2025 Kentucky Derby horses, odds, futures, date, preview: Expert who hit 11 Derby-Oaks Doubles shares picks​on May 1, 2025 at 3:20 pm

Betting on the Kentucky Derby favorite has been a losing proposition the last six years, but six favorites in a row won at Churchill Downs from 2013 to 2018. Journalism is the 3-1 favorite in the 2025 Kentucky Derby odds following his impressive win in the Santa Anita Derby. Trainer Michael McCarthy and jockey Umberto Rispoli are both seeking their first Kentucky Derby victory. Should you include Journalism in your 2025 Kentucky Derby bets for Saturday’s race at Churchill Downs? Post time is 6:57 p.m. ET. Journalism will have to stave off several talented 2025 Kentucky Derby contenders if he wants to win the first leg of the Triple Crown, including Sovereignty (5-1) and Sandman (6-1).

Sovereignty is coming off a second-place finish in the Florida Derby, while Sandman was victorious in the Arkansas Derby. There are a total of twenty 2025 Kentucky Derby horses. Before making any 2025 Kentucky Derby picks, be sure to see the horse racing predictions and futures bets from SportsLine’s elite horse racing expert Jody Demling. 

A fixture in the horse racing world who has been writing about, talking about and betting on races for years, Demling has nailed the Kentucky Oaks-Derby double 11 times in the last 16 years. He also predicted the winner of the Belmont Stakes four of the last seven years and called 10 of the last 20 Preakness winners, including in 2023, when he hit the winner, exacta, trifecta and superfecta, as well as the trifecta in 2024. Anyone who has followed him on those picks on betting sites like FanDuel Racing, TwinSpires and 1/ST BET is up huge.

Now, with the 2025 Kentucky Derby post positions set and odds on the board, Demling is sharing his 2025 Kentucky Derby betting picks and 2025 Kentucky Derby predictions over at SportsLine. Go here to see them.

Top 2025 Kentucky Derby predictions

One of Demling’s surprising 2025 Kentucky Derby picks: He is fading Rodriguez (12-1), who barely cracks the top 10 finishers in his 2025 Kentucky Derby projections. Rodriguez will generate plenty of publicity and betting interest since he’s trainer Bob Baffert’s best shot this year at winning a record seventh Kentucky Derby.

Rodriguez proved himself as a legitimate contender with an emphatic 3 1/2-length victory in the nine-furlong Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. However, Rodriguez finished a distant third behind Journalism in the San Felipe Stakes and it will be even more difficult for him to beat a 20-horse 2025 Kentucky Derby field. Rodriguez will be ridden by two-time Derby winner Mike Smith, but it has been 20 years since Smith’s first win, and his other one came with Justify, who went on to win the Triple Crown in 2018. See which other 2025 Kentucky Derby horses to avoid at SportsLine.

Another stunner: Demling is high on Luxor Cafe, even though he is a 15-1 longshot in the Kentucky Derby odds 2025.Luxor Cafe arrived at Churchill Downs on April 23, giving him plenty of time to acclimate to his surroundings.

Luxor Cafe is the 3-year-old son of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, so he has the pedigree needed to compete at Churchill Downs. Luxor Cafe is trained by Hori Noriyuki and is coming off a comfortable victory in his last race. He won by five lengths in the concluding leg of the designated series in Japan, the Fukuryu Stakes at Nakayama on March 29. He’s won each of his last four starts, making him a valuable longshot wager to include in Kentucky Derby bets. See which other horses to back at SportsLine.

How to make 2025 Kentucky Derby picks, bets

Demling is especially high on a colossal double-digit longshot who is “generating buzz on the backside.” Demling is sharing which horse it is, along with his entire projected 2025 Kentucky Derby leaderboard, over at SportsLine.

Which horse wins the Kentucky Derby 2025, and which huge double-digit longshot is a must-back? Check out the latest 2025 Kentucky Derby odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Demling’s picks for the Kentucky Derby, all from the expert who has nailed 11 Derby-Oaks doubles.

2025 Kentucky Derby odds, post positions