CHURCHILL DOWNS Friday, April 24 Weather: Sunny Temp. 67° Track: Fast LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The 2026 Churchill Downs spring meeting does not open until Saturday but there was plenty of action out on the racetrack Friday morning, especially during the 7:15-7:30 workout window reserved for Kentucky Derby and Oaks hopefuls, their workmates, and 2025 Derby winner Sovereignty. Four potential Derby starters and a handful of possible Oaks runners worked in rapid-fire order within about a five- or six-minute time frame under relatively balmy weather conditions and over a very fast racetrack. The list included key Derby contenders So Happy and Emerging Market, winners of the Santa Anita Derby and Louisiana Derby, respectively, along with Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita Oaks winners Prom Queen and Meaning. So Happy kicked things off working five furlongs with Mike Smith aboard in just average fashion, 35.46, 1:00.38, while under a steady drive from midstretch to the wire. He galloped out in an average 1:14.35 over the very quick surface. So Happy continues to work and gallop in blinkers despite the fact he has never raced with the equipment. He is not the flashiest of work horses and seemingly saves his best for the afternoon. :: Get DRF Kentucky Oaks & Derby Clocker Reports by Mike Welsch and the DRF Clocker Team Emerging Market, with jockey Flavien Prat aboard, breezed in company with the 3-year-old maiden filly Hedge Book. The pair completed four furlongs in 23.31, 47.59 with Emerging Market galloping out well clear around the turn and easing up far in front after six furlongs in 1:13.69 while well reserved throughout. He continues to make a very favorable impression since his arrival earlier in the week. Wonder Dean finally got down to some serious business this morning, easing away from the six-furlong pole at a two-minute pace before completing his final five furlongs in 1:02, shading 24 for the final quarter while set down for his best to complete the drill. Ocelli still needs some help to get into the Derby lineup but looked fine breezing an easy half-mile in 23.66, 48.08 and then galloping out in 1:00.59 in tandem with 3-year-old maiden winner Hulkamania. The gals really put on a show this morning, starting with Bella Ballerina, who was followed closely by Meaning during the special training session, with Prom Queen worth the wait for those who stuck around to see her final Oaks prep two hours later. Bella Ballerina had a target, breaking off a couple of lengths behind Diamond Eyed Jack. The pair finished on even terms with Bella Ballerina, on the rail, completing four furlongs in 47.09 before pouring it on into and around the turn. She galloped out well clear going three-quarters in 1:10.80 and seven furlongs in an eye-catching 1:23.75 on the watch of Daily Racing Form’s David Grening. She obviously is peaking at the right time. Meaning had the Bella Ballerina team in her sights after easing back off that pair during the opening eighth of a mile of her five-furlong drill. She cruised in 14.20 before sizzling her way from the half-mile marker to the wire in 46-flat and then maintained that pace in a sparkling gallop-out that had her easing up six furlongs from the half in 1:11.49. It doesn’t get much better than that. :: DRF Kentucky Derby Package: Save on Past Performances, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. Not to be outdone, Prom Queen was brilliant as well while working late over a racetrack that had been chewed up some by a dozen or more previous workers after the 9 a.m. renovation break. She broke off at the 4 1/2-furlong marker and completed five-eighths a sixteenth of a mile past the finish line in 37.52, 1:00.44, then was full of run continuing around the clubhouse bend, pulling up after seven furlongs in 1:25.73. Always a Runner was more in maintenance mode this morning, but still looked very sharp with new jockey Jose Ortiz aboard. She breezed a half-mile in 24.09, 48.66 on even terms with the very promising 3-year-old filly Leinani. Both continued strongly for another quarter-mile without ever being asked, easing up six panels in a solid 1:14.08. Prom Queen’s stablemate Paradise also breezed during the Derby/Oaks session, going four furlongs in 47.76, per Grening, while in company. She is expected to bypass the Oaks to run instead in the Eight Belles. Trainer Brad Cox flipped the script during training hours early this morning with his pre-dawn pair of Derby contenders Commandment and Fulleffort. Commandement galloped 1 1/2 miles after jogging two miles on Thursday, while Fulleffort jogged the same distance this morning after turning in a routine gallop the previous day. :: Get DRF Kentucky Oaks & Derby Betting Strategies by Marcus Hersh and David Aragona. Full analysis and wager recommendations!