Kentucky Derby odds: Bettors have 65 choices in up to 3 pools
The biggest gripe about Kentucky Derby 2025 futures betting is the lack of value so far out from the race. That no horse is worth the immediate action with a short price when he could fall prey to a fitness problem, capricious connections or his failure to impress on the racetrack.
But now that the Derby is only 31 days away, value may be graded on much more of a curve. That is especially true this week, when pari-mutuel and fixed odds are available simultaneously for the last time before entries are taken April 26.
Final pool of pari-mutuel Kentucky Derby Future Wager.
Journalism, for example, was made the 4-1 morning-line favorite for this week’s final national pool of the pari-mutuel Kentucky Derby Future Wager run by Churchill Downs. The Westgate Superbook in Las Vegas shortened him to 6-1, the top choice in its fixed-odds market. In contrast, Journalism’s 7-1 price at Caesars Sportsbook Nevada may be considered an overlay while Grade 1 Arkansas Derby winner Sandman might not be worth the 5-1 at the top of that board.
Weighing best prices displayed Wednesday morning, three of the top seven individual horses including Journalism will be in the small field for Saturday’s Santa Anita Derby (G1). Eclipse Award winner Citizen Bull is as long as 8-1 in Las Vegas, but he carries 10-1 morning-line odds in the KDFW. Conversely, his Bob Baffert-trained stablemate Barnes is 15-1 in the pari-mutuels and 20-1 in Nevada.
Adding intrigue to all this is Saturday’s 4 p.m. EDT closing time for the KDFW. That will be nearly two hours before the Blue Grass (G1), Wood Memorial (G2) and Santa Anita Derby are run in succession. Counterintuitively, the pari-mutuel odds will be locked in while the fixed odds fluctuate with the results of the three major preps.
One more wrinkle to this weekend is the usual practice in Las Vegas of suspending the Derby pools right before the preps are run. When they reopen hours later and perhaps not until Sunday, they will not look the same.
In the end this is a familiar challenge for futures players. Journalism, for instance, may be worth taking now at 7-1, especially since a win Saturday will slash his dividend at least 50% by post time May 3. If he were to lose this weekend, his value will balloon or perhaps bust. All this brings a different perspective to knowing when to say when.
These were the odds Wednesday morning for the 65 betting choices available in the three Kentucky Derby futures pools. They include Caesars and the Westgate available to Nevada bettors and the morning line for the KDFW that opens nationally Thursday at noon EDT. The choices are listed by their best odds shown in bold.
| Kentucky Derby | Caesars | Westgate | KDFW | Saturday race, track |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Journalism | 7-1 | 6-1 | 4-1 | Santa Anita Derby (G1), SA |
| Citizen Bull | 8-1 | 7-1 | 10-1 | Santa Anita Derby (G1), SA |
| Sovereignty | 10-1 | 8-1 | 10-1 | |
| Tappan Street | 10-1 | 10-1 | 10-1 | |
| Sandman | 5-1 | 12-1 | 8-1 | |
| All other 3-yr-olds* | 20-1 | |||
| Barnes | 20-1 | 18-1 | 15-1 | Santa Anita Derby (G1), SA |
| Luxor Café | 15-1 | 18-1 | 20-1 | |
| Coal Battle | 28-1 | 18-1 | 25-1 | |
| American Promise | 25-1 | 14-1 | 30-1 | |
| Owen Almighty | 18-1 | 25-1 | 30-1 | Blue Grass (G1), KEE |
| Tiztastic | 25-1 | 30-1 | 15-1 | |
| Chancer McPatrick | 33-1 | 30-1 | 30-1 | Blue Grass (G1), KEE |
| Burnham Square (g) | 30-1 | 30-1 | 40-1 | Blue Grass (G1), KEE |
| East Avenue | 40-1 | 40-1 | 30-1 | Blue Grass (G1), KEE |
| Hill Road | 35-1 | 40-1 | 40-1 | Wood Memorial (G2), AQU |
| River Thames | 22-1 | 30-1 | 40-1 | Blue Grass (G1), KEE |
| Final Gambit | 45-1 | 40-1 | 40-1 | |
| Publisher | 45-1 | 40-1 | 25-1 | |
| Flood Zone | 35-1 | 50-1 | 40-1 | UAE Derby (G2), MEY |
| Rodríguez | 50-1 | 50-1 | 50-1 | Wood Memorial (G2), AQU |
| Chunk of Gold | 58-1 | 50-1 | 30-1 | |
| Baeza | 35-1 | 40-1 | 60-1 | Santa Anita Derby (G1), SA |
| Captain Cook | 45-1 | 60-1 | 25-1 | Wood Memorial (G2), AQU |
| Grande | 40-1 | 60-1 | 60-1 | Wood Memorial (G2), AQU |
| Praetor | 60-1 | |||
| Romanesque | 60-1 | |||
| Caldera | 66-1 | 40-1 | ||
| Gunmetal | 66-1 | |||
| Authentic Strike | 75-1 | |||
| Cyclone State | 75-1 | |||
| Jonathan’s Way | 75-1 | |||
| Clock Tower (g) | 80-1 | |||
| Flying Mohawk | 80-1 | 80-1 | 60-1 | |
| Maximum Promise | 80-1 | |||
| Sand Devil | 66-1 | 60-1 | 80-1 | Wood Memorial (G2), AQU |
| Shin Believe | 80-1 | |||
| Tiger Twenty Four | 80-1 | Wood Memorial (G2), AQU | ||
| Burning Glory | 85-1 | |||
| Getaway Car | 85-1 | 80-1 | ||
| McAfee | 90-1 | Wood Memorial (G2), AQU | ||
| Built | 100-1 | 80-1 | 50-1 | |
| Grayscale | 100-1 | |||
| Instant Replay | 100-1 | |||
| Madaket Road | 100-1 | 100-1 | 50-1 | |
| My Mitole | 100-1 | 80-1 | Wood Memorial (G2), AQU | |
| Neoequos | 50-1 | 100-1 | ||
| Render Judgment | 85-1 | 100-1 | 80-1 | Blue Grass (G1), KEE |
| Shea Brennan | 100-1 | |||
| Shin Forever | 85-1 | 100-1 | 50-1 | UAE Derby (G2), MEY |
| Statesman | 95-1 | 100-1 | 80-1 | Wood Memorial (G2), AQU |
| Surfside Moon | 110-1 | |||
| Poster | 125-1 | 60-1 | ||
| Admiral Dennis | 65-1 | 150-1 | 80-1 | Blue Grass (G1), KEE |
| Bold Fortune (g) | 150-1 | |||
| Bullard | 150-1 | |||
| California Burrito | 150-1 | 100-1 | ||
| John Hancock | 150-1 | 100-1 | ||
| Omaha Omaha | 90-1 | 150-1 | 99-1 | Wood Memorial (G2), AQU |
| Vassimo | 150-1 | |||
| Passion Rules | 200-1 | 100-1 | 50-1 | Wood Memorial (G2), AQU |
| Westwood | 200-1 | Santa Anita Derby (G1), SA | ||
| Admire Daytona | 250-1 | UAE Derby (G2), MEY | ||
| Don in the Mood | 250-1 | UAE Derby (G2), MEY | ||
| Dragon | 250-1 | 50-1 | UAE Derby (G2), MEY | |
| *KDFW only | ||||
| f - filly | ||||
| g - gelding | ||||
| KDFW morning line | ||||
| Dropped | ||||
| Bestfriend Rocket | ||||
| Clever Again | ||||
| Cornucopian | ||||
| Disco Time | ||||
| Disruptor | ||||
| Enterdadragon (g) | ||||
| Forged Steel | ||||
| Gaming | ||||
| Gosger | ||||
| Jimmy’s Dailys | ||||
| Kale’s Angel | ||||
| Myriad Love | ||||
| Patch Adams | ||||
| Promised Gene (f) | ||||
| Smoken Wicked | ||||
| Speed King | ||||
| Studlydoright | ||||
| Tip Top Thomas |