150th Kentucky Derby Betting Online
The 150th running of the Kentucky Derby is set for Saturday, May 4th, 2024 and the early favorite is Fierceness. The Todd Pletcher trained horse is coming off a dominating win in the Florida Derby, winning by 13.5 lengths. Other top contenders to win the Kentucky Derby include Sierra Leone, Dornoch and Forever Young. Sierra Leone and Dornoch were pointing to the Blue Grass Stakes for a Kentucky Derby prep, while Forever Young is coming off a dominating win in the UAE Derby. While the favorites will get a lot of attention in Kentucky Derby odds, it should be noted that the Kentucky Derby betting favorite has lost in each of the last five years. The last Derby favorite to win was Justify in 2018 and that horse went on to win the Triple Crown.
Post time for the 2024 Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 4 on NBC is 6:57 p.m. Eastern Time.
Horse Racing Betting Lines
2024 Kentucky Derby At a Glance
Date: Saturday, May 4, 2024
Location: Churchill Downs, Louisville, KY
Length: 1 1/4 miles ( 10 furlongs ), dirt track
Purse: $5 million
Kentucky Derby TV Coverage: NBC
2024 Kentucky Derby Betting Odds
| 2024 KENTUCKY DERBY ODDS TO WIN |
| Fierceness +385 |
Dornoch +825 |
Honor Marie +1815 |
| Timberlake +1615 |
Sierra Leone +725 |
Catching Freedom +1415 |
| Track Phantom +2250 |
Just Steel +3250 |
Deterministic +1415 |
| Mystik Dan +1525 |
Hades +5250 |
Forever Young +1015 |
| Just a Touch +3050 |
Endlessly +2750 |
West Saratoga +4050 |
| Domestic Product +2050 |
Catalytic +5050 |
No More Time +6050 |
| Grand Mo the First +7250 |
Common Defense +5250 |
T O Password +5250 |
*Odds as of Monday, April 1, 10:00 AM ET
The 2024 Kentucky Derby will take place on Saturday, May 4 at Churchill Downs and the early favorite to win the race is Fierceness who dominated the Florida Derby. Fierceness is trained by Todd Pletcher and will be a popular Kentucky Derby betting choice, but he can sometimes be inconsistent, as he finished seventh in the Champagne Stakes last October and he was third in the Holy Bull. Sierra Leone has been one of the top Kentucky Derby contenders over the last few months and a win in the Blue Grass Stakes would cement his status as a serious Derby threat. Dornoch is basically in the same spot as Sierra Leone, as a big run in the Blue Grass is needed. Forever Young is coming off the win in the UAE Derby, while Catching Freedom won the Louisiana Derby. Other contenders include Deterministic, Mystik Dan, Timberlake and Honor Marie.
Kentucky Derby Format
Typically, we see 20 horses qualify for the Derby with up to four alternates in case something happens. The qualification process is extensive with horses accumulating points over the course of their two- and three-year-old seasons. The horses with the most points earn a spot in the Kentucky Derby field as long as their connections choose to race them.
A maximum of 20 horses run in the Kentucky Derby each year, and for the most part, the slots are always filled. The horses that end up as the favorites to win the Kentucky Derby are the ones which win major Grade 1 races held in March and April. The only exception is the UAE Derby winner who almost always ends up being one of the longer shots on the board. To this day, no horse which won the UAE Derby has come anywhere near winning the Kentucky Derby.
Kentucky Derby Winners (2000)
| YEAR |
WINNER |
JOCKEY |
TRAINER |
TIME |
| 2023 |
Mage |
Javier Castellano |
Gustavo Delgado |
2:01:57 |
| 2022 |
Rich Strike |
Sonny Leon |
Eric Reed |
2:02.61 |
| 2021 |
Mandaloun |
Florent Geroux |
Brad Cox |
2:01.36 |
| 2020 |
Authentic |
John Velazquez |
Bob Baffert |
2:00.61 |
| 2019 |
Country House |
Flavien Prat |
Bill Mott |
2:03.93 |
| 2018 |
Justify |
Mike Smith |
Bob Baffert |
2:04.20 |
| 2017 |
Always Dreaming |
John Velazquez |
Todd Pletcher |
2:03.59 |
| 2016 |
Nyquist |
Mario Gutierrez |
Doug O'Neill |
2:01.31 |
| 2015 |
American Pharoah |
Victor Espinoza |
Bob Baffert |
2:03.02 |
| 2014 |
California Chrome |
Victor Espinoza |
Art Sherman |
2:03.66 |
| 2013 |
Orb |
Joel Rosario |
Shug McGaughey |
2:02.89 |
| 2012 |
I'll Have Another |
Mario Gutierrez |
Doug O'Neill |
2:01.83 |
| 2011 |
Animal Kingdom |
John Velazquez |
Graham Motion |
2:02.04 |
| 2010 |
Super Saver |
Calvin Borel |
Todd Pletcher |
2:04.45 |
| 2009 |
Mine That Bird |
Calvin Borel |
Bennie Woolley Jr. |
2:02.66 |
| 2008 |
Big Brown |
Kent Desormeaux |
Richard Dutrow |
2:01.82 |
| 2007 |
Street Sense |
Calvin Borel |
Carl Nafzger |
2:02.17 |
| 2006 |
Barbaro |
Edgar Prado |
Michael Matz |
2:01.36 |
| 2005 |
Giacomo |
Mike Smith |
John Shirreffs |
2:02.75 |
| 2004 |
Smarty Jones |
Stewart Elliott |
John Servis |
2:04.06 |
| 2003 |
Funny Cide |
Jose Santos |
Barclay Tagg |
2:01.19 |
| 2002 |
War Emblem |
Victor Espinoza |
Bob Baffert |
2:01.13 |
| 2001 |
Monarchos |
Jorge Chavez |
John Ward Jr. |
1:59.97 |
| 2000 |
Fusaichi Pegasus |
Kent Desormeaux |
Neil Drysdale |
2:01.00 |
It was another upset in the Kentucky Derby in 2023 with Mage winning at odds of 15-1. Longshots have done well recently in the Derby, with Rich Strike winning at big odds in 2022, Madaloun as a big longshot in 2021, Authentic in 2020 and Country House in 2019. The last favorite to win the Derby was Justify in 2018.
Fastest Times
| YEAR |
HORSE |
TIME |
| 1973 |
Secretariat |
1:59.40 |
| 2001 |
Monarchos |
1:59.97 |
| 1964 |
Northern Dancer |
2:00.00 |
| 1985 |
Spend A Buck |
2:00.20 |
| 1962 |
Decidedly |
2:00.40 |
Running the Kentucky Derby in anything less than 2:01 is considered blazing fast. Secretariat has held the track record for nearly 50 years, running the 1973 Kentucky Debry in 1:59.40, and he is one of two horses to finish the race in under two minutes.
Longest Odds To Win
| YEAR |
HORSE |
TIME |
| 1913 |
Donerail |
91.45 |
| 2022 |
Rich Strike |
80 |
| 2005 |
Giacomo |
50.30 |
| 2010 |
Super Saver |
50 |
| 1940 |
Gallahadion |
35.20 |
| 1999 |
Charismatic |
31.30 |
Donerail had the longest odds of any horse that went on to win the Kentucky Derby, but Rich Strike gave him a run for his money in 2022. No one gave Rich Strike a chance to win the Run for the Roses as jockey Sonny Leon had not even won a graded stakes race prior to last May’s triumph. Additionally, Rich Strike was a late entrant and only made the field after Ethereal Road was scratched the day before the race. He started from the 20th post but went on to run one of the greatest races in the history of horse racing, picking his way through 14 horses in the last half-mile to beat Epicenter by ¾ of a length to win the Kentucky Derby.
Most Jockey Wins
| JOCKEY |
WINS |
YEARS WON |
| Eddie Arcaro |
5 |
1938, 1941, 1945, 1948, 1952 |
| Bill Hartack |
5 |
1957, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1969 |
| Bill Shoemaker |
4 |
1955, 1959, 1965, 1986 |
| Angel Cordero Jr. |
3 |
1974, 1976, 1985 |
| Calvin Borel |
3 |
2007, 2009, 2010 |
| Earl Sande |
3 |
1923, 1925, 1930 |
| Gary Stevens |
3 |
1988, 1995, 1997 |
| Isaac Murphy |
3 |
1894, 1890, 1891 |
| Kent Desormeaux |
3 |
1998, 2000, 2008 |
| Victor Espinoza |
3 |
2002, 2014, 2015 |
| John Velazquez |
3 |
2011, 2017, 2020 |
It's becoming tougher and tougher for modern jockeys to have success in a race like this one, but there are a few who really stand out. Calvin Borel has made a living out of winning the Kentucky Derby with late-charging horses who love running on the rail. Victor Espinoza won consecutive Derbies in 2014 and 2015 with California Chrome and American Pharoah. John Velazquez won three Kentucky Derby titles from 2011 to 2020.
Most Trainer Wins
| TRAINER |
WINS |
YEARS WON |
| Ben Jones |
6 |
1938, 1941, 1944, 1948, 1949, 1952 |
| Bob Baffert |
6 |
1997, 1998, 2002, 2015, 2018, 2020 |
| D. Wayne Lukas |
4 |
1988, 1995, 1996, 1999 |
| Herbert Thompson |
4 |
1921, 1926, 1932, 1933 |
If you thought it was tough to try to figure out which jockey was going to win the Kentucky Derby year in and year out, trying to pick the trainer is even harder. Of this list of four men who have won the Run for the Roses at least four times, only one is relatively modern in Bob Baffert. He has trained three recent winners with American Pharoah in 2015, Justify in 2018, and Authentic in 2020.
When Doug O'Neill won the race with Nyquist in 2016 that ended a stretch of 13 consecutive years in which a different trainer won the Kentucky Derby. O'Neill also trained I'll Have Another in 2012.
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