Kentucky Derby 2024 post positions and morning line odds are set. It is, as expected, a full field of 20 horses with two also-eligibles.
Post time is 6:57 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 4. The race will be broadcast on NBC. Television coverage will begin at 10:30 a.m. ET on FanDuel TV. Below, we cover all the Kentucky Derby odds.
Position | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Morning line odds |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dornoch | Luis Saez | Danny Gargan | 30-1 |
2 | Sierra Leone | Tyler Gaffalione | Chad Brown | 3-1 |
3 | Mystik Dan | Brian Hernandez | Ken McPeek | 20-1 |
4 | Catching Freedom | Flavien Prat | Brad Cox | 8-1 |
5 | Catalytic | Jose Ortiz | Saffie Joseph, Jr. | 30-1 |
6 | Just Steel | Keith Asmussen | D. Wayne Lukas | 20-1 |
7 | Honor Marie | Ben Curtis | Whit Beckman | 20-1 |
8 | Just a Touch | Florent Geroux | Brad Cox | 10-1 |
9 | Encino | Axel Concepcion | Brad Cox | 20-1 |
10 | T O Password (JPN) | Kazushi Kimura | Daisuke Takayanagi | 30-1 |
11 | Forever Young (JPN) | Ryusei Sakai | Yoshito Yahagi | 10-1 |
12 | Track Phantom | Joel Rosario | Steve Asmussen | 20-1 |
13 | West Saratoga | Jesus Castanon | Larry Demeritte | 50-1 |
14 | Endlessly | Umberto Rispoli | Michael McCarthy | 30-1 |
15 | Domestic Product | Irad Ortiz, Jr. | Chad Brown | 30-1 |
16 | Grand Mo The First | Emisael Jaramillo | Victor Barboza | 50-1 |
17 | Fierceness | John Velazquez | Todd Pletcher | 5-2 |
18 | Stronghold | Antonio Fresu | Phil D’Amato | 20-1 |
19 | Resilience | Junior Alvarado | Bill Mott | 20-1 |
20 | Society Man | Frankie Dettori | Danny Gargan | 50-1 |
21 (AE) | Epic Ride | Adam Beschizza | John Ennis | |
22 (AE) | Mugatu | Joe Talamo | Jeff Engler |
Kentucky Derby contenders
Fierceness, the Florida Derby winner, boasts the highest Beyer Speed Figure (BSF) in the field at 110. He was the fastest 2-year-old last year and the fastest 3-year-old so far this year.
Sierra Leone won the Blue Grass Stakes and is one of the fastest finishers in the race. He notched a 98 BSF last time out at Keeneland and hopes to take advantage of tiring horses down the stretch in the Kentucky Derby.
Catching Freedom appears to be improving at the right time for trainer Brad Cox. Catching Freedom earned a 97 BSF for his Louisiana Derby victory on March 22.
Japan sends two to Derby
Forever Young, from Japan, won the UAE Derby in his last start. No Japanese-bred horse or UAE Derby winner has ever won the Kentucky Derby. However, he is arguably Japan’s best chance to claim the roses.
T O Password earned his way into the starting gate by way of Japan’s Road to the Kentucky Derby. His running style should place him near the front early in the race.
Trifecta of Italian jockeys
World-renown Italian jockey Frankie Dettori will ride Society Man. Society Man finished second at 106-1 odds in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 6.
A second Italian rider, Antonio Fresu, will make his first career Kentucky Derby appearance on Stronghold. The Santa Anita Derby winner is arguably one of the toughest horses in the race. Stronghold has six career starts at six different race tracks and has never finished worse than second.
Endlessly, the Michael McCarthy trainee, will be making his first career start on a dirt surface in the Kentucky Derby. Italian rider Umberto Rispoli has the mount. Endlessly ran his first four races on turf and his latest two on a synthetic surface, which is more similar to turf than dirt. He has won five of six career races.
Horses earn buzz ahead of Kentucky Derby
Just a Touch finished second behind Sierra Leone in the Blue Grass Stakes. Just a Touch earned a 96 BSF in the process. His father is Kentucky Derby winner and Triple Crown champion Justify.
Honor Marie finished second by one length in the Louisiana Derby behind Catching Freedom. The 96 BSF he earned in that race was a career-best.
Will experience help Derby contenders?
No horse in the Kentucky Derby has more race experience than Just Steel. The Run for the Roses will be his 12th career start. His last race, a second-place finish in the Arkansas Derby, was a career-best effort as he earned a 95 BSF.
Mystik Dan earned his spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate with a win in the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park in February. Mystik Dan earned a 101 BSF. He did not run nearly as well in the Arkansas Derby, his next start, when he notched an 89 BSF, though he ran very wide that day.
Track Phantom earned a lot of intrigue in the initial months on the Road to the Kentucky Derby as he earned front-running victories in the Gun Runner Stakes and Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds. In his latest two starts, however, he got passed by other runners in the Risen Star and Louisiana Derby. He earned a career-best 94 BSF while finishing fourth last time out in the Louisiana Derby.
Kentucky Derby contenders from Florida
Grand Mo The First enters the Kentucky Derby off a career best race in the Florida Derby when he earned an 87 BSF. He did finish 16 lengths back of Fierceness in that race, though.
Catalytic earned a career-best 90 BSF while finishing second, more than 13 lengths behind Fierceness, in the Florida Derby.
Domestic Product, the Tampa Bay Derby winner, enters the Kentucky Derby off a two-month layoff, which has not proved to be an advantageous move in recent years. He did, however, finish in front of Fierceness two starts back in the Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park in February.
In March, Dornoch beat four other horses in the Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park. He followed that up with a fourth-place finish, beaten by more than six lengths, in the Blue Grass Stakes.
Kentucky-based runners ship into Churchill Downs
West Saratoga finished second last time out to Endlessly in the Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park in March. He earned a career-best 85 BSF for that effort.
One of trainer Brad Cox’s other Derby starters, Encino won the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland last time out. He earned a 94 BSF for the effort, which was a career-high. He enters the Kentucky Derby on a three-race win streak and figures to be among the early pacesetters in the race.
Resilience carries Derby hopes from New York
Resilience posted a career-best effort in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 6, earning a 90 BSF in victory. He finished fourth in the Risen Star Stakes behind three other Derby contenders: Sierra Leone, Track Phantom, and Catching Freedom.
Two horses on outside looking in
Two horses, Epic Ride and Mugatu, are on the Kentucky Derby also-eligible list. Epic Ride will need one scratch between now and Saturday morning to get into the Derby. He finished third in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland.
Mugatu will need two defections to run on Saturday. He finished fifth in the Blue Grass Stakes last time out.
Kentucky Derby champion Rich Strike was on the also-eligibles list in 2022. He drew into the race on Derby morning and is one of the biggest long shots ever to win the race at odds of 80-1.
Kentucky Derby storylines
From high-priced horses and billionaire owners to horse racing trainers seeking their first trip to the Kentucky Derby winner’s circle, the annual “Run for the Roses” is full of interesting storylines.
Kentucky Derby 2024 brings some international flare, too. Japan has one of its best chances to win in recent years with Forever Young, while three Italian jockeys will fill the starting gate.
- When the horses break from the gate on May 4 it will mark the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby. The “most exciting two minutes in sports” is the longest continually run sporting event in the US. Churchill Downs will unveil its $200 million paddock project and welcome visitors to the First Turn Experience for the second year this week. Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen recently said ticket sales throughout the seating areas have exceeded expectations.
- Mike Repole, creator of Vitamin Water and BODYARMOR Sports Drink, is seeking his first Kentucky Derby victory with 2-year-old champion Fierceness. The billionaire horse owner has had tough luck in the lead-up to the Derby. In 2011, his horse Uncle Mo was scratched the day before the race because of a gastrointestinal infection. Last year, Forte was scratched just hours before the race with a bruised foot.
- Horse trainer Todd Pletcher will be seeking his third Derby win with Fierceness. Pletcher notched his first Kentucky Derby win with Super Saver in 2010 and added his second with Always Dreaming in 2017.
- One of the most recognizable names in horse racing will not be participating in the 2024 Kentucky Derby. Horse trainer Bob Baffert is barred from entering horses in the race after Medina Spirit failed a post-race drug test after winning the Derby in 2021.
- Horse trainer Larry Demeritte will saddle his first Kentucky Derby starter in West Saratoga on Saturday. The horse was purchased for $11,000 in September 2022. West Saratoga is the lowest-priced horse in the race, while Sierra Leone is the highest at $2.3 million.
- No Japanese horse has ever won the Kentucky Derby. Forever Young is arguably Japan’s best chance since horses from that country started competing in the Derby. Six Japanese horses have run in the Derby since 1995, with their best finish coming last year when Derma Sotogake was sixth.
- Hall-of-fame horse trainer Steve Asmussen has more wins than any other trainer in North America, but the Derby continues to elude him. He will seek his first Kentucky Derby win with Track Phantom. He finished second with Epicenter in 2022.
- Antonio Fresu will be making his first Kentucky Derby start aboard Stronghold. Fresu is one of three Italian jockeys in the Derby starting gate, along with Frankie Dettori, who is riding Society Man, and Umberto Rispoli on Endlessly.
- Horse trainer Brad Cox has two runners in this year’s Kentucky Derby. Catching Freedom will break from post 4 and Just A Touch from post 8. Cox has one Derby win to this name, though his horse Mandaloun did not finish first in 2021. Mandaloun was awarded the victory after Medina Spirit was disqualified for a failed post-race drug test.
- Perhaps the most interesting storyline for Kentucky Derby betting is the different running styles of the two favorites, Fierceness and Sierra Leone. Fierceness likes to be forwardly placed in the race, in the mix with the front running group if not out on the lead. Sierra Leone is a closer that prefers to come from the back of the pack toward the end of the race.