Familiar faces, intriguing invaders in Delaware Derby
Competitive group set for $300,000 contest
The Biz
June 12, 2026
Familiar locals and intriguing invaders comprise the seven-horse field for Saturday’s second running of the $300,000 Delaware Derby at Delaware Park.
The cast includes a Kentucky Derby alumnus for national powerhouse Bob Baffert, newcomers trained by the likes of Brad Cox and Phil D’Amato, two Maryland-breds, and a Pennsylvania-bred.
One of those local hopes is Big Cuddle, whose victory in the Sir Barton Stakes at Laurel Park stamped him as a legitimate player in the region’s three-year-old division. The Gary Capuano trainee has won three of four career starts, including his maiden score at Delaware Park, and enters the Derby off a career-best effort.
This article contains affiliate links. If you click and buy, we may earn a commission at no extra charge to you.
Pick up reliable and rewarding tickets for major events!
“He has been running good, he is looking good and he has been training good, so all systems are on go for the Delaware Derby,” Capuano said.
“The Sir Barton was big for him. You never know until you run them, but he took the next step in that race. He had been training well going into it and it was his first race going long. He did not have the best of trips, but he was still able to grind it out, so it was a nice win.”
In the Sir Barton, restricted to three-year-old non-winners of a sweepstakes, Big Cuddle tackled 1-2 favorite Final Story, a Brad Cox trainee, wearing that rival down to win by a half-length while they sprinted clear from the rest.
Capuano expects another step forward will be necessary on Saturday.
“It looks like this race might be a little more challenging, so he will have to take another next step in his development,” he said. “He broke his maiden at Delaware last year and he has been training at Delaware, so it always helps when you can run out of your own stall.”
The morning-line favorite is Baffert’s Litmus Test, listed at 3-2 despite a pair of disappointing efforts in Grade 1 company this spring. The son of Nyquist was a highly regarded juvenile, winning the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity and finishing third in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity and fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
His three-year-old campaign has been more uneven. After finishing third in the Rebel Stakes, he faded to seventh in the Arkansas Derby before enduring a rough trip and finishing seventeenth in the Kentucky Derby. A return to a smaller field and a less demanding spot could make him formidable.
Brad Cox sends out Sovereign Law, a lightly raced Juddmonte homebred who has done little wrong in three starts. The son of Into Mischief broke his maiden at Gulfstream Park before finishing a narrow second to Out of the Woods in a Churchill Downs allowance that has already produced one of the stronger speed figures in the field.
Out of the Woods ships in for trainer Phil D’Amato after putting together back-to-back route victories at Oaklawn Park and Churchill Downs. The Constitution gelding did not make much impact during a turf campaign in California but has blossomed since switching to dirt and stretching out around two turns.
Another stakes-tested runner is Minorinconvenience, who exits the Sir Barton after finishing third behind Big Cuddle. Earlier this season he tackled the Grade 2 Wood Memorial and was runner-up in the New York-bred Gander Stakes.
Maryland-bred Code of Silence has been a consistent performer throughout his career, in the money in seven of nine starts. The Tim Keefe trainee captured the Maryland Juvenile Stakes last fall and ran in most of Laurel Park’s three-year-old series this winter, finishing third in the Spectacular Bid and a near-miss second in the Private Terms.
Rounding out the field is Ponder and Dream, who brings sharp recent form from Parx Racing. The Robert Reid Jr. trainee has won two of his last three starts and comes off a front-running allowance victory at a mile and seventy yards. Ponder and Dream is cross-entered in Monmouth Park’s $125,000 Pegasus Stakes, a prep for the Grade 1 Haskell.
If all seven post, the pace could be lively. Out of the Woods, Litmus Test, and Ponder and Dream all have plentiful early speed and could be slugging it out on the front end. That could be good news for horses like Big Cuddle and Sovereign Law.
Pick up reliable and rewarding tickets for major events!
LATEST NEWS
