If you like betting top horse races, there is no more exciting race to bet than the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 4 at Churchill Downs! With 20 of the best sophomores in the country going a testing 1 ¼ miles on the main track, it is a challenge for horse and handicapper alike.
The spoils are rich for the horses: a newly increased $5 million purse, the blanket of roses, and a place in horse racing history. The spoils are rich for bettors as well: with such a huge field, long shots virtually always make it into the exotics, meaning you can have a huge payday if you solve the handicapping puzzle.
Read on to find out the best horses to play in the 2024 Kentucky Derby, and the best places for Kentucky Derby online betting in California.
As great as it is to be at the track on Derby day, we can’t all make it out from California. Fortunately, you can be part of the action from anywhere by betting online! Even if you are new to wagering on your computer or phone, our online racebook reviews will take the guesswork out of getting started. They show you the best places for California horseplayers to bet the Kentucky Derby online from anywhere with an internet connection!
Every site we recommend has the basics: market-leading odds, trusted payouts, and great user interfaces. The reviews also show the best racebook bonuses, and give you the information you need to choose which one is best for how you like to play.
Supercharge your bankroll in just a few minutes by reading our reviews and finding the best rebates, deposit incentives, and sign-up bonuses. It can mean hundreds or even thousands of dollars in returns, so you won’t regret it!
This is the official field for the 2024 Kentucky Derby including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds:
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.
The morning-line odds released by the track can help you figure out which horses are expected to be favorites or long shots. However, they are not a guaranteed price. On track, the price is not final until the gates spring open and betting ends. However, you can lock in the best price on the Kentucky Derby by playing online, since online racebooks offer fixed-odds betting on major races!
These are the odds at the top of the Kentucky Derby market at the best California racebooks:
Now that you have signed up for the best betting site for you, let’s get to know the top 2024 Kentucky Derby contenders:
The best bet in the Kentucky Derby is Honor Marie. At what will certainly be double-digit odds, he is replete with upside. He comes off a second-place run in the Louisiana Derby (G2), a marked improvement over his Risen Star effort and something that sets him up well for third off the lay -- the same point in his form cycle at which he won the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) at Churchill Downs last year.
As a late runner, he also gets the right run of the race, with a fast pace likely -- and yet, he has closed successfully into more modest fractions. With good local form, a strong local work leading into the race, a nice middle draw, and an excellent stamina pedigree, signs are good that Honor Marie can be the breakout star of the Kentucky Derby.
Among the favorites, there are two who may well be the goods: Sierra Leone and Catching Freedom.
Sierra Leone impressed in the Blue Grass (G1), where he made a strongly sustained run to take top honors. Both of his races this year have been impressive, and though the 2 gate could be a challenge, it hurts a closer less than if he were a speed horse. Catching Freedom stands to get an even better setup than he did in the Louisiana Derby (G1) that he won, and his jockey Flavien Prat has hit the board five of the six times he has ridden in the Run for the Roses.
There are also two favorites to take a stand against. Fierceness will be part of the hot pace -- and though he drew outside the others (unless Epic Ride gets in), he has faltered from a similarly good post in a much easier race, the Holy Bull (G3). Forever Young has won all five starts, but has not faced this class of company and comes out of the UAE Derby (G2), a prep that has never produced a runner who hit the board, much less won the Derby.
Encino is the real up-and-comer. Though the John Battaglia and the Lexington (G3) are off the beaten path, he won both with completely different running styles. He was game to deny The Wine Steward in the Lexington, his dirt debut. And, his pedigree is all Triple Crown stamina: he is by 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist out of a half-sister to 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense, who is herself by 2006 Preakness winner Bernardini.
Just Steel has been a consistent underneath type: he is only two for 11 lifetime on the win end, but his money finishes include seconds in three of the four points preps at Oaklawn. He is tactical enough to stay out of the battle on the front end, and has the stamina pedigree to keep boxing on and snag another piece of the exotics.
Now that you know where to bet the Run for the Roses online in California, and you have gotten to know the major contenders, these are the expert best bets for Saturday’s 2024 Kentucky Derby:
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