2025 Pennsylvania Derby Preview

Key takeaways:

• The Pennsylvania Derby has grown into a premier Grade 1 race for 3-year-olds, offering $1 million and a final prep before the Breeders’ Cup.
• The 2025 field includes 10 runners, headlined by classic-placed colts Baeza and Gosger.
• Baeza (2-1) is the favorite, consistent at the top level and well-suited to the 1 ⅛-mile distance.
• Gosger (4-1) has tactical versatility and strong graded stakes form, making him a high-value contender.
• Goal Oriented (5-2), Baffert’s runner with Irad Ortiz Jr., has shown class in limited starts and could pose the main threat.

One of the newer additions to the top echelon of three-year-old races, the Grade 1, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby happens Saturday, September 20, at Parx Racing. The 1 ⅛-mile dirt race gives the sophomore set one last chance to go for a huge purse and Grade 1 glory against their own age group before heading on to the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, or other major races against older horses. The race drew a field of 10, including the classic-placed horses Baeza and Gosger.

The Pennsylvania Derby was a bit of a sleeper hit, as it had existed several decades before it became one of the premier races in the country. It was first run in 1979 at Keystone Race Track and earned a graded status in 1981. It vacillated between Grade 3 and Grade 2 until 2016, when it was promoted to the top level.

Some memorable horses won it in its early days, including Broad Brush, Summer Squall, Harlan’s Holiday, and Sun King. 1989 winner Western Playboy, the last Illinois-bred to contend the Kentucky Derby, still holds the record for the largest winning margin when he won by 17 lengths.

However, it was in the 2010s when the race’s profile shot up. 2013 winner Will Take Charge was nosed out in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, 2014 winner Bayern won that race, and 2015 winner Frosted dazzled in the Met Mile the next year. More recent winners include the honest Hot Rod Charlie in 2021 and Preakness winner Seize the Grey in 2024.

Pennsylvania Derby Information

• Race Date: Saturday, September 20
• Track: Parx Racing in Bensalem, PA
• Post Time: 6:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
• Distance: 1 ⅛ miles on the dirt
• Age/Sex: three-year-olds
• Where to Watch: FanDuel TV
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

2025 Pennsylvania Derby Draw and Odds

This is the field for the 2025 Pennsylvania Derby, along with post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning lines for each horse.

Pennsylvania Derby Prep Race Results

The ten horses in the Pennsylvania Derby come out of eight different races, with two of them sending out two runners apiece.

Two horses return in the Pennsylvania Derby for the first time since the Haskell (G1) on July 19, and both ran well in Monmouth Park’s feature race. Though winner Journalism does not ship back east for this, Gosger finished just half a length behind, and Goal Oriented finished another neck back in third. Another pair comes out of the Jim Dandy (G2) on July 26 at Saratoga, where they chased division leader Sovereignty home. Baeza ran him closest, finishing second by just a length, while Mo Plex weakened to a well-beaten fourth after setting the early pace.

One other runner comes out of a graded-stakes race. Magnitude set a contested pace in the Travers (G1), but weakened to finish third, 20 ¾ lengths behind Sovereignty in that 1 ¼-mile race.

Three others come out of stakes company. The only last-out stakes winner is Big Truzz, who stalked the pace and drew off by seven lengths in the Ellis Park Derby on August 10. So Sandy finished second in his stakes debut in the Curlin on July 24 at Saratoga, where he missed by a head to Chancer McPatrick. Happily Delusional, the only horse coming out of the local Smarty Jones Stakes on August 19, has to rebound from a well-beaten fourth behind Tip Top Thomas.

Just two horses come out of non-stakes races. David of Athens, the only last-out winner other than Big Truzz, romped by 7 ¼ lengths in a first-level allowance mile at Ellis Park on July 20, leading at every call. Altobelli will try to bounce back from a well-beaten sixth and last in a $32,000 starter-optional claimer at Delaware Park on September 6.

Pennsylvania Derby Contenders

These are the ten entrants for the 2025 Pennsylvania Derby, in order of their post positions:

1. So Sandy: An up-and-comer, this Cherie DeVaux trainee took five tries to break his maiden but followed that score up with an allowance win, and then a head miss to Chancer McPatrick in the Curlin Stakes. Though the Curlin is a restricted race, Chancer McPatrick is a Grade 1 winner, so there is some class. The rail draw could be thorny, but speed tends to play well at Parx. He is fast enough to be on or near the early lead, and can win from a stalking spot and even a battling one. In short, there is some longshot appeal.
2. Altobelli: The good news is, he tries a route for the first time and, being by Authentic out of a Distorted Humor daughter of Canada Horse of the Year Sealy Hill, he is bred to run a distance. However, he hasn’t won since a starter-allowance on Tapeta in March and has only hit the board once in eight tries on dirt. He has yet to run a race that puts him anywhere close.
3. Magnitude: At his best, Magnitude shines bright. However, it’s hard to tell if he can beat good horses with company up front, since both his Risen Star (G2) and Iowa Derby wins came with loose leads. To his credit, he has dealt with company on the front-end and won the war in both maiden and allowance races. Still, in the toughest field he has ever faced, drawn in the middle of a lot of speed? The Parx speed bias could help, but he’ll have to draw on all the grit he can find.
4. David of Athens: The second-stringer from the Brendan Walsh barn, David of Athens is lightly raced, with just three starts. He has won two of the three, though, and shown the versatility to win on the front end or from a couple of lengths off the pace. Those are all points in his favor, as he can get a forward spot but won’t be left in the cold if he has to bide his time a length or two behind a pace battle. The question is whether he can run back to his last (or even improve on it) against better foes, but the potential is there, and his breeding has enough to suggest he could handle the extra furlong.
5. Happily Delusional: The Parx footing can be love-it-or-hate-it, so the fact that he has hit the board in five of nine outings over it is a positive—in fact, he is the only horse with a local race. However, he has yet to run a race anywhere near fast enough to contend with these horses, and a well-beaten fourth in a much softer local prep does not bode well for his chances of running up to this company.
6. Goal Oriented: Still lightly raced, Goal Oriented was so highly regarded by trainer Bob Baffert that he made his stakes debut in the Preakness, in just his third start. He was a well-beaten fourth that day, but improved to be a close third behind Journalism and Gosger in the Haskell next out. His tactical speed should play well at Parx, and the return to a 1 ⅛-mile distance is a positive. However, he’ll be a short price, and he still has to both turn the tables on Gosger and deal with another very good—perhaps even elite—horse in Baeza.
7. Big Truzz: He comes into the Pennsylvania Derby off of the best race he has run so far, a seven-length romp in the Ellis Park Derby. However, he has never looked a winner in either of his graded-stakes starts to date, and his Ellis Park Derby win came back fast enough to suggest there is some risk of him regressing off of it. 1 ⅛ miles is at least worth trying—he is by Justify out of a Curlin mare, and though his dam’s best sibling was the hard-knocking sprinter Salutos Amigos, there’s enough variation in distances to try that trip. However, he needs to find his best against better horses—and jockey Tyler Gaffalione decamps to ride David of Athens instead.
8. Baeza: A McKinzie half to both Kentucky Derby winner Mage and Belmont Stakes winner Dornoch, he was bred to be a good one. And, though he has just one win in seven starts, he keeps coming close against the cream of the crop: Sovereignty and Journalism. He gets out of their shadow here. It won’t be easy, especially with the more lightly raced Gosger and Goal Oriented both being fast horses who have shown a lot of class. But, Baeza keeps putting up fast race after fast race, and his 1 ⅛-mile performances are both good enough to suggest he may like this distance best of all. The price won’t be much—he’ll be the favorite—but he figures with his tactical versatility, consistency, and class.
9. Gosger: A half-brother to Grade 1-winning turf filly Harvey’s Lil Goil, Gosger burst onto the scene with a win in the Lexington (G3) over the Keeneland grass. It took a heroic effort by Journalism to catch him in the Preakness, and the margin was just as close in the Haskell, even when Journalism didn’t have to defy all odds to get there. His tactical speed may give him just the right trip—he can get a clean trip just outside other stalkers behind gotta-go types like Mo Plex and Magnitude. The distance suits, he has run well in all five starts across four different tracks, and he’s too good a horse to be what he’ll probably be, come race time—the third choice on the tote.
10. Mo Plex: Class is the serious question here—this speedster holds his own at the Grade 3 level, but has never quite gotten there against the best. He has a lot of pace from an outside gate, meaning he’ll probably hit the gas and ensure lively fractions. If there were any chance he’d get a cozy lead, then he’d have some long shot appeal, but there’s a lot of other pace drawn in, enough that even the generally speed-friendly conditions at Parx probably won’t get him to the finish first behind faster horses lying just behind him in wait.

Pennsylvania Derby FAQ

Q: When and where is the Pennsylvania Derby?

A: The race happens on Saturday, September 20, at Parx Racing in Bensalem, PA. The race is the 14th of 15 races on the card, and the scheduled post time is 6:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Pennsylvania Derby?

A: Trainer Bob Baffert leads all conditioners with four wins. Those came with Bayern (2014), West Coast (2017), McKinzie (2018), and Taiba (2022). He can extend his record to five if Goal Oriented wins in 2025.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Pennsylvania Derby?

A: Baeza is the 2-1 favorite for the Pennsylvania Derby. Though he has yet to win at the top level, he has placed in graded-stakes races in his last four starts behind horses like Sovereignty and Journalism. He deserves to be the favorite on that form, though Goal Oriented (5-2) may run him close in the market, given the tendency of the public to bet Bob Baffert.

Q: Who is the best Pennsylvania Derby jockey?

A: Joe Bravo and Mike Smith are tied for the most wins with three, though neither has a call in 2025. Among jockeys riding this year, Irad Ortiz, Jr. leads with two wins: in 2012 with Handsome Mike and 2019 with Math Wizard. He can tie the record if he guides Goal Oriented to victory in 2025.

Q: Who won the Pennsylvania Derby in 2024?

A: Seize the Grey won the Pennsylvania Derby for the late D. Wayne Lukas and jockey Jaime Torres. Torres does not have a call in the race in 2025.

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