Kentucky Derby field: Horses, post positions and odds for Saturday's race at Churchill Downs
(Editor's note: This story has been updated with news that Rodriguez and Grande were scratched from the 2025 Kentucky Derby on Thursday and Friday, respectively).
One of the quintessential events in American sports will take place this weekend, with the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
Over 1¼ miles of dirt track, 20 horses will look to etch their names in the history of the sport’s marquee race, earning themselves a garland of roses and all the humans associated with them quite a bit of money.
Beyond the race itself, there’s the pageantry that surrounds it — the performance of “My Old Kentucky Home,” the call to post being played on an impossibly shiny bugle, the onlookers in lavish suits with pastel-colored ties and comically large hats gripping on to overpriced mint juleps.
It’s a spectacle with few, if any, peers in American sports, a tense and captivating mad dash that starts and ends in only about two minutes.
Before things get rolling Saturday and the horses get into the gate, here’s a closer look at the Kentucky Derby field, including what horses will be racing and who has the best odds:
Kentucky Derby field 2025
There are 20 horses set to run in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. A late scratch by Bob Baffert trained Rodriguez on Thursday allowed Baeza to enter the race. Rodriguez had been slotted for the No. 4 post position, but Baeza will now wear the No. 21 and run out of the No. 20 gate, with the majority of the field sliding over one spot.
Here’s a look at the field arranged in the order of the post position, along with the jockey riding each horse:
- Citizen Bull, Martin Garcia
- Neoequos, Luis Saez
- Final Gambit, Luan Machado
Rodriguez, Mike Smith(scratched)- American Promise, Nik Juarez
- Admire Daytona, Christophe Lemaire
- Luxor Cafe, Joao Moreira
- Journalism, Umberto Rispoli
- Burnham Square, Brian Hernandez Jr.
Grande, John Velazquez(scratched)- Flying Mohawk, Joe Ramos
- East Avenue, Manny Franco
- Publisher, Irad Ortiz Jr.
- Tiztastic, Joel Rosario
- Render Judgement, Julien Leparoux
- Coal Battle, Juan Vargas
- Sandman, Jose Ortiz
- Sovereignty, Junior Alvarado
- Chunk of Gold, Jareth Loveberry
- Owen Almighty, Javier Castellano
- Baeza, Flavien Prat
Kentucky Derby odds
In a phrase that’s not often uttered or written in 2025, Journalism is set to make a lot of money.
Journalism, whose sire is Curlin — which won the Preakness and finished second at the Kentucky Derby in 2007 — is a sizable betting favorite heading into Saturday’s race. The horse most recently won the Santa Anita Derby on April 5.
Here’s a look at the odds for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, with the horses arranged in the order of their post position:
(Odds as of 6 p.m. ET on Thursday May 1, according to KentuckyDerby.com.)
- Citizen Bull: 17-1
- Neoequos: 57-1
- Final Gambit: 17-1
- American Promise: 13-1
- Admire Daytona: 39-1
- Luxor Cafe: 15-1
- Journalism: 7-2
- Burnham Square: 19-1
- Flying Mohawk: 36-1
- East Avenue: 33-1
- Publisher: 30-1
- Tiztastic: 20-1
- Render Judgement: 13-1
- Coal Battle: 30-1
- Sandman: 5-1
- Sovereignty: 11-1
- Chunk of Gold: 33-1
- Owen Almighty: 44-1
- Baeza: 50-1