Sitting on the outside of the Kentucky Derby field for the last month, Ocelli did not get into the 20-horse race until Thursday when Fulleffort had to scratch because of a chip in his left hind ankle. Now Ocelli, who’s winless in six career starts, can do something that only three horses have ever done in Derby history. Bet on Ocelli and the entire Kentucky Derby at TwinSpires, where new users can get a supersized $400 sign-up bonus when using our links:
22 Ocelli (50-1)
- Trainer: Whit Beckman
- Jockey: Joseph Ramos
- Last race: Third in the Wood Memorial by 1¼ lengths
- Career record: 6 starts: 1 second, 3 thirds
- Career earnings: $109,800
- Best career Beyer Speed Figure: 81 (Wood Memorial)
- Sire: Connect
Below, we’ll dig further into Ocelli as part of our series profiling all the horses competing in the 152nd Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 2. We’ll look back into his past performances, what questions need to be answered Saturday and analyze how the post draw affects his chances.
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. Claim FanDuel Racing’s $25 bonus after betting $5 here:
What to know about Ocelli
A $12,000 purchase two years ago, Ocelli enters the 2026 Kentucky Derby as the least expensive horse in this year’s field.
He’s also the only maiden, which is a kind way of saying he has never won a race. And the history of maidens in the Kentucky Derby is not promising. Just three—Buchanan (1884), Sir Barton (1919) and Brokers Tip (1933)—have won the Run for the Roses in 151 years. In addition, since 1937, just 13 maidens have even attempted to run in the race, and the best finish of those was eighth.
And there’s nothing in Ocelli’s past performances that suggests that he will make history. Not only has he never won, he has finished second only once, and that came in his second career start. Since then he has finished third, sixth, sixth and third.
This late-running closer also is too slow to be competitive. His career-best Beyer Speed Figure is 81, which is not in the ballpark to even threaten to hit the board.
The good news for Ocelli fans? That Beyer came in his last race, so you can say that he’s in the best form in his career. In that race, the Wood Memorial, he was one of the beneficiaries of a pace meltdown and picked up tiring horses to hit the board.
Since Ocelli drew in from the also-eligible list on Thursday, there’s a good chance that he’ll be forgotten in the betting at FanDuel Racing, TwinSpires and 1/ST BET and go off at even longer than his 50-1 morning line. Claim our jumbo-sized 1/ST BET offer here to get a $500 sign-up bonus:
Post draw analysis
Unless there’s another scratch, Ocelli will leave from the far No. 20 post position. He doesn’t have much early speed (or late speed for that matter), and with the lack of early foot, he’ll likely drop to near the back of the pack after the break and try to save ground. A victory for Ocelli on Saturday would be to make it around safely and healthy enough to break his maiden another day.
