2025 Kentucky Derby
The 2025 Kentucky Derby post positions have been drawn and the favorite has a strong starting gate as we look ahead to the 151st Run For The Roses on Saturday May 3 with a post time set for 6:57 p.m. ET in Race 12 of 14.
Journalism will start from Post 8, a spot that produced a winner back in 2023, as Mage bested the field that year. The 8th post has nearly a 10% win rate in Kentucky Derby history, trailing only Posts 5, 20, and 10, so it is a good spot to be for jockey Umberto Rispoli and the connections.
The news on post draw night was not nearly as encouraging for Bob Baffert’s Citizen Bull, who will begin on the rail. The 2-year-old horse of the year won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last year and will try to sprint out and set the pace at Churchill Downs.
Let’s look at the morning line odds and the contenders for the 2025 Kentucky Derby.
| Post | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Odds |
| 1 | Citizen Bull | B. Baffert | M. Garcia | 20-1 |
| 2 | Neoequos | S. Joseph Jr. | F. Prat | 30-1 |
| 3 | Final Gambit | B. Cox | L. Machado | 30-1 |
| 4 | Rodriguez | B. Baffert | M. Smith | 12-1 |
| 5 | American Promise | D. Wayne Lukas | N. Juarez | 30-1 |
| 6 | Admire Daytona | Y. Kato | C. Lemaire | 30-1 |
| 7 | Luxor Cafe | N. Hori | J. Moreira | 15-1 |
| 8 | Journalism | M. McCarthy | U. Rispoli | 3-1 |
| 9 | Burnham Square | I. Wilkes | B. Hernandez Jr. | 12-1 |
| 10 | Grande | T. Pletcher | J. Velazquez | 20-1 |
| 11 | Flying Mohawk | W. Beckman | J. Ramos | 30-1 |
| 12 | East Avenue | B. Walsh | M. Franco | 20-1 |
| 13 | Publisher | S. Asmussen | I. Ortiz Jr. | 20-1 |
| 14 | Tiztastic | S. Asmussen | J. Rosario | 20-1 |
| 15 | Render Judgment | K. McPeek | J. Leparoux | 30-1 |
| 16 | Coal Battle | L. Briley | J. Vargas | 30-1 |
| 17 | Sandman | M. Casse | J. Ortiz | 6-1 |
| 18 | Sovereignty | B. Mott | J. Alvarado | 5-1 |
| 19 | Chunk of Gold | E. West | J. Loveberry | 30-1 |
| 20 | Owen Almighty | B. Lynch | J. Castellano | 30-1 |
| AE | Baeza | J. Shirreffs | F. Prat/TBD | N/A |
We have the full field of 20 here, with one “Also Eligible” in Baeza. Some of the more recognizable jockeys like Irad Ortiz Jr., Joel Rosario, Julian Leparoux, Jose Ortiz, Junior Alvarado, and Javier Castellano draw outside posts in this one, so it will be interesting to see how these grizzled vets set up their trips in the very crowded field.
We also have two of the shorter prices to the far outside in Sandman and Sovereignty, who will have to navigate a lot of traffic in hopes of shortening the trip.
Speaking of Sandman, he warrants more discussion. Expert horse handicapper and host of VSiN At The Track Mike Somich first told me about something unique with this horse a few weeks ago. Sandman is partially owned by very popular influencer Griffin Johnson, who has nearly 10 million followers on TikTok and nearly 3 million more on Instagram. With a Kentucky Derby horse, Johnson has been showing the path to Churchill for this entry throughout the lead-up to the first Triple Crown race. People who know nothing about horse racing still bet on the Kentucky Derby and we could see a major odds move on this colt, who is a legitimate contender.
We also have a Toby Keith connection with Render Judgment from the 15 post. The late country star, who had songs like “Beer For My Horses” and “Should’ve Been A Cowboy”, owned Dream Walkin’ Farms in central Oklahoma prior to his passing in February 2024. Trainer Kenny McPeek is already on record as saying that the horse is in “deep water” and the family pushed him to enter the horse, but there will be some sentimental wagering on this long shot.
Unlike last year, when we had a very popular Japanese contender in Forever Young, who finished third, and a longer shot in T O Password, Admire Daytona and Luxor Cafe are not as heralded coming into this one. Admire Daytona won the UAE Derby and Luxor Cafe, the son of American Pharoah, racked up the most points in the Road To The Kentucky Derby chase in Asia.
Our VSiN Kentucky Derby Betting Guide comes out Wednesday morning and we’ll have plenty of horse racing talk on air, articles on the website, and special programming, with a livestream of VSiN At The Track for the Kentucky Oaks and an on-air broadcast of the show on Saturday for the Kentucky Derby.
