Indianapolis 500 Odds, Best Bets & Picks for the 110th Running

• The 110th Indianapolis 500 goes green Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
• Our Indy 500 betting card includes matchup plays, pit-road edges, projected finish advantages, and at least one driver who treats consequences as optional equipment.
• Read below for Indianapolis 500 odds, best bets and picks for the 110th running.

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The 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 is upon us, and honestly, there are few sporting events on earth that feel more alive than this one. We’re talking about tiny jet-powered lunatic machines ripping around a 2.5-mile rectangular oval at 230-plus MPH, while 350,000 people collectively forget how breathing works every time somebody dives into Turn 1 three-wide.

And yes, “rectangular oval” sounds like something invented by a geometry teacher after three bourbons, but Indianapolis somehow makes it work.

Defending Indianapolis 500 winner Alex Palou will lead the field to green from the pole position, and the Spaniard is rapidly turning the IndyCar Series into his personal property. Palou has won four consecutive championships, five of the last six overall, and now, somehow, the guy has become an absolute weapon on oval tracks too. Which feels deeply unfair to the remaining 32 drivers.

The speedway itself is relatively flat by oval-racing standards, featuring just 9-12 degrees of banking, which means these drivers spend 500 miles balancing bravery, tire wear, dirty air, incoming weather cells, and the overwhelming urge not to become an airborne YouTube clip.

Because yes, rain is looming over this year’s event, which at Indianapolis basically turns strategy meetings into hostage negotiations. Suddenly, fuel windows change, pit cycles get weird, crew chiefs begin staring at clouds like 1880s farmers, and every bettor alive starts refreshing weather apps with the intensity of a day trader during a market crash.

We’ll get roughly eight pit cycles, countless strategy shakeups, and at least several moments where your sportsbook app mysteriously becomes too stressful to look at. Somewhere amid the chaos, one driver will survive the madness and kiss the yard of bricks while covered in milk in one of the strangest and greatest traditions in American sports.

I realize some of you are new here, so let’s stop dilly-dallying and get to the betting card.

Indianapolis 500 Odds

Odds available at DraftKings as of May 21. Alex Palou is the Indianapolis 500 favorite at +250, implying a 28.6% chance to win the race. Shop the best betting sites for the top Indy 500 odds.

Indianapolis 500 Best Bets & Picks

Christian Rasmussen over Helio Castroneves (-110, DraftKings)

Is a first-time #Indy500 winner in the cards? 🃏 pic.twitter.com/xQu5HfQyTS

— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 20, 2026

Christian Rasmussen drives like the throttle pedal insulted his family. It’s spectacular television. It’s mildly horrifying from a betting perspective. It’s also probably responsible for at least 40% of my current hair loss. Nevertheless, we’re backing the young Dane over the wily veteran, Helio Castroneves.

Rasmussen quietly became one of the most dangerous oval racers in the IndyCar paddock over the second half of last season. In last year’s Indianapolis 500, he led eight laps before bringing the car home sixth. A few weeks later at Gateway, he led another lap and finished third. Then, at Milwaukee, Rasmussen finally put the entire package together, leading 16 laps on his way to victory.

And honestly, he probably should already have another oval win on the resume this season.

At Phoenix earlier this year, Rasmussen led 69 laps and looked like the fastest car on the property before late contact with Will Power turned a near-certain win into heartbreak. Which, admittedly, is also a fairly authentic IndyCar experience.

Meanwhile, Castroneves is now 51 years old and making just his fifth IndyCar start since the beginning of the 2024 season. Sure, he’s a four-time Indianapolis 500 champion, and yes, there’s probably still some magic left in the old man. But nostalgia has a nasty habit of inflating betting prices.

Our model projects Rasmussen to finish 3.1 positions ahead of Castroneves on average, and with Helio rolling off 14th and Rasmussen directly alongside him in 15th, there’s no meaningful track-position disadvantage to overcome.

Castroneves is the name casual bettors recognize. Rasmussen is the driver we’re trusting to cash the ticket.

Scott Dixon over Santino Ferrucci (+125, theScore Bet)

Scott Dixon starts 10th while Ferrucci rolls from fifth, but we’re still backing The Iceman at a plus-money number.

Even drivers know: This is no ordinary Sunday. pic.twitter.com/iGwBLJOj7I

— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 20, 2026

Dixon can beat you in just about every conceivable way at Indianapolis. If this race turns into a fuel-mileage contest, there’s nobody better on the planet. At this point, I’m fairly convinced the No. 9 car is secretly a Prius wearing an IndyCar body kit. Somehow, Dixon is able to save more fuel than everyone else while still maintaining race-winning pace.

And if the race doesn’t become a strategy game, well, that’s fine too. Dixon can still beat the field on outright speed.

The six-time series champion won the Indianapolis 500 back in 2008, which was also the year I graduated college. I’m old now. Scott Dixon, meanwhile, appears to be immortal. The guy picked up his 59th career victory last season and still finished third in the championship standings.

Now, to be fair, Ferrucci is legitimately good at Indianapolis. He’s aggressive, fearless, and honestly kind of a maniac in traffic, which makes him both dangerous and extremely entertaining to bet on.

But over 500 miles, we trust Dixon’s consistency, versatility, and overall team strength significantly more.

There’s also a massive edge on pit road. Dixon’s crew grades out more than two standard deviations better than Ferrucci’s in our pit-stop model, and over roughly eight pit cycles, that advantage matters. A lot.

At some point Sunday, there’s a decent chance Ferrucci loses half the state of Indiana during a pit sequence and completely disappears from the broadcast for 40 laps.

Our model projects Dixon to finish 2.2 positions ahead of Ferrucci on average, meaning if we were hanging the number ourselves, Dixon would actually be favored here.

Instead, we’re getting plus money on one of the greatest Indianapolis 500 drivers of all time. We’ll gladly take that deal.