Kentucky Derby Odds 2023: 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
• Arabian Knight starts 2023 as the early Derby favorite
• View which trainers and jockeys have had the most success at Churchill Downs

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The 149th running of the Kentucky Derby is scheduled to take place at historic Churchill Downs in Louisville on Saturday, May 6, 2023. 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.

2023 Kentucky Derby Odds

Odds as of December 29 

Kentucky Derby 2023 Favorites to Win

• [12/29/22] With 2023 prep races about to get underway, Arabian Knight, Forte and Cave Rock are the early Kentucky Derby favorites

Kentucky Derby Past Winners: Recent 12 to Know About

The 2022 Kentucky Derby was one for the ages as 80-1 longshot Rich Strike took home the title. Rich Strike was not even scheduled to race until a scratch and was a late addition. He started the race poorly as well, way out of the lead, not making his push til late on. Listen to the click below and you won’t even hear Rich Strike mentioned during the final furlong until he crosses the finish line in dramatic fashion.

“A stunning, unbelieeeevable upset!”@larrycollmus calls the number 2 moment on our 2022 Top 10 countdown: Rich Strike’s Kentucky Derby victory. pic.twitter.com/tKwcdYfVHm

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) December 30, 2022

Rich Strike’s winning time of 2:02.61 was slower than the previous two year’s winners but was still the third-fastest time in the last five years.

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 was suspended in 2022 and therefore could not add to his wins last year. In 2022, it was Eric Reed who claimed his first Derby win as a trainer with Rich Strike.

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 in 2021. Instead, Florent Geroux, riding Mandaloun claimed his first jockey win at the Kentucky Derby.

It was another first-time winner in 2022 with Sonny Leon riding Rich Strike to the win, also claiming his first win as a jockey.

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: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019

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