Kentucky Derby Odds 2022: Track Favorites to Win at Churchill Downs

• Track the average odds to win the Kentucky Derby for the most talked-about horses competing at this year’s Derby
• Only in the Derby after Ethereal Road was scratched, Rich Strike becomes the second-longest shot to win the Kentucky Derby at 80-1 odds
• Looking for current Kentucky Derby odds?

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The 148th running of the Kentucky Derby is scheduled to take place at historic Churchill Downs in Louisville on Saturday, May 7, 2022. We’re tracking the current Kentucky Derby odds for every fleet-footed thoroughbred since they became available. The main graph on this page has been generated by calculating the average from many of the most trusted horse racing sites.

2022 Kentucky Derby Odds

Odds as of May 7 at TVG

Kentucky Derby 2022 Favorites to Win

• [5/7/22] It’s race day and Epicenter and Taiba are the current 5-1 favorites
• [5/6/22] With Ethereal Road being scratched, Rich Strike enters the Derby as one of the biggest longshots
• [5/2/22] After Monday’s post position draw, the odds have both Epicenter and Zandon listed at +450 favorites
• [4/11/22] Taiba has stormed into the Kentucky Derby favorites conversation after winning the Santa Anita Derby. The win has propelled Taiba all the way to 8-1 odds to win the Run for the Roses
• [4/5/22] After winning the Florida Derby, White Abarrio is now the fourth favorite to win the Kentucky Derby at +1000 odds
• [3/30/22] After his win in the Louisiana Derby last weekend, Epicenter is now the Derby favorite at 8-1 odds
• [3/2/22] Messier’s odds were +2500 in December, but he’s now co-favored at +1200 odds with Corniche and Epicenter
• [12/14/21] The early two favorites, Corniche and Jack Christopher are listed as +1400 co-favorites

Kentucky Derby Past Winners: Recent 11 to Know About

With a winning time of 2:01.02, Medina Spirit won the 2021 Kentucky Derby. It was back-to-back wins at the Derby for both J.R. Velazquez (jockey) and Bob Baffert (trainer). Sadly, Medina Spirit passed away in December from a reported heart attack, however, no official cause of death was found. The horse also tested positive for a banned drug and as a result, was stripped of the win. Therefore, elevating the second-place finisher, Mandaloun into first place.

Mandaloun finished with a time of 2:01.02. He was trained by Brad H Cox and ridden by Florent Geroux.

Baffert, who was already suspended from Churchill Downs for two years, was given an additional 90-day suspension.

Both Medina Spirit and Mandaloun were 15-1 odds to win the 2021 Kentucky Derby. The top three favorites to win the Kentucky Derby were Essential Quality (+200), Rock Your World (+500) and Known Agenda (+600).

2020 Winner Authentic was the Run for the Roses at 9-1 odds, the third favorite.

#Epicenter just too good for 'em all in the https://t.co/EynbFaLDcD Louisiana Derby from @fairgroundsnola, breaking the track record with Joel Rosario up for Steve Asmussen.

Watch the #TwinSpiresReplay 🎥 pic.twitter.com/LU0oR4krQb

— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) March 26, 2022

Most Successful Kentucky Derby Trainers

For a moment Bob Baffert was the winningest trainer of all time with seven wins. But after being stripped of the 2021 Kentucky Derby win, he still has six Derby wins. That leaves him level with Ben A Jones who won his sixth back in 1952 with Hill Gail.

Baffert’s suspension in 2022 will mean that he will be unable to add to that total this year in May. No horse running in the 2022 Kentucky Derby can be trained by Baffert. He has moved four of his horses to other trainers this year so they can earn Kentucky Derby qualifying points.

Baffert’s suspension came on the heels of four failed drug tests from his horses over the past year. On April 1, the Kentucky Court of Appeals denied his appeal of the suspension.

Jockeys with the Most Kentucky Derby Wins

Eddie Arcaro and Bill Hartack each lead the way for all-time jockey wins with five each.

Following them is Bill Shoemaker who was four wins, last winning in 1986 with Ferdinand.

John Velazquez is right up there in the conversation for best all-time as well. For a moment he too had four wins, however, lost one when Medina Spirit was disqualified. His last win came in 2020 while riding Authentic. He also won riding Always Dreaming in 2017.

Instead, Florent Geroux, riding Mandaloun claimed his first jockey win at the Kentucky Derby.

How to Place Bets on Kentucky Derby?

There are many ways to bet on the Kentucky Derby. From picking a winner to picking the top two or three to a whole host of exotic bets. Here is a breakdown of some of the most popular.

Futures Wagers

Futures wagers in horse racing can be done much like futures bets in any other sport. Get the best odds to win the Kentucky Derby by using your sportsbook of choice to place your bet. You can bet on the Kentucky Derby all throughout the year leading up to the race in May. Odds will fluctuate greatly throughout the year as horses begin to gain Kentucky Derby qualifying points.

Win, Place, Show

There are three main types of bets you can make in the 2022 Kentucky Derby. When you look at who is supposed to win the Kentucky Derby, you’ll probably land on a few of the top contenders. But it may be hard to pick who finishes the race in first place.

Therefore, you have some choices. You can bet on a horse to win (first place), to place (come first or second) or to show (come first, second or third).

You will obviously get better odds for just picking the outright winner. You’ll get shorter odds for making a place or show bet, but you’ll also have a greater chance of winning.

Exacta Bet

When placing an Exacta bet, you are not only betting on who will come first, but also who will come second. You’ll usually get some great long odds on predicting this outcome because you need two outcomes to be correct. You will need your horses to come in the exact order you choose in first and second to win. You can also bet an Exacta Box, for shorter odds, but for your two horses to come in any order in the top two.

Trifecta Bet

The Trifecta bet is much like the Exacta, however, you are instead picking which horses will come in first, second and third and in that exact order. You’ll get great odds for making this prediction correctly as it’s extremely hard to do. Similarily to the Exacta Box, you can bet a Trifecta Box, where your three horses can come in any order in the top three for shorter odds.

When is the 2022 Kentucky Derby?

The 2022 Kentucky Derby is on Saturday, May 7, 2022.

Who is the Favorite to Win the 2022 Kentucky Derby?

Currently, the top favorite is Epicenter at 7-1 odds.

How Much Does the Kentucky Derby Trainer Win?

The winning Kentucky Derby trainer will receive $1.86 million of the total $3 million prize purse.

How Much Money Does the Jockey Win at the Kentucky Derby?

The winning Kentucky Derby jockey gets 10% of the winning prize. Trainers get $1.86 million, therefore, the winning jockey receives $186,000.

 

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Archived Kentucky Derby Odds: 2021, 2020, 2019

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