Everyone loves a foal photo! The cute, fuzzy face of a young Thoroughbred racehorse elicits a smile from any horse racing fan. For the 2026 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, take a closer look at each of this year’s contenders as foals in post position order with images courtesy of The Jockey Club.
Tag: Horse racing news
Renegade Top Choice Over Commandment, Further Ado in Final Pre-Kentucky Derby Power Rankings
Each week, members of the national media vote on the nation's top contenders on the Triple Crown trail in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top Thoroughbred Poll.
Swaps: A Speedy, Well-Oiled Machine
Barry Irwin, now the head of Team Valor International, was entering his teenage years in Southern California when Swaps burst onto the scene in 1955. “He just really excited me and caught my imagination,” Irwin recalled. Irwin was hardly alone. Swaps’ popularity became so enormous that Union 76 gas stations began distributing posters of him. “I kept pushing my father to get gas there so I could get more pictures,” Irwin said.
Donna Barton Brothers: Excellence on Horseback and on Camera
Editor’s note: This feature has been updated to reflect Donna Barton Brothers’ announcement that she would retire from NBC Sports, where she has covered Triple Crown races for the past 26 years, following the 2026 Preakness Stakes. Donna Barton Brothers did not set out to follow the path blazed by her mother, Patti, by becoming a jockey. And yet she rode from 1987-98 and ranked as the second-leading money earner of all time among women when she retired.
