Christopher Elliott lands first Kentucky Derby mount on Right to Party

Christopher Elliott will make his first Kentucky Derby appearance on Right to Party, a milestone that ties together family history and a legitimate chance to compete in the race’s toughest test. The 2026 Derby at Churchill Downs will place the son of Stewart Elliott on a colt who earned his way in with a late surge through the spring prep season, giving the young rider a mount with both sentiment and substance.

Elliott was born on April 19, 2006, almost two years after Stewart Elliott completed one of the signature runs in modern Derby history aboard Smarty Jones. Christopher Elliott said he has watched his father’s Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont rides countless times, and he still can hardly believe he will now be part of the first Saturday in May himself. A day at Del Mar around age 14 helped push him toward becoming a jockey, after he had already grown up riding ponies on his family’s farm in New Jersey.

Right to Party brings a serious Derby resume to the partnership. The chestnut colt, born April 20, 2023, is owned by Chester Broman Sr. and trained by Kenny McPeek. Through April 4, he was 1-for-4 with one win, one place and two shows, had earned $230,200, and was by Constitution out of Havin’ a Party. He secured his Derby spot with 50 qualifying points for finishing second in the April 4 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, adding that to 15 points from a third in the Gotham Stakes behind Iron Honor.

The Wood Memorial offered Derby points on a 100-50-25-15-10 scale to the top five finishers, and Right to Party made the most of the final running of the race at Aqueduct, which was the 101st edition there. He rallied from 11th at the half-mile mark to nose out Ocelli for second behind Albus, all at 39-1, and Elliott said that late kick has always been the horse’s style. The added distance of 1 1/4 miles should suit him better than many of the speed types he will meet in Louisville.

The mount gives Christopher Elliott an early-career stage that few riders ever reach, and it comes on a horse whose profile keeps building with each start. It also revives the memory of Smarty Jones, who won the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness, was second in the Belmont before a record crowd of 120,139 at Belmont Park, and finished his career 8-for-9 before his Hall of Fame induction in 2025.