Horse Owned By Toby Keith Will Run In Kentucky Derby

Render Judgment — a horse owned by late country music superstar Toby Keith — is all set to race in the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby.

The announcement was made on Keith's social media accounts on Saturday night.

"It was Toby’s dream….Render Judgement is going to the @kentuckyderby, the post read. "He worked so hard to finally have one there! Toby will have the best seat in the house to watch."

Keith, who died of stomach cancer last year at the age of 62, was not only a country icon and a fierce patriot, but he also had a passion for horses.

The seven-time GRAMMY nominee owned and bred multiple thoroughbred racehorses through his 300-acre Dream Walkin' Farms in Oklahoma, which he established in 2001. Over more than two decades, the farm was highly successful in the racing world, amassing 848 victories and over $18 million in earnings from 6,587 starts. 

Toby Keith had a passion for horse racing.

(Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)

"He was a guy who loved horse racing, all facets of it," one of his trainers, Bret Calhoun, told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune last year. "He loved the breeding part of it, the racing, and he was a big promoter of horse racing. Just an overall good guy. A patriotic guy. He was one of those guys that everyone wanted to be around and he kind of kept himself open to the public. He’d go to the races at Oaklawn, go across the street to the local bar and hang out with the people."

In 2021, Keith partnered with fellow Oklahoma native Danny Caldwell to form Country Bro Stables, where they racked up another 39 victories from 264 starts.

Render Judgment is the first of Keith's horses to qualify for the pinnacle of the sport — the Kentucky Derby.

Render Judgment's trainer, Kenny McPeek, won last year's Derby with thoroughbred colt Mystik Dan. Jockey Julien Leparoux will ride Render Judgment on Saturday.

As of right now, his odds are 30-1.