Derby Nacional (Peru) 2026 Schedule: What Time and How to Watch

The Derby Nacional Peru 2026 is the 125th running of the country's biggest race for three-year-olds, and this year it comes with a real story: an unbeaten colt, Mr. Peggy, is one win from the Triple Crown. Here is when it happens, what is confirmed and what is still to come.

Schedule: Derby Nacional Peru 2026

The Derby Nacional is on Sunday, November 22, 2026, at the Hipódromo de Monterrico in Lima, and Derby day starts at 12:00 p.m. US Eastern, the same hour as in Lima and Bogotá. That is 11:00 a.m. in Mexico City, 2:00 p.m. in Buenos Aires and 6:00 p.m. in Madrid.

The announced programme for the day runs from 12:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Lima time.

One honest caveat: that 12:00 p.m. is the start of the day, when free admission begins. The post time of the Derby race itself has not been published yet, and the feature race of a card normally goes late in the afternoon, not first.

So plan on the whole afternoon.

Key dates before the race

• Sunday, November 15, 3:00 p.m. Lima time: entries close for the Derby.
• Same day, after the last race: the post-position draw, held at the track's Palco Oficial.
• Sunday, November 22: Derby day, 12:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in Lima.

We will update this page with the Derby's exact post time as soon as the official card is out.

How to watch the Derby Nacional (Peru) 2026

The TV and streaming plan has not been announced. As of November 13, none of the coverage we opened names a broadcaster for the United States, Mexico, the rest of Latin America or Spain. In Peru, the racing site El Informativo Hípico carries a live player labeled Monterrico TV, but nothing we read confirms Derby coverage on it or says whether it can be watched abroad.

What to do in the meantime:

1. Check the Jockey Club del Perú's official channels in race week. That is where any live signal will be confirmed first.
2. Come back here. We add the outlet the moment a source confirms it for this year.
3. Be wary of unofficial links promising a stream. Until the organizer says so, nothing is confirmed.

Going in person

If you are in Lima, this one is easy. Admission to Monterrico is free from 12:00 p.m., according to the announced details.

• Where: Hipódromo de Monterrico, in the Surco district.
• Gates: Gate 1A on the Panamericana Sur and Gate 4 on Av. El Derby.
• Besides the racing: live music, Peruvian Paso horses and activities for children.

It is pitched as a family day. If the kids fall for the Paso horses, our guide to the Peruvian Paso horse explains that famous smooth gait.

The field so far: probables, not final entries

No official field exists yet. Entries close on November 15, so every name below is a probable runner or a declared absence, not an entry, and posts come only after the draw.

Two other Doña Licha colts in the same barn, Dr. Aguilar and General Danny, are reported to be headed for the Clásico Postín (G2), not the Derby, according to the stable's owner.

Mr. Peggy, the one to beat

Mr. Peggy is a son of Tiz the Law, bred in Chile and owned by Stud Doña Licha. Raphael Herrera trains him, and Rito Almanza rode him in his crown wins; the Derby rider is not confirmed until the entries are in.

He won the Polla de Potrillos (G2) over 1,600 meters in September and then the Clásico Ricardo Ortiz de Zevallos (G2) over 2,000 meters on dirt in October. That second one made him four for four.

Mr. Sabelón, the rival from his own barn

The closest threat lives next door. Mr. Sabelón, a son of Tacitus who also runs for Doña Licha and Herrera, finished just half a head behind Mr. Peggy in the Ortiz de Zevallos.

Peru's racing press calls him a firm Derby candidate and reports that he is training well. Third that day was four lengths back, which tells you how far clear the two stablemates were.

Who is out

• Christian Jr., a recent winner over 2,200 meters, will not be entered, according to his trainer.

What the Derby Nacional is

The Derby Nacional is a Grade 1 race for three-year-olds over 2,400 meters (about a mile and a half) on Monterrico's dirt track. It was first run in 1903 at the old Hipódromo de Santa Beatriz, on land that is now part of Lima's Campo de Marte.

It later moved to the Hipódromo de San Felipe and has been at Monterrico since 1961. Last year's winner was Khamal, by 8¼ lengths, also trained by Herrera.

How the crowns work

For a colt on dirt, Peru's series for three-year-olds has four legs:

1. Polla de Potrillos (1,600 m), the first crown for colts.
2. Clásico Ricardo Ortiz de Zevallos (2,000 m), the second for colts.
3. Derby Nacional (2,400 m), the third.
4. Gran Premio Nacional Augusto B. Leguía, the fourth.

Fillies have their own first two crowns on dirt, the second being the Clásico Enrique Ayulo Pardo (2,000 m), and there are parallel crowns on turf.

Win the first three and you are a Triple Crown winner. Win all four and it is a Cuádruple Corona, like Santorín in 1973, who went to Argentina and won the Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini before coming home to complete the set.

New to racing terms like post position or Grade 1? Our glossary keeps them simple.

What to watch for

• The distance. The 2,000 meters of the second crown is the farthest the series has asked of Mr. Peggy. The Derby adds 400 more, and his margin last time was only half a head.
• The stablemates. Whether Mr. Peggy and Mr. Sabelón both go, and who rides each, will be clear when entries close on November 15.
• The draw. Posts are assigned that same evening. We will add them here.
• A repeat for the trainer. Herrera won the 2025 Derby with Khamal and brings the two leading candidates.
• A farewell. A tribute to the Brazilian jockey Jorge Ricardo, among the winningest riders in history, is planned for Derby afternoon.

What to do next

• Save the date: Sunday, November 22, from 12:00 p.m. in Lima and US Eastern.
• Check back after November 15 for the final field, the posts and the Derby's post time.
• Following the season across the region? See our pages on the Clásico El Ensayo in Chile and the rest of the trends desk.

The race has not been run. Everything here is a preview, and we will post the result on this same page.