2025 Kentucky Derby Betting Picks and Morning Line Odds

The morning line odds and post positions have been released for the 2025 Kentucky Derby. It’s time to really dive into the research and figure out which bet(s) I like for Saturday.

The first thing you notice when looking at the odds is that Journalism (3-1), Sovereignty (5-1) and Sandman (6-1) are the three favourites, and then the odds lengthen to 12-1 for the next contenders (Rodriguez, Burnham Square, and Baeza). It would be a surprise if one of the three favourites didn’t win on Saturday.

The Derby is so exciting and fun to handicap because there isn’t a huge amount of information on the three-year-old horses. They have often only ran a few races each, and the Kentucky Derby will be the first time most horses in the field have competed with each other.

2025 Kentucky Derby Morning Line Odds

Below are the official morning line odds (and post positions) for the 2025 Kentucky Derby.

The morning line is the odds that each horse will begin the day at when betting opens in the Racebook.  The odds will change throughout the day depending on the amount of money that is wagered on each horse.  The amount of money bet on each horse relative to the entire amount bet on the race winner will determine each horses final odds.  Check out our parimutuel betting system page for a further breakdown of this form of betting, which is the norm in horse racing.

1. Citizen Bull 20-1
2. Neoeguos 30-1
3. Final Gambit 30-1
4. Rodriguez 12-1
5. American Promise 30-1
6. Admire Daytona 30-1
7. Luxor Cafe 15-1
8. Journalism 3-1
9. Burnham Square 12-1
10. Grande 20-1
11. Flying Mohawk 30-1
12. East Avenue 20-1
13. Publisher 30-1
14. Tiztastic 20-1
15. Render Judgment 30-1
16. Coal Battle 30-1
17. Sandman 6-1
18. Sovereignty 5-1
19. Chunk of Gold 30-1
20. Owen Almighty 30-1
21. Baeza 12-1

There are 20 horses taking part in the race and, as you can see 14 of those horses have morning line odds of 20-1 or longer. Journalism (3-1), Sovereignty (5-1), and Sandman (6-1) are the three favorites, while Rodriguez (12-1), Burnham Square (12-1), and Baeza (12-1) (who is the first alternate) are considered the other top contenders leading into the race.

The Kentucky Derby futures odds, which are fixed odds, are already a little bit different than these morning line odds, so I would expect to see these odds change slightly on race day.

My Kentucky Derby Pick

I like the odds for Journalism at 3-1. I think he’s the fastest horse in the field. He won the Santa Anita Derby with plenty left in the tank, catching Baeza down the stretch. He has won four straight races including races with fellow contenders in his most recent outings. This horse is a winner, and I expect him to find a way to get it done on Saturday.

Journalism 3-1

Below you can see Journalism winning the Santa Anita Derby down the stretch last month.

I suggest that you check out our horse race betting section to learn about the different bets you can make on the Derby, as well as some of the different racing terms you should know when placing your horse racing bets.