Meet The 20 Kentucky Derby Contenders
The Road to the Kentucky Derby has officially ended, and the field of 20 horses has been set. Barring injuries, we have a good idea of who will be posted at the starting gate come Saturday, May 5th at Churchill Downs.
In case you are unfamiliar with how the Road to the Kentucky Derby works, the Thoroughbreds compete in several graded stakes races and earn points along the way. The horses with the highest number of points are then able to qualify for a spot in the Run for the Roses.
In addition to the 20 races of the Prep Season and the 16-race Championship series, European and Japanese qualifiers were added to the 2017-2018 Road to the Kentucky Derby. Japan’s Sumahama declined his Derby invitation, but you will note that Europe’s Gronkowski accepted his guaranteed entry.
With the Derby Trail complete, experts have already started to make their horse betting picks for the Kentucky Derby. Justify and Mendelssohn are favored with 4-1 early odds, with Audible not far behind with 5-1 odds. Bravazo is the clear longshot of the field, with 50-1 odds to win the Kentucky Derby.
Of course, there have been plenty of long odds horses to win in the Kentucky Derby – just look at Mine That Bid in 2009. This year it does seem like there are strong leaders to make such an upset likely, but only time will tell.
You can take a look at the 20 predicted starters for the 2018 Kentucky Derby below. Horses are ordered by number of points, and you will also find their trainer, last race, and early betting odds listed.
- Magnum Moon (150), Todd Pletcher, undefeated winner of the Arkansas Derby, 8-1
- Good Magic (134), Chad Brown, winner of the Blue Grass Stakes, 11-1
- Audible (110), Todd Pletcher, winner of the Florida Derby, 5-1
- Noble Indy (110), Todd Pletcher, winner of the Louisiana Derby, 20-1
- Vino Rosso (107), Todd Pletcher, winner of the Wood Memorial, 16-1
- Bolt d’Oro (104), Mick Ruis, second in the Santa Anita Derby, 9-1
- Enticed (103), Kiran McLaughlin, second in the Wood Memorial, 25-1
- Mendelssohn (100), Aidan O’Brien, winner of the UAE Derby, 4-1
- Justify (100), Bob Baffert, undefeated winner of the Santa Anita Derby, 4-1
- Quip (90), Rodolphe Brisset, second in the Arkansas Derby, 40-1
- Flameaway (70), Mark Casse, second in the Blue Grass Stakes, 33-1
- Solomini (54), Bob Baffert, third in the Arkansas Derby, 22-1
- Bravazo (54), Wayne Lukas, eighth in the Louisiana Derby, 50-1
- My Boy Jack (52), Keith Desormeaux, winner of the Lexington Stakes, 20-1
- Promises Fulfilled (52), Dale Romans, ninth in the Florida Derby, 33-1
- Free Drop Billy (44), Dale Romans, third in the Blue Grass Stakes, 33-1
- Lone Sailor (42), Tom Amoss, second in the Louisiana Derby, 40-1
- Hofburg (40), Bill Mott, second in the Florida Derby, 20-1
- Firenze Fire (39), Jason Servis, fourth in the Wood Memorial, 40-1
- Gronkowski, Jeremy Noseda, automatic European qualifier spot after winning Burradon Stakes, 33-1