The Most Exciting 2 Minutes in Sports or the Run for the Roses – most people that aren’t even horse people know that it’s Kentucky Derby time. Held at Churchill Downs since 1875 the Derby is the 1st leg of the Triple Crown and brings bettors from all over to test their horse racing knowledge and to try and pick the winner.
Both professionals and amateur bettors will make their picks, some based on logic and skill and some because they like the name of the horse. That's the beauty of the Derby, it's a spectacle for everyone. Men put on their best seer sucker suits and women find the biggest and sometimes ridiculous looking hats they can find and they all head out to the Derby for a great time.
Fear not if you can't make it out to Churchill Downs you can still place a bet online at multiple sportsbooks - check out a top partner of ours Bovada (for USA) or Bodog (for Canada).
Kentucky Derby Key Stats
When - May 5th, 2018
Where is the Derby Held - Churchill Downs (Louisville, Kentucky)
What is the Prize Money? - $2 Million, 1st Place Winner trots away with $1,425,000
Race Track Surface – Left Handed Dirt Track
Kentucky Derby Distance - 1 1/4 Miles or 10 Furlongs
Fastest Derby Time - 1:59 2/5 seconds, Secretariat (1973)
2018 Kentucky Derby Favorites
Depending on which horse racing betting site you are going to use, the favorites will vary slightly. We are using Bovada because we love the different options for futures and prop betting the Kentucky Derby. Most betting sites will have the same top 5 below as favorites to win.
Justify - 4/1 to Win
Mendelssohn - 4/1 to Win
Audible - 6/1 to Win
Magnum Moon - 8/1 to Win
Bolt d'Oro - 9/1 to Win
Keep in mind the odds on the Kentucky Derby horses are going to change right up to post time so look around and find the best odds for whomever you are betting on.
Bovada has Justify and Mendelssohn as the top favorites whereas Betonline has Justify as an overwhelming favorite to win a week before the race starts. So if you like Mendelssohn then you can get way better odds on him right now at Betonline.
Kentucky Derby Longshot Pick
We can't have a Derby article without dropping our longshot pick, it's tradition you almost have to take a shot on a small $2 bet with a horse at great odds. The Kentucky Derby has provided some monster sleeper picks in past years that paid huge money at the window, the name Mine That Bird comes to mind. In 2009, he came in at 50/1 and paid $103.20 for a $2 bet.
If you are looking for a good longshot pick I’m not sure how much our pick qualifies but at this point the odd makers have Vino Rosso sitting anywhere from a 10-1 to a 16-1 pick to win at Churchill Downs. With 3 wins this year this horse has a good shot at winning but won’t be talked about much on race day. As the race gets closer those odd may shift in our favor so you may even be able to get him higher then 16 to 1.
If you want a horse with longer odds look at My Boy Jack. In any other year this horse would be a favorite to win. Can run the distance, good on dirt surfaces but this is a talented Kentucky Derby and at this point My Boy Jack becomes a real sleeper to win the 2018 Kentucky Derby. He is 25 to 1 right now at Bovada.
Who Will Win The 2018 Kentucky Derby?
Everyone is jumping on the Justify bandwagon and there is no reason not to. The horse in undefeated and only started racing in February impressively beating another Derby favorite Bolt d’Oro at the Santa Anita Derby. But 3 races is too small a sample size to go on for me and I think there may be room for disappointment.
Our pick to win the 2018 Kentucky Derby is Mendelssohn. Trainer Aidan O’Brien has had one of the best careers in horse training and has been to the Derby six times. Although he hasn’t won there yet, his experience will be a factor. Mendelssohn has been bred as a dirt horse and excels on this type of track. The concerns most will bring up on race day is the history of other 3-year-olds bad Derby showings after winning the UAE Derby which Mendelssohn did.
Nine UAE Derby winners have attempted the Derby double since 2000 but the best finish ever for any of those horses was 6th place. Mendelssohn is well travelled and I suspect that O’Brien has kept that stat in his mind. This year has a good lot of contenders and the top 3 are all studs but we will have Mendelssohn in our hopefully winning Kentucky Derby ticket.
2018 Kentucky Derby Pick – Mendelssohn – Best odds at BetOnline right now
