Kentucky Derby: A Horse Owned By Toby Keith Heads To The Race
Render Judgment – a thoroughbred race horse partially-owned by Toby Keith – heads to the Kentucky Derby this weekend as one of 20 qualifiers.
The horse comes from Walkin' Dreams Farms, a 330-acre Oklahoma racing operation founded by Keith and now spearheaded by his family; Keith died in 2024, nearly two years after sharing a stomach cancer diagnosis with the public.
'My dad dreamed of having his horses in the Kentucky Derby for over 30 years,' his daughter Krystal Keith wrote on Instagram earlier this week. 'Here he is still making his dreams come true from his castle in the sky."
She continued, 'My dad could never decide which passion was greater, music or horse racing. He could have had a PhD in horse pedigrees. What an incredible journey we've been on to get here. Win or lose, he made it to the Derby and that for me is everything.
Render Judgement holds the 15th post position in the prestigious race, according to CBS Sports. At publication time, odds for the horse to win the Kentucky Derby stand at 30-1. This year, winner 0f the Derby gets $3.1 million of the $5 million purse.
Render Judgment scored a spot in the Derby after Tappan Street, a three-year-old race horse, was scratched from participation following a workout injury.
It's the first horse owned by Keith to make the Derby. Horse jockey Julien Leparoux will ride Render Judgement at Saturday's race; the horse is trained by Kenny McPeek, who trained 2024 Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan.
"It was Toby's dream," read a post on the singer's Facebook page. 'Toby will have the best seat in the house to watch.'
Render Judgment, a race horse co-owned by Toby Keith's Dream Walkin' Farms, is set to run in the ... More Kentucky Derby on May 3, 2025.
Keith may best be known as a singer-songwriter who cut rowdy anthems such as 'Beer For My Horses,' 'Red Solo Cup' and 'How Do You Like Me Now?!.' As a singer-songwriter, he sold more than 40 million albums, earning election into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2015 and Country Music Hall of Fame in 2024.
But off stage, Keith held horse racing close to his heart. He named his racing operation Dream Walkin' in nod to his 1997 album of the same name. Dream Walkin' – the thoroughbred operation – has earned $19,385,573 since opening its doors, according to horse racing trade group Eqibase.
The 151st Kentucky Derby takes place Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Viewers can tune into the race on NBC or Peacock. Network coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. EST; post time for the premier race, often called the 'Run for the Roses,' is set for 6:57 p.m. EST, according to the Kentucky Derby website.
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