The appropriately named Six Speed has a quality that not many horses in the 2026 Kentucky Derby field have: early speed. When the horses cross the start/finish line for the first time on Saturday, there’s a very good chance that he will be in front. But being in front when crossing the start/finish line the second time around is what truly matters, and this 50-1 longshot will need to show another gear if he hopes to get there on Saturday.
17 Six Speed (50-1)
- Trainer: Bhupat Seemar
- Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr.
- Last race: Second in the UAE Derby by 2½ lengths
- Career record: 5 starts: 3 wins, 1 second, 1 third
- Career earnings: $402,183
- Best career Beyer Speed Figure: N/A
- Sire: Not This Time
Below, we’ll dig further into Six Speed 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.
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Kentucky Derby picks Gene Menez | Michelle Yu | Jeff Hochman | Jody Demling
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What to know about Six Speed
Bred in Kentucky, this son of red-hot stallion Not This Time began his racing career in Dubai. After winning two of his first three starts, American buyers purchased an interest in Six Speed in January with an eye toward making the Kentucky Derby.
The new co-owners decided to keep the colt in the Middle East with trainer Bhupat Seemar, a former assistant to Bob Baffert who won the Dubai World Cup in 2024. Days after the sale, Six Speed won the UAE 2000 Guineas at one mile by 5 lengths, pulling away at the top of the stretch while never being threatened.
He then had a nine-week layoff before his final Kentucky Derby prep, the UAE Derby. In that race Six Speed again flashed his early speed, opening up a 5 length lead. But he could not hold off Wonder Dean, losing by 2½ lengths. Perhaps the layoff contributed to his lack of late kick or perhaps he is distance-challenged, even if sire Not This Time has been winning with runners at all distances.
While there are no Beyer Speed Figures for the UAE Derby, Thoro-graph has the race roughly as fast as the Florida Derby. That would put Six Speed in the mix.
Seemar has experience in the Kentucky Derby. Four years ago he entered another speedy UAE Derby runner-up, Summer Is Tomorrow. That horse set blazing half-mile fractions (45.36 seconds) before predictably fading to last and never racing again.
Six Speed’s connections have tabbed former Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. to ride the colt on Saturday. Two years ago the veteran Churchill Downs jock put a masterful rail-skimming ride on Mystik Dan to narrowly win the blanket of roses. The moment certainly won’t be too big for him.
A 50-1 longshot at FanDuel Racing, TwinSpires and 1/ST BET to win the Kentucky Derby, Six Speed will need much to go his way to get to the winner’s circle, but, with his speed, he will play a major role in determining who will.
Post draw analysis
In the 151 previous runnings of the Kentucky Derby, 46 horses have left from post No. 17, and none has won. It’s the only post position never to have produced a winner. But the stat is more of a statistical anomaly than anything, and Six Speed actual benefits from being outside all of the other speed horses (Litmus Test and Pavlovian) from this spot. His best chance to win is to get out in front, hope that his rivals dismiss his chances, set an uncontested lead and hope that his sire’s stamina shows up in the final quarter mile.
