The 2025 Kentucky Derby will take place on Saturday, May 3, at Churchill Downs, and the Road to the Kentucky Derby is well underway. The top 18 point-earners will earn a spot in the 2025 Kentucky Derby field, and one invitation will be extended to the top point earners in both Europe and Japan. Mystik Dan won the Kentucky Derby last year in a dramatic three-horse photo finish, despite closing as an 18-1 longshot on the horse racing odds board. Journalism is the 5-1 favorite in the 2025 Kentucky Derby odds, followed by Sovereignty (7-1) and Citizen Bull (9-1). Which 2025 Kentucky Derby horses should you include in your 2025 Kentucky Derby bets? Before making any 2025 Kentucky Derby picks, be sure to see the horse racing predictions and futures bets from SportsLine’s elite horse racing expert Jody Demling.
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 is up huge.
Now, with the 2025 Kentucky Derby futures already on the board, Demling is sharing his picks and 2025 Kentucky Derby predictions over at SportsLine. Go here to see them.
Top 2025 Kentucky Derby predictions
One of Demling’s surprising 2025 Kentucky Derby picks: He is fading Final Gambit, even though he is one of the top favorites and just won the Jeff Ruby Stakes. Trainer Brad Cox won the Kentucky Derby with Mandaloun in 2021, but hasn’t actually had a horse cross the finish line first in the Run for the Roses. That victory was awarded months after the fact when Medina Spirit’s win was officially stripped after an investigation into a failed drug test.
Final Gambit has proven closing speed, going from last-to-first to win in each of his last two starts. However, while a closer can be alluring, it’s often a tall task to work from the back of the pack against large and talented fields like what we’ll see at the Kentucky Derby. In his win at the Jeff Ruby Stakes, Final Gambit seemed to benefit from a bizarre race, as the speed at the front hit the brakes late to allow the son of Not This Time out of Tapit mare Pachinko to surge late for the win. He’ll face more durable speed at Churchill Downs and Demling is predicting he gets stuck in the back. See which other 2025 Kentucky Derby horses to avoid at SportsLine.
Another stunner: Demling is high on Coal Battle, even though he is a 14-1 longshot in the latest Kentucky Derby odds 2025. Owner Robbie Norman, trainer Lonnie Briley and jockey Juan Vargas have already got more than they bargained for with their 3-year-old colt, who has clinched a spot in the Kentucky Derby after winning the Rebel Stakes last month.
Coal Battle has surpassed $1 million in career earnings and has a chance to secure his first Grade 1 victory in the Arkansas Derby. He has shown an ability to win in various ways, taking command early in his Smarty Jones Stakes victory before rallying from the back in the Rebel Stakes. Demling likes the versatility that Coal Battle brings to the table, especially at his current price. See which other horses to back at SportsLine.
How to make 2025 Kentucky Derby picks, bets
Demling is especially high on an epic double-digit longshot who “could be a superstar.” 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 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, futures
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