Jockey Tyler Gaffalione, a 14-time leading rider at Churchill Downs, has picked up the mount on Kentucky Derby runner Ocelli and Kentucky Oaks runner Nycon, according to the Daily Racing Form's David Grening.
Gaffalione had been booked to ride Fulleffort in the Derby and Bella Ballerina in the Oaks; both horses were scratched on April 30 due to injury. The Brad Cox-trained Fulleffort, winner of the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks in his most recent start, was scratched due to a diagnosis of a hind ankle chip. Bella Ballerina, a two-time Grade 2 winner for trainer Brendan Walsh, was scratched due to an ill-timed minor injury to her right front leg.
The scratches meant Gaffalione was open for both the Derby and the Oaks; trainer Whit Beckman decided to take advantage of the opportunity. Beckman-trained Ocelli moved into the Kentucky Derby field after Fulleffort's scratch, while Beckman's Oaks entrant Nycon had already drawn in off the also-eligible list earlier in the week.
Jockey Joe Ramos was originally booked to ride Ocelli, and jockey Jaime Torres was named aboard Nycon. Both will now be piloted by Gaffalione.
“Tyler is the leading rider at Churchill Downs every year,” Beckman told DRF. “He’s a top-three rider in the country. He’s ridden on this stage many times and won most of these types of races, with the exception of the Derby. That’s not a knock against the guys who were riding these horses.”
Ocelli, a son of Connect, will take the outside post in the Derby starting gate as an also-eligible, racing as #22, and he will be moved in if any further scratches bring other horses in from the also-eligible list.
He is set at morning line odds of 50-1, and races for owners Ashley Durr, Anthony Tate, and Front Page Equestrian. Ocelli would be the third Derby starter for Beckman in as many years, following Honor Marie in 2024 and Flying Mohawk in 2025.
Still a maiden, Ocelli earned the points to make it to the cusp of the field’s main body during the draw by finishing a late-gaining third in the G2 Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct on April 4. Prior to that race, he finished sixth in the listed Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs and the Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs.
Only three horses that left the gate as maidens have won the Kentucky Derby, with the most recent being Broker’s Tip in 1933. However, one of the other horses in that trio was 1919 Triple Crown winner Sir Barton.
Maidens are a rare sight in the Derby, with the most recent being Publisher, who finished 14th in 2025. Ocelli would be just the 14th maiden to race in the Derby since 1937.
