, at 20 years old, would have been the youngest jockey in the field.
Right to Party, owned by Chester Broman, is named after the 1986 Beastie Boys’ song “Fight For Your Right (to Party).”
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Previously, No. 13 Silent Tactic and No. 19 Fulleffort were scratched and replaced by 50-1 long shots Great White and Ocelli. Renegade opened as the favorite at 4-1, but he’s running from the No. 1 gate which hasn’t produced a winner in 40 years.
This and that
Trainer Bob Baffert is going for his seventh Kentucky Derby win, which would break the record he shares with Ben Jones. Baffert has two horses running — No. 4 Litmus Test (30-1 opening odds) and No. 14 Potente (20-1). Both are heavy long shots. Key difference between Baffert and Jones is that Baffert has started 35 Derby horses. Jones, from 1938-52, started just 11.
Final odds for Baffert’s six winners
1997: Silver Charm, 4-1
1998: Real Quiet, 8-1
2002: War Emblem, 20-1
2015: American Pharoah, 3-1
2018: Justify, 3-1
2020: Authentic, 8-1
Two of Baffert’s wins occurred on May 2 — American Pharoah in 2015 and Real Quiet in 1998.
Jockey Mike Smith’s 28 mounts are the most in Kentucky Derby history. Smith, who turns 61 in August, has gotten to the winner’s circle twice: Giacomo in 2025, Justify in 2018. He’ll be aboard No. 8 So Happy, whom Smith has guided to three wins in four starts, including a nearly three-length win in the Santa Anita Derby.
While Smith is the most experienced jockey, So Happy’s trainer Mark Glatt is making his Kentucky Derby debut — and with a heavy heart. Glatt’s wife, Dena, died of heart failure at age 57 in February. The two met at Emerald Downs race track in 1996 and were married for 25 years. Glatt wears a bracelet that contains his wife’s ashes. “That way,” he told the Louisville Journal-Courier, “I always have her with me.”
Owner Dana Bernhard took over Pin Oak Stud farm following the death of her husband, Jim, 71, in November. She is making her Derby debut with No. 2 Albus (30-1), who is trained by Riley Mott, who also is making his debut.
Riley Mott is the son of Bill Mott, who has guided two winners here, Country House (2019) and Sovereignty (2025). Riley Mott also trains No. 11 Incredibolt (20-1) while Bill is guiding Chief Wallabee (8-1).
There have been two father-son winning trainers in Derby history: James Rowe Sr. (1881, 1915) and James Rowe Jr. (1931); and Ben Jones (six winners between 1938-52) and Jimmy Jones (1957-58).
This is the sixth year in a row — and ninth overall — that brothers Irad and Jose Ortiz both have mounts in the Kentucky Derby. In 19 combined starts, however, their best finish was when Jose Ortiz took second with Good Magic in 2018.
Cherie DeVaux is looking to make history as the first woman trainer to win a Kentucky Derby. She has Golden Tempo (30-1). Women trainers have run 18 Derby horses and have finished second once, and third twice. Vicki Oliver, in 2021, is the most recent. She had Hidden Stash, who finished 13th.
Brad Cox, the only Louisville native to train a Derby winner (Mandaloun, 2021), has two horses running: Florida Derby winner Commandment (6-1) and BlueGrass Stakes winner Further Ado (6-1). He also has Fulleffort, who was scratched.
Cox thought he had a contender last year with Tappan Street, who also was coming in off a win at the Florida Derby. But Tappan Street suffered a right leg fracture a week before the Kentucky Derby. He has run just twice since, winning a claiming race in December, and coming in 12th in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational in January.
When asked a few weeks ago by the Louisville Courier-Journal how he felt about his chances Saturday, Cox replied, “Kind of on pins and needles every time you check them. I just know how fragile the game is.”