Chad Brown wins Kentucky Oaks with Always a Runner at Churchill Downs
Chad Brown won Kentucky Oaks 2026 at Churchill Downs with Always a Runner. Can he add a Kentucky Derby win to his resume Saturday in Louisville, Ky.?
Trainer Chad Brown knows what he knows. So when he thought Always a Runner would be his Kentucky Oaks horse, he was right about that. When he said Always a Runner would be a contender despite just two starts, he was right about that, too.
The 3-year-old backed up all the confidence Brown had in her by winning Kentucky Oaks 152 on Friday at Churchill Downs . Now we’ll see if Brown is right about Emerging Market on Saturday in the Kentucky Derby . "Only two starts coming into this, but she's been a star since Day One," Brown said.
Brown felt the same way about that colt as he did his filly. Both horses caught pneumonia and had some of their starts delayed because of a virus that ripped through his barn. Despite both being lightly raced, he believed both would be contenders this weekend.
Always a Runner proved him right. If Emerging Market does too, it will mark the second time in three years that the same trainer won both the Oaks and the Derby. Trainer Kenny McPeek accomplished the feat in 2024 with Thorpedo Anna in the Oaks and Mystik Dan in the Derby.