'He took us here.' Emerging Market is the buzz horse of the 2026 Kentucky Derby.

Each year in the lead-up to the Kentucky Derby, chatter that fills the early-morning air on the backside at Churchill Downs.

There’s scuttlebutt on everything from a how a horse appears while feeding and resting in the barn to how a thoroughbred looks while training on the track ahead of the Grade 1, $5 million race.

Sometimes, the talk is real and serves as an early warning ahead of a big Derby effort. Other times, the positive Derby-week buzz never materializes in the chaos of the 20-horse event.

Emerging Market, a chestnut-colored horse who was foaled at Stoneriggs Farm in Paris — is hoping to be part of that first category this year.

The Chad Brown trainee arrives in Louisville with the goal of becoming just the second horse to win the Kentucky Derby after making only two previous starts, joining Leonatus in 1883.

That’s 143 years of history working against Emerging Market beneath the Twin Spires.

“He took us here. So I’m not going to change anything that I would do. If he has two starts or four starts, I’m not going to change the way I’m training him,” Brown said Tuesday morning on the Churchill Downs backside. “... There’s nothing I’m going to do to prepare him better.”

The talent on offer with Emerging Market — who will begin the race in post position No. 14 (despite being program No. 15) and has 15-1 morning-line odds — is undeniable.

A son of undefeated 6-for-6 winner Candy Ride (ARG) and Wild Empress, whose sire was 2003 Kentucky Derby runner-up Empire Maker, Emerging Market has won both of his previous races.

After a bout with pneumonia delayed his racing debut, Emerging Market won his first start in a maiden special weight race in February at Tampa Bay Downs in Florida. He secured his spot in the Kentucky Derby with a win in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby in March at Fair Grounds in New Orleans.

That Louisiana Derby triumph — which came by a head over fellow Derby runner Pavlovian — showcased Emerging Market’s prodigious talent as well as his maturity.

The question now is whether those two aspects of his racing ability can translate to the madness of the 1 1/4-mile Derby, and if Emerging Market can buck the trends that are against him.

“He’s got a lot of natural ability. I’ve always loved the horse, how he’s trained since he was two. He’s got a great mind to handle something like this,” Brown said. “Very efficient mover. Runs the turns well for a tight track like this. The way he moves. There’s a lot of positives for this horse going into this, and he doesn’t act like a horse (with only two starts). ... There’s nothing immature about him.”

Emerging Market is light on experience, big on talent ahead of 2026 Derby

Emerging Market’s lack of experience is a legitimate knock against him and his Kentucky Derby outlook.

Since 2000, only three horses have run in the Derby with just two previous starts. None of them have hit the board. China Visit ran sixth in 2000, Taiba was 12th in 2022 and T O Password (JPN) was a respectable fifth in 2024.

It’s a good thing, then, that Emerging Market will have one of the best active Triple Crown jockeys aboard him Saturday night.

Flavien Prat, a 33-year-old native of France, has the mount for the Derby. Prat has been on Emerging Market for both of his previous races, and Prat boasts a remarkably consistent riding record in the Run for the Roses.

Prat has finished in the top three in six of his previous eight Derby trips. He won the race, following a disqualification, with Country House in 2019. Prat finished second with Hot Rod Charlie in 2021. On four other occasions — Battle of Midway (2017), Zandon (2022), Angel Of Empire (2023) and Baeza (2025) — Prat piloted his horse to a third-place finish.

Add Prat’s fourth-place effort with Catching Freedom in 2024, and he has a streak of five straight Derbys with a top-four finish.

There’s perhaps no better rider to pair with Emerging Market than Prat, who won the 2021 Preakness Stakes with Rombauer and has twice won the Breeders’ Cup Classic with Flightline (2022) and Sierra Leone (2024).

That’s why Brown is letting the jockey handle the details Saturday.

“I’m not going to give (Prat) any instruction,” Brown said.

Brown is searching for his own Kentucky Derby glory.

Emerging Market will be Brown’s 10th all-time Derby starter. He saddled Good Magic (2018) and Sierra Leone (2024) to second-place finishes in the race, but he’s yet to find his way to the winner’s circle. Two years ago, Sierra Leone lost to Mystik Dan by a nose in a thrilling three-way photo finish.

Emerging Market’s connections have previously enjoyed Triple Crown success together. Owner Klaravich Stables won the Preakness Stakes in 2017 with Cloud Computing and in 2022 with Early Voting. Brown trained both horses, although neither ran in the Kentucky Derby.

It remains to be seen if Emerging Market is the horse to deliver Brown and Klaravich Stables their first Kentucky Derby successes, and to give Prat his first triumph in the race without the help of a disqualification.

One thing that’s certain, though? Brown will be working on a new schedule ahead of this year’s Derby.

Brown is also the trainer of Always a Runner, who is one of 14 horses set to compete in Friday’s Grade 1, $1.5 million Kentucky Oaks for 3-year-old fillies. This year, that race is being run in prime time on broadcast TV. The Oaks has an 8:40 p.m. post time Friday.

“Cool for the fans, a little challenging for the horsemen involved and stuff. Those are sort of long days ...” Brown said. “The card starts quite early, we train in the morning, it’s a long day. But if it’s for the betterment of the viewership and sport and something new for fans to get engaged, I’m all for it.”

How will that change things for Brown ahead of Emerging Market’s big Derby day?

“Definitely (a) big change of schedule. You’re working into the evening and before the next day, working Derby morning. Everyone’s in the same boat. So we’re just going to have to see how goes,” Brown said. “Fortunately, I have a great team and many of them have been with me a long time. So we’ll just have a plan going into Friday and Saturday, where we can sort of all just work together and get through the challenging 48 hours.”