Odds, Horses, And How To Watch

On Saturday, May 3, 2025, 20 elite three-year-old thoroughbreds will take to the long-lasting Churchill Downs observe in Louisville, Kentucky, for the 151st Kentucky Derby, and sure, it is nonetheless probably the most thrilling two minutes in sports activities.

This yr’s frontrunner? A smooth bay colt named Journalism, who’s already creating buzz with 3-1 odds after racking up a three-race win streak, together with an enormous victory on the 2025 San Felipe Stakes. Fans and bettors alike have dubbed him the “Derby darling,” and all eyes can be on him because the horses cost towards that coveted garland of roses.

Here is every thing it’s essential know forward of the 151st Kentucky Derby.

Location: Churchill Downs, Louisville, KY

Watch: Coverage begins on USA Network (12–2:30 p.m. ET) earlier than switching to NBC and Peacock for the principle occasion.

Whether you are tuning in for the high-stakes competitors or the outrageous Derby trend (hi there, outsized hats!), this yr’s occasion is shaping as much as be one for the books.

Here’s the complete area, in pole place order, with their present odds (as of 10:30 am EST) to win:

• Citizen Bull (20-1)
• Neoequos (30-1)
• Final Gambit (30-1)
• American Promise (30-1)
• Admire Daytona (30-1)
• Luxor Cafe (15-1)
• Journalism (3-1) Favorite
• Burnham Square (12-1)
• Flying Mohawk (30-1)
• East Avenue (20-1)
• Publisher (20-1)
• Tiztastic (20-1)
• Render Judgment (30-1)
• Coal Battle (30-1)
• Sandman (6-1)
• Sovereignty (5-1)
• Chunk of Gold (30-1)
• Owen Almighty (30-1)
• Baeza (12-1) — alternative entrant

“Nothing compares to the Kentucky Derby,” Aron Wellman, co-owner of the favourite, Journalism, informed The Press-Enterprise in April 2025. “To have a high-profile horse like Journalism, you try to find a balance between enjoying this very unique position that we’re in and having fun with it because we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world.”

It wouldn’t be the Derby with no little drama. Earlier this week, two horses had been scratched from the unique lineup.

Rodriguez, educated by Bob Baffert, was pulled because of a bone bruise. He’s been changed by Baeza, educated by John A. Shirreffs.

Grande, initially set to start out from publish No. 10, additionally withdrew for undisclosed causes.

It’s not nearly roses and bragging rights as a result of successful the Kentucky Derby additionally comes with an enormous payday.

The 151st Kentucky Derby purse is price a whopping $5 million, and in accordance with race officers, the winner will stroll away with $3.1 million of that pot. But it’s not simply first place that cashes in as second by means of fifth-place finishers can even take residence sizable checks of $1 million for second, $500,000 for third, $250,000 for fourth, and $150,000 for fifth.

And the jockeys? They don’t experience at no cost.

Jockeys are often paid a flat payment to race, however in the case of massive wins, they earn 5–10% of the prize cash. In 2024, successful jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. earned 10% of the highest prize, netting $310,000. The yr earlier than, Javier Castellano took residence $186,000 after driving Mage to victory in a smaller $3 million purse.

Trainers get their minimize, too. Like the jockeys, they sometimes obtain 10% of the winner’s share. That means in 2024, Mystik Dan’s coach Kenny McPeek additionally banked $310,000.

So when these 20 horses hit the observe on Saturday, they are not simply working for glory, they’re racing for thousands and thousands.