Ooooh, is this ever shaping up to be a photo finish. Thanks to a diabolical alignment of hold times and a healthy number of riders hitting it like the brick wall that it is, the front pack is about to be dropped into an even start gate. That’s right, folks. All six riders at the sharp end of the field are spending the night together and will launch at the gun at 8am sharp our time. If there were ever a night for obsessive map staring, second guessing, and ruthless gear trimming, this is it. One has to wonder how many layers and bits of luggage quietly disappear tonight in the name of horse speed.

We can already imagine professional sailor, navigator, 2023 Mongol Derby finisher, and Tevis Cup finisher LJO doing exactly that. Or perhaps professional steeplechaser SWA will remind us all of his prime jockey skills, alongside teammate ASL, who comes from a long line of racehorse fanatics and has been casually demonstrating those jockey instincts all week long.

Then there is 2022 Mongol Derby veteran HMC, who took a nasty tumble in the 2024 Gaucho Derby. After returning home with busted ribs and punctured lungs, his daughter reportedly said, “Whenever we fell off you made us get back on and finish. You didn’t finish.” And so here he is. Not just finishing, but absolutely crushing this race.

Joining them tomorrow at what is essentially a full restart line is Gaucho Derby Academy graduate RTO, whose Ironman background and transition training are about to pay dividends as she works to streamline her time through the vet checks.

Tonight, VBU rejoins old teammates ASL and SWA, and we suspect that after an evening of storytelling around the campfire at vet check 20, tomorrow will revert very quickly to every rider for themselves. VBU shares the same deep passion for thoroughbreds as ASL and SWA and has given up everything to follow her dream of riding and racing, which makes this convergence all the more compelling.

These slick six are riders of note, and they will all roll out tomorrow a solid five hours ahead of the rest of the field. That said, the chase pack of GVA, LHE, and AKE is more than capable of closing the gap. These three are seriously impressive. Their horsemanship, riding skill, and navigation have hauled them into contention, and the early separation of AKE and MKE earlier in the race is a clear reminder of just how quickly luck can intervene out here.

One rider who seems to have been on the wrong side of that luck repeatedly is JBI. This endurance rider from Montana has consistently shown excellent horsemanship while collecting an impressive streak of bad luck. She is a living example that strong riders do not automatically float to the top of the leaderboard.

And the truth is, we have seen some real riding across nearly the entire field. GRO and JDO joined that club today, with Gaby sitting some very serious jumps and JDO negotiating topsy turvy spins that we just happened to catch on camera.

JDO began the day riding with JBY, ACP, TOM, JBI, and MAN, and JBY proved once again that chivalry is very much alive, helping catch and hold horses like the professional horseman he is. Since then, that group has drifted around the leaderboard, with JBI even backtracking to check in on us at Horse Station Five and swapping horses for fun while she was there, having worried about a previous horse’s hind leg that ultimately turned out to be just fine.

Further back, riders are still fighting their own races, pushing cutoffs (let’s hear it for ACA GHE & ODU and NBR & our Gaucho Grannies (HBA and DST), managing horses, and proving that grit and horsemanship matter just as much as placement.

Every rider in the field is powering through and keeping on going. There have been tears today across the field from exhaustion, frustration and maybe even joy, but these riders are showing us just how to get it done in adversity.

Tomorrow will test speed, strategy, patience, and nerve across the entire field, from the very first rider out of camp to the very last dot moving on the map.

And this is what makes tomorrow so wildly exciting. We are not just looking at a sprint to the finish from a single dominant leader. We are staring down a full field chess match, played at speed, on horseback, after days of wind, rain, hail, penalties, hold times, and hard decisions. At the front, six elite riders will launch together knowing that every choice, every transition, every navigational call could decide the race. Behind them, a relentless chase pack will wake up knowing they still have a shot, that mistakes happen fast, and that nothing here is locked in until the final line is crossed.

If today set the board, tomorrow plays the game. Expect bold moves, conservative calls, heartbreaks, comebacks, and moments that will have dot watchers glued to their screens wondering how it all shifted so quickly. One thing is certain. Patagonia is not done with these riders yet, and neither is this race.

Day 7: (In alphabetical order)

At VC20

ASL

HMC

LJO

RTO

SWA

VBU

At VC19

AKE

GVA

LHE

VC18-19

EMI

GRO

KCU

MMO

MRE

VC17-18

AMC

JDO

JBY

LST

MAN Adv

CHB

VBR

At VC17

ACP

ADI

ARA

LBU

MKE

NMC

RAL

TOM

VC15-16

IDV

BWE

At VC15

AGA

VC14-15

ACA

GHE

JBI

ODU

At VC14

DST

HBA

VST Adv

NBR

Images by: Esme Waldmann, Mery Pastrana, Stevie Delahunt