The Fair Grounds spur of the Kentucky Derby trail heats up Saturday, January 17 in the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes! The $250,000 race drew a field of 11 exciting three-year-olds to battle for not only that purse, but 20-10-6-4-2 points on the Kentucky Derby trail. The big field makes it one of the most exciting horse racing betting opportunities of the winter season.
The leaders of the Lecomte field include three of the top four finishers in the Gun Runner, the points race in December at Fair Grounds. Those include winner Chip Honcho, third-place finisher Crown the Buckeye, and fourth-place Quality Mischief. Anything can happen this time of year, however, and this could be where a new face steps up and makes an impact on the Kentucky Derby trail.
Winners of the Lecomte have gone on to win Triple Crown races as well, including 2013 Preakness winner Oxbow and 2019 Preakness winner War of Will. Keep reading to find out who may be next, and to find out the best places to bet the Lecomte Stakes online.
Lecomte Stakes Online Betting
The first decision to make, even before you bet a single dollar on the race, is choosing the best online sportsbook for betting horse racing. There are a lot of options for betting racing and sports online, but choosing the right one can build your bankroll by hundreds or even thousands of dollars, making it time well spent.
Fortunately, our experts are here, and their insight can help you make a profitable decision quickly and confidently. Every site our experts recommend has the basics: trusted payouts, market-leading odds, and an intuitive betting interface.
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Lecomte Stakes Field
This is the official field for the 2026 Lecomte Stakes including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning lines:
- Quality Mischief (Brad Cox/Marcelino Pedroza) - 10/1
- Carson Street (Brendan Walsh/Axel Concepcion) - 8/1
- Crown the Buckeye (Mike Maker/Ricardo Santana, Jr.) - 4/1
- Exosome (Kelsey Danner/Jareth Loveberry) - 20/1
- Golden Tempo (Cherie DeVaux/Jose Ortiz) - 8/1
- Thunder Buck (Brad Cox/Luis Saez) - 6/1
- Mesquite (Cherie DeVaux/Flavien Prat) - 8/1
- White Tiger (Brad Cox/Irad Ortiz, Jr.) - 8/1
- Ocelli (Whit Beckman/Joseph Ramos) - 12/1
- Stop the Car (Brendan Walsh/Ben Curtis) - 8/1
- Chip Honcho (Steve Asmussen/Paco Lopez) - 9/2
The morning line is often a useful guide to which horses are expected to take money or not, but those odds are no guarantee of a price if you bet at the track. That can swing all the way until post time. Your best bet on the Lecomte Stakes is to wager at an online sportsbook, since they offer bonuses you’ll never see at the track and they often offer fixed-odds wagering on major horse races.
These are the top online sportsbooks for betting on the Lecomte Stakes:
 |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crown the Buckeye | +400 | +400 | +400 |
| Chip Honcho | +450 | +450 | +450 |
| Thunder Buck | +600 | +600 | +600 |
| Golden Tempo | +800 | +800 | +800 |
| Mesquite | +800 | +800 | +800 |
| Stop the Car | +800 | +800 | +800 |
| White Tiger | +800 | +800 | +800 |
Lecomte Stakes Handicapping
Now that you have your betting account set up, it’s time to get to know the major contenders in the 2026 Lecomte Stakes. These are the horses to focus on when placing your bets in this important Kentucky Derby prep:
Lecomte Stakes Top Choice
Stop the Car is the best bet in the Lecomte Stakes. Horses who come in from races at Churchill Downs tend to be live when making their three-year-old debut in the Lecomte, and that’s exactly what Stop the Car is doing. And though he hasn’t yet faced stakes company yet, he is one of the few horses in the field who has a pair of wins already: a debut maiden score at Keeneland and then an allowance victory on the Stars of Tomorrow II card in November.
Though he has yet to try two turns yet, he has pedigree on both sides to suggest he wants to go at least a mile and a sixteenth. And, the fact that he was able to get a good tactical trip despite a challenging rail draw in his last-out allowance win suggests that he could get a nice, clean tracking trip from the near-outside gate over a racetrack that tends to play pretty fairly toward horses drawn in outer stalls.
Lecomte Stakes Exotics Picks
Golden Tempo cedes experience to his foes, as he has only raced once, but he overcame a slow break to go last-to-first. He stretches from a sprint to a route for the first time, but his pedigree is all distance for a trainer, Cherie DeVaux, who shines with last-out maiden winners as well as horses stretching to a route for the first time.
Chip Honcho, winner of the Gun Runner last out, rates as a contender again. He led at every call when he broke his maiden two back at Churchill, but was able to press and finish the job last out over course and distance. The pace may be even more moderate this time, a plus for him, and trainer Steve Asmussen has won the Lecomte more than any other active trainer.
White Tiger is another one coming in from Churchill Downs. He likely will have to prove he doesn't need to make the top to win, but he stayed interested enough without the lead on debut to deem that possible, and Irad Ortiz sticks with him. His stablemate Quality Mischief has to handle the inside gate, but ran a good fourth in the local prep and is on a course of improvement for Brad Cox.
Free Lecomte Stakes Picks
You’ve met the top contenders. You’ve created your online sportsbook account. Now, all there’s left to do is to place your bets for the 2026 Lecomte Stakes!
These are the best bets for the race:
- $20 to win - #10 Stop the Car
- $1 exacta key - #10 Stop the Car with #5 Golden Tempo, #11 Chip Honcho
- $0.50 trifecta key - #10 Stop the Car with #5 Golden Tempo, #8 White Tiger, #11 Chip Honcho
- $0.10 superfecta key - #10 Stop the Car with #1 Quality Mischief, #5 Golden Tempo, #8 White Tiger, #11 Chip Honcho
