2025 Kentucky Derby horses, odds, futures, date, preview: Expert who hit 11 Derby-Oaks Doubles divulges picks

Legendary trainer Bob Baffert has won the Kentucky Derby six times and can set the record by a trainer with a seventh win in the 2025 Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs. However, one of his horses, Citizen Bull, drew the dreaded No. 1 post position. No Kentucky Derby winner has come from that gate since Ferdinand in 1986, as the 20-horse Kentucky Derby field typically creates heavy traffic for the horse on the inside post. Citizen Bull is a 20-1 longshot in the 2025 Kentucky Derby odds, but should you fade him with your 2025 Kentucky Derby bets? The 2025 Kentucky Derby post time is 6:57 p.m. ET.

Journalism is the 3-1 favorite in the Kentucky Derby 2025 odds, followed by Sovereignty (5-1) and Sandman (6-1). Other 2025 Kentucky Derby horses include Burnham Square (12-1) and Rodriguez (12-1). 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 post positions set and odds 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 Rodriguez (12-1), who doesn’t even hit the board in his 2025 Kentucky Derby projections. Rodriguez is trained by the legendary Bob Baffert, who is trying to win this race for a record-setting seventh time. Baffert is tied with Ben Jones after Medina Spirit was disqualified for failing a post-race drug test in 2021.

Outside of Authentic (2020), Baffert’s other Kentucky Derby wins since 2002 came from Triple Crown horses (American Pharoah, Justify). Rodriguez does not have the pedigree of those Kentucky Derby horses, however, since he only has one graded stakes victory. He has also only raced once without blinkers, so Demling is avoiding him with his 2025 Kentucky Derby betting strategy. See which other 2025 Kentucky Derby horses to avoid at SportsLine.

Another stunner: Demling is high on Luxor Cafe, even though he is a 15-1 longshot in the Kentucky Derby odds 2025. Luxor Cafe drew post position No. 7, which shouldn’t create issues for the Japanese horse. He qualified via the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby and enters the Run for the Roses on a four-race winning streak.

Luxor Cafe is one of two sons of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in the 2025 Kentucky Derby field. Trainer Noriyuki Hori and jockey Joao Moreira are both in the Kentucky Derby for the first time, but Moreira won a maiden special weight at Churchill Downs with Princess Millie. Demling says Luxor Cafe’s resume looks better after the UAE Derby because he crushed the winner in a previous race. See which other horses to back at SportsLine.

How to make 2025 Kentucky Derby picks, bets

Demling is especially high on a double-digit longshot who is coming off an “impressive” and unexpected showing in his last race. 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.