There is no bigger or more lucrative race than the signature race at Churchill Downs: the $5 million Kentucky Derby, which happens Saturday, May 4! The race has been Churchill Downs’ showpiece since 1875, and it celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2024. 20 of the best sophomores will show off their speed and stamina at this testing 1 ¼-mile distance, fighting for the purse, the blanket of roses, and a place in history.
Anyone who likes to wager, be it casually or professionally, cannot miss betting on the Kentucky Derby. The race features the biggest field in American racing, and both straight and exotic wagers pay huge amounts year in and year out. Keep reading to find out the best places to bet the Kentucky Derby online in the bluegrass state, and to get expert insight on all of the major contenders!
Even if you’re in Kentucky, you cannot always make it to Churchill Downs for its signature race. However, you can be a part of the action by betting the race online! Online horse betting sites will give you the best wagering experience for the Kentucky Derby, as well as bonuses and fixed odds that you will never find on track.
There are many options for betting online, but our reviews will help you find the best choice quickly and easily. All of our recommended sites have the basics: market-leading odds, great user interfaces, and trusted payouts. They also feature excellent racebook bonuses like sign-up and deposit bonuses, referral benefits, and horse racing rebates that pay you just for making bets!
Take a few minutes now, get to know these top Kentucky racebooks, and get ready to build your bankroll faster than ever!
Kentucky Derby Contenders
The official field for the 2024 Kentucky Derby with post positions, jockeys and trainers, and morning lines is:
Epic Ride and Mugatu will only draw in, in that order of priority, if horses scratch from the main field before 9:00 a.m. Friday morning, when Kentucky Derby betting begins.
Keep in mind that the morning line is just a guide. It can be helpful for sorting out which horses are expected to be bet heavily or not, but you are not guaranteed those prices by betting on track. Your best bet in the Kentucky Derby is to bet at an online racebook, since they offer fixed-odds wagering on major horse races like the Run for the Roses. Then you know exactly what you’ll get when your horse wins!
 |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fierceness | +250 | +275 | +250 |
| Sierra Leone | +400 | +330 | +300 |
| Forever Young | +850 | +1000 | +1000 |
| Just a Touch | +1100 | +1200 | +1000 |
| Honor Marie | +1600 | +2000 | +2000 |
| Encino | +1600 | +2200 | +2000 |
| Stronghold | +2000 | +2000 | +2000 |
Honor Marie is the best bet for the 2024 Kentucky Derby. A closer, he should get the right run of the race: speedy Dornoch drew the fence, Track Phantom adds blinkers, and Fierceness will be right up outside of them forcing the issue. He moved forward when second in the Louisiana Derby (G2), his second start of the year, and now he’s third off the lay: exactly when he found his best last year.
Honor Marie is also proven at Churchill Downs: he won the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) there last year. A strong recent work suggests that he still feels at home there. Add to this an excellent post draw and an appealing stamina pedigree, and you get a lot for what should reasonably be odds of between 12-1 and 15-1.
The two horses near the top of the Kentucky Derby market who merit that attention include Sierra Leone and Catching Freedom. Both of them, like Honor Marie, will get the right pace setup.
Sierra Leone drew a challenging gate, but it has less potential to go badly for a closer than a speed horse, and his rally to win the Blue Grass (G1) showed true tenacity and stamina. Catching Freedom drew a little better, he comes off a victory in the Louisiana Derby over top choice Honor Marie, and his jockey Flavien Prat perennially runs well in the Run for the Roses.
The short-priced horses to dismiss include Fierceness and Forever Young. Fierceness is talented, but if everything doesn’t go his way he tends to come up empty. In a 20-horse field, a horse so fickle is an underlay as the likely favorite. Forever Young may be the most talented Japan-based horse in the Derby yet, but no horse from the UAE Derby (G2) has run better than fifth in the Kentucky Derby so he has a massive class question to answer.
Encino has class to prove in the Kentucky Derby after wins in the John Battaglia Memorial at Turfway and the Lexington (G3) at Keeneland, but he is going the right way and in his last start he proved he could run on dirt. No wonder there, as his whole pedigree is Triple Crown types: he is by Derby winner Nyquist out of a half-sister to Derby winner Street Sense, and that mare is by Bernardini. He also drew well and can win from a forward or midpack spot.
Just Steel would be a surprise on the win end, but a place on the board would be no shock at all. He ran second in three of the four points preps at Oaklawn. He is tactical enough to stay out of the fight on the lead but get the jump on the closers, and has the stamina in his pedigree to suggest he can keep boxing on to find a place in the exotics.
You have your betting account ready and you have gotten to know the top contenders in the field. Now, you’re ready for the most fun part of all: making your wagers! The best bets for the 2024 Kentucky Derby are:
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Kentucky Derby 2024: Honor Marie can flourish at Churchill Downs
03 May 2024...
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