Get caught up with Citizen Bull’s past performances, jockey, trainer and full analysis heading into the Run for the Roses
After winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in November, Citizen Bull established himself as the early favorite for the 2025 Kentucky Derby. But after a dismal fourth-place finish in the Santa Anita Derby, he’s not even the best Derby hope in trainer Bob Baffert’s barn. Can the reigning juvenile champion regain his 2-year-old form and become just the third Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner to go on to win the Kentucky Derby?
1 Citizen Bull (20-1)
- Trainer: Bob Baffert
- Jockey: Martin Garcia
- Last race: Fourth in the Santa Anita Derby by 9¾ lengths
- Career record: 6 starts: 4 wins, 1 third
- Career earnings: $1,451,000
- Best career Beyer Speed Figure: 98 (2025 Robert B. Lewis Stakes)
- Sire: Into Mischief
Kentucky Derby profiles 1 Citizen Bull | 2 Neoequos | 3 Final Gambit | 4 Rodriguez | 5 American Promise | 6 Admire Daytona | 7 Luxor Cafe | 8 Journalism | 9 Burnham Square | 10 Grande | 11 Flying Mohawk | 12 East Avenue | 13 Publisher | 14 Tiztastic | 15 Render Judgment | 16 Coal Battle | 17 Sandman | 18 Sovereignty | 19 Chunk of Gold | 20 Owen Almighty | 21 Baeza
Kentucky Derby picks Michelle Yu | Gene Menez | Jeff Hochman | Jody Demling
What to know about Citizen Bull
One race can turn a champion into a chump, and that’s the case with Citizen Bull.
Citizen Bull, the reigning 2-year-old champion, enters the Kentucky Derby with his reputation battered and bruised after his dismal effort in the Santa Anita Derby. He entered the race as one of the favorites for the Run for the Roses after winning three straight starts, including two Grade 1 races and the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. The juvenile victory clinched his spot as the champion 2-year-old of the year and moved him to the top of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager at TwinSpires.
But in the Santa Anita Derby, Citizen Bull faded to fourth (in a five-horse field), almost 10 lengths behind the winner, and couldn’t even finish ahead of an 0-for-4 maiden.
Trainer Bob Baffert is taking the blame for the Bull’s lackluster effort. Baffert attributes the poor performance to the horse having only one start between the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and Santa Anita Derby, something he now realizes was a mistake. To prepare Citizen Bull for the Kentucky Derby, Baffert has worked Citizen Bull four times since the Santa Anita Derby. Fitness should not be an issue on Saturday.
However, there are reasons to be concerned for the champ entering the Run for the Roses. During his three-race winning streak, Citizen Bull was gifted easy leads and soft paces, often by his own stablemates. That certainly won’t be the case on Saturday with several other speed horses in the field.
Also, his two races this year are not appreciably faster than his races from last year. While he was a champion 2-year-old, Citizen Bull simply has not moved forward at 3. He will have to move forward on Saturday if he hopes to join Street Sense and Nyquist as the only Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winners to win the Kentucky Derby.
Post draw analysis
The big loser of Saturday’s post draw was Citizen Bull, who drew the dreaded No. 1 post. No winner of the Kentucky Derby has left from the No. 1 post since Ferdinand in 1986. From the rail draw, Citizen Bull will have to be ridden aggressively out of the gate to secure a forward position or risk being shuffled back by the avalanche of horses drifting toward the rail. The aggressive riding at the start, however, may leave less energy at the end. If Citizen Bull is quick enough to get to the front from the rail—a big if—he will have to fend off the pace pressure and then hold off all of the classy closers, a tall task given the results of his last race.
