Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert is back. After serving a three-year suspension from Churchill Downs, he will have two horses competing in the 2025 Kentucky Derby on Saturday, including Rodriguez, who is 12-1 in the 2025 Kentucky Derby odds after winning the Wood Memorial. His other horse is Citizen Bull, who is 20-1 among the 2025 Kentucky Derby horses. Baffert received his suspension after 2021 winner Medina Spirit tested positive for a medication that is not allowed on race day. Among the 2025 Kentucky Derby favorites are Journalism at 3-1, Sovereignty at 5-1 and Sandman at 6-1.
Which 2025 Kentucky Derby contenders should you back with your 2025 Kentucky Derby bets? Before making any 2025 Kentucky Derby picks, be sure to see the horse racing predictions and 2025 Kentucky Derby futures bets from SportsLine’s elite horse racing expert Jody Demling, considering his domination of this race.
A fixture in the horse racing world who has been writing about, talking about and betting on races for years, Demling has nailed the Kentucky Oaks-Derby double 11 times in the last 16 years. He also predicted the winner of the Belmont Stakes four of the last seven years and called 10 of the last 20 Preakness winners, including in 2023, when he hit the winner, exacta, trifecta and superfecta, as well as the trifecta in 2024. Anyone who has followed him on those picks on sites like FanDuel Racing, TwinSpires and 1/ST BET is up huge.
Now, with the 2025 Kentucky Derby post positions set and odds on the board, Demling is sharing his 2025 Kentucky Derby betting picks and 2025 Kentucky Derby predictions over at SportsLine. Go here to see them.
Top 2025 Kentucky Derby predictions, expert analysis
One surprise: Demling is fading Rodriguez (12-1), who barely cracks the top 10 finishers in his 2025 Kentucky Derby projections. Rodriguez has a pair of career wins, most notably taking the Wood Memorial, a key prep race, in April. He held off fellow Kentucky Derby horse Grande to win that race at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York.
His Wood Memorial win is getting most of the attention, but he also had a bit of a concerning third-place run at the San Felipe Stakes and a runner-up finish at the Robert B. Lewis Stakes against a mediocre field. Demling has found nine other horses he likes better, including several with significantly longer odds, so Rodriguez is one of the 2025 Kentucky Derby horses to fade. See which other 2025 Kentucky Derby horses to avoid at SportsLine.
Demling just revealed in his 2025 Kentucky Derby prediction for Sandman, who is third in the Kentucky Derby odds 2025 at 6-1. He has been on a roll this year, including a win in the Arkansas Derby on March 29. In that race, he powered past Publisher and Coal Battle, who are also in the 2025 Kentucky Derby field. Sandman was third at the Rebel Stakes in February, and was second in the Southwest Stakes on January 25.
In eight races since beginning his career last June, Sandman has not finished lower than fifth and has registered three wins. He has finished second once and third twice. He is considered a deep closer. Despite deep closers struggling at the Kentucky Derby in the past, Sandman showed his mettle and elite ceiling at last month’s Arkansas Derby.
Demling has also locked in his 2025 Kentucky Derby picks for Journalism, the 3-1 favorite. Journalism has known nothing but success. In five career races, he has finished first four times and third once. He is coming off a win in the 1 1/8-mile Santa Anita Derby, which bodes well for Saturday. Ten previous winners at the Santa Anita Derby have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby.
Journalism also won the 2025 San Felipe Stakes on March 1, finishing ahead of Rodriguez, who took third and is also in the 2025 Kentucky Derby field. He also won the 2024 Los Alamitos Futurity in December. The 3-year-old has a solid pedigree. He was sired by Curlin, the 2007 Preakness Stakes winner. See which other horses to back at SportsLine.
How to make 2025 Kentucky Derby picks, bets
Demling is especially high on a huge double-digit longshot who is “generating buzz on the backside.” Demling is sharing which horse it is, along with his entire projected 2025 Kentucky Derby leaderboard, over at SportsLine.
Which horse wins the Kentucky Derby 2025, and which huge double-digit longshot is a must-back? Check out the latest 2025 Kentucky Derby odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Demling’s picks for the Kentucky Derby, all from the expert who has nailed 11 Derby-Oaks doubles.
2025 Kentucky Derby odds, post positions
This news was originally published on this post .
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