2026 Risen Star Stakes Free Pick & Handicapping Odds & Prediction

Risen Star Stakes Handicapping Picks

Horse racing gamblers are you looking for 2026 Risen Star Stakes Free Pick & Handicapping Odds…plus some predictions? Need some advice on who to take? The 2026 (G2) Risen Star is set for February 14 at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, LA. Here’s a preview of our top contenders.

Risen Star Stakes Preview

Race: Risen Star Stakes
Purse: $500,000
Distance: 1 1/8 miles
Track: Fair Grounds Race Course
Date: February 14, 2026
Post Time: 6:30 PM (ET)
Live: Risen Star Stakes Odds: Click Here

Before we can give you our expert 2026 Risen Star Stakes free pick, we have to break down the entries! In fact, we’d love to hear from you after you’ve given this post a read to see if you see an angle that we don’t!

2026 Risen Star Stakes Handicapping

Qualifying action for the 2026 Kentucky Derby gets back on the track at Fair Grounds Race Course this Saturday with the running of the (G2) Risen Star Stakes. The Risen Star offers Derby qualifying points to the top five finishers on a 50-25-15-10-5 scale.

The Risen Star is open to horses age three and is run at 1 1/8 miles on the Fair Grounds dirt track. Some recent winners of the Risen Star include Sierra Leone, second by a nose in the 2024 Derby and winner of the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic; Epicenter, second in both the 2022 Derby and Preakness Stakes and winner of the Travers Stakes; and Mandaloun, who won the 2021 Derby by disqualification.

This year’s Risen Star has drawn a competitive field of eight including two that coe into the race unbeaten so far in their careers.

Odds listed here are provided by the Fair Grounds track oddsmaker.

2026 Risen Star Stakes Free Pick & Handicapping: Paladin Race Odds: 8-5

After running second by a head and then being placed first on debut, Paladin stepped right up to graded-stakes racing and won the (G2) Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct by two lengths.

In doing so he turned the tables on a colt named Renegade, who himself rebounded from that loss to capture last weekend’s Sam F Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. Paladin’s 98 Brisnet speed figure for the 1 1/16 mile Remsen is tops in this field.

2026 Risen Star Stakes Free Pick & Handicapping: Golden Tempo Odds: 3-1

Unbeaten in two career starts – both at Fair Grounds – Golden Tempo is a one-run closer who came from dead last and second last early to power down the stretch and secure both those wins.

The most recent of those was in the (G3) Lecomte Stakes, where the pace was fairly slow, but Golden Tempo was still able to make up ground on the front runners. He needs to find a bit more overall speed, but the extra 1/16 mile should play to his advantage.

Courting Race Odds: 6-1

After taking the field wire-to-wire two back to break his maiden, Courting threw in a bit of a clunker last out in the Remsen. He took a bump at the break and was outrun early and managed to work his way through the field to finish a non-threatening fourth.

Still, he earned a career-best 90 Brisnet figure for his effort. He’s been training very well leading up to this and will add blinkers for the first time.

Universe Race Odds: 8-1

Another one coming in off a sub-par effort, Universe was seventh last out in the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn after hitting the board in his first four lifetime starts.

He’s by far the horse with the most back class in the field with three graded-stakes starts to his name. Last fall he was second in the (G3) Street Sense Stakes and second in the (G2) Jockey Club Stakes, both of those going 1 1/16 miles at Churchill Downs.

Here’s My 2026 Risen Star Stakes Free Pick

The tricky part of handicapping this race is in determining how the pace is going to work out. While Paladin, Carson Street (8-1) and Chip Honcho (6-1) all like to run near the front, none of them are real need-the-lead speedballs and jockey tactics from the break will be interesting to watch.

That said, I don’t think they’re going to be going very fast, and that diminishes the chances of a deep closer like Golden Tempo. While I hate to take 8-5 (or less), on paper Paladin looks to be the best horse, and sometimes you just have to take what the odds give you and bet the best horse to win.

I’ll try to get some value by using Courting in the exacta.

Full Field: 2026 Risen Star Stakes Odds

By post position

#1 – Universe 8-1
#2 – Golden Tempo 3-1
#3 – Carson Street 8-1
#4 – Paladin 8-5
#5 – Chip Honcho 6-1
#6 – Colt Forty Seven 20-1
#7 – Courting 6-1
#8 – Quality Mischief 10-1

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About Brent Sedo

After four years at Capper's Picks, Brent has previewed just over 400 races with a solid 26% Win percentage, with 54% of his Win picks finishing in the money. He's been a horse racing fan and avid handicapper since he started going to Winnipeg’s Assiniboia Downs as a kid. He’s been to live racing at many tracks in North America, as well as South America, Europe and Australia. He was particularly impressed with the Hippodromo in Santiago, Chile, where fans bring their own wine and cheer every race like it’s the Kentucky Derby. He has been writing about racing online for the past 12 years. Stay tuned for more free horse racing picks!

Filed Under: Gambling, Horses

2026 Risen Star Stakes Free Pick & Handicapping Odds & Prediction