How Toby Keith made it to the Kentucky Derby at last with Render Judgment

For Toby Keith, the only adrenaline rush that matched singing to thousands was cheering at the race track. 

“Performing music and having your horse run were the two things that thrilled him,” his daughter, Krystal Keith, told The Oklahoman. 

Toby Keith the country music star played on the biggest stages, but Toby Keith the horseman was still chasing the pinnacle of horse racing: the Kentucky Derby. 

“The derby’s the one you want to win,” Keith said in 2019. “That’s the one that everyone wants to hang on their wall and say, ‘I won the Kentucky Derby.’ But God it’s hard to get there.” 

Fifteen months after his death, Keith finally got there. Keith’s Dream Walkin’ Farms co-owns Render Judgment, who will run out of the No. 15 post Saturday, May 3, in the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby. 

The bay colt, trained by Kenny McPeek and ridden by Julien Leparoux, has 12-1 odds to win the annual Run for the Roses. 

Render Judgment was a late entrant into the 20-horse field. He was 21st on the points leaderboard, one spot shy of earning an automatic bid. McPeek, who trained 2024 Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan, felt that Render Judgment was on the fringe talent-wise to compete in the race. 

But when another horse scratched to open a spot, Render Judgment’s four-part ownership group decided to give it a shot. Render Judgment, bred by Green Lantern Stables in Lexington, Kentucky, has one career win in seven starts. 

“Weirder things have happened,” McPeek said. 

Especially in the always-crowded derby field. 

“It’s never black and white, it’s always gray,” McPeek said. “We’re taking a horse over there that’s doing extremely well physically and we’re gonna let him make his run. His only career victory was here at Churchill. I do think he’s gonna like a mile and a quarter. The further the better.” 

In addition to being a champion trainer, McPeek is known as a shrewd buyer — targeting promising race horses at low prices. 

McPeek would often run into Keith at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. 

“I was always excited to have horses for Toby,” McPeek said. “I would love more than anything in the world for him and his family and his legacy to be enhanced by a good run in this race.” 

Keith’s first hit single, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” came out in 1993. He founded Dream Walkin’ Farms eight years later in 2001. The 300-acre farm in Pauls Valley remains home to a large thoroughbred racing operation. Toby’s sister, Tonni, oversees the farm. 

Krystal Keith grew up going to the track with her dad. 

“He really loved running horses,” Krystal said. “He loved learning about the breeding and the blood lines. He really could’ve had a Ph.D. in it.” 

Keith, who died at 62 after battling stomach cancer, had started to slow down when it came to buying horses. Krystal remembers him telling her mom, Tricia, that he was “gonna give myself one more shot at the derby.” 

Render Judgment was among the last horses he invested in. 

“The fact that he had a horse make it to the derby is a huge win for our family in itself,” Krystal Keith said. “And if he happens to win the derby, that would just be the cherry on top.” 

Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at [email protected]. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

Kentucky Derby

Post time: 5:57 p.m. CT Saturday, May 3, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY. (NBC)