Who owns Render Judgement? Meet Toby Keith's horse in the 2025 Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is the biggest event in horse racing and a race that every horse owner, breeder and jockey wants to take part in.

Many of the usual horse owners will once again see if their horses can take home the crown, but one horse has a notable ownership group participating in its first Derby. Additionally, that group had a famous owner whose name many casual fans are sure to recognize on the day of the race.

Render Judgement will be one of the 20 horses racing in the Kentucky Derby this year, having already racked up over $163k in earnings through its racing career with one win in seven starts. With Sheldon Russell as the jockey, Render Judgement is looking to pull off the upset in the Kentucky Derby.

Here's what you need to know about the horse's notable owner. 

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Who owns Render Judgement?

Render Judgement is co-owned by a few groups, including Baccari Racing Stable, Dream Walkin Farms, MJM Racing, and Rocket Ship Racing. Of those four, the notable group is Dream Walkin Farms, which is an Oklahoma-based operation that was founded by country music star Toby Keith, who passed away in 2024.

Keith was passionate about horse racing in his life and spent much of his time working to get one of his horses into the Kentucky Derby.

It was Toby’s dream….Render Judgement is going to the @KentuckyDerby. He worked so hard to finally have one there! Toby will have the best seat in the house to watch. pic.twitter.com/g3efRad4IH

In a 2019 interview, Keith explained his dream of owning a racing horse.

"The Derby is the one you want to win. Yeah, that's the one that everybody wants to hang on their wall, saying 'I won the Kentucky Derby,'" Keith said, via Rolling Stone. "But, God, it's hard to get there…Horse racing business is [frustrating but] dream more. Everything's rolling the dice. The next one is too. And it's exciting. You gotta live on the edge a little bit."

Keith's daughter, Krystal Keith, explained on Instagram how much this means to the Keith family.

"My dad dreamed of having his horses in the Kentucky Derby for over 30 years," she wrote."My dad could never decide which passion was greater, music or horse racing. He could have had a PhD in horse pedigrees."

Render Judgement has a 20-1 chance to win the Kentucky Derby and will begin the race out of gate No. 15.

Toby Keith horse-racing history

Keith founded Dream Walkin Farms in 2001 after first getting into horse racing in the 1990s. In over 6,000 starts, Dream Walkin Farms' horses have won 795 wins with 806 seconds and 785 thirds. Additionally, Keith's horses have won over $17 million in earnings in total.

However, despite all of this success, this will be the first time one of Keith's horses competes in the Kentucky Derby.