avier Castellano, atop 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage around the Churchill Downs CluJbhouse turn. ... [+]
The Road to the Kentucky Derby with the Kentucky Derby Championship Series races offering the most points and interest to horse racing fans. The watch and wager action on the biggest Derby prep races increases as the 151st running of America’s biggest horse race nears at Churchill Downs in Louisville on Saturday, May 3, 2025.
Horses must qualify to enter the Kentucky Derby by earning points in prep races beginning in the fall of their 2-year-old year. The top 20 points earners qualify for a spot in the starting gate at the Run for the Roses.
The Derby Trail has already had 19 races in the U.S. with fewer points offered. There are 17 more from Feb. 17 to Apr. 12 with 15 of those Kentucky Derby Championship Series races offering 50 to 100 points to the winners and an automatic spot in the Derby starting gate.
The top 5 finishers earn points. Last year’s No. 20 horse in the Derby points standings qualified with 37 points and the year prior 45 points.
The Kentucky Derby leaderboard will change following each Kentucky Derby Championship Series race, and be updated here.
There are also 11 more Derby prep races between Europe and Japan, with one invitation extended to the top point earners on each circuit. The Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby was first introduced in 2017. The 1 1/8 mile Fukuray Stakes on March 22 at Nakayama (JRA) offers the most points to the winner (40).
The European/Middle East Road to the Kentucky Derby was added to the schedule in 2017 and consists of seven races this year. Six of those races are run on either turf or an all-weather track and five are contested at just 1-mile. Six of them offer just 20 points to the winner, and this year the UAE Derby was moved to the Euro/Mideast schedule with 100 points again given to the winner and 50 points for runner-up.
The Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs was added to the U.S. Road to the Kentucky Derby this year.
How To Bet On Horse Racing - Bet Types And Odds Explained
The Kentucky Derby field has been limited to 20 starters since 1975. At least 20 horses have entered the 1 1/4-mile dirt race for 3-year-olds in 23 of the last 25 years.
Kentucky Derby Championship Series races from Feb. 15 through Mar. 15 offer 50 points to the winner and top-5 points of 50-25-15-10-5. Races from March 22 through April 5 offer 100 points to the winner and top-5 points of 100-50-25-15-10.
While many early contenders for the 2025 Kentucky Derby will take more betting action, and more money if they win a key Kentucky Derby Championship Series race, know that longshots have won the last three Derby’s.
Mystik Dan (18/1) won the 2024 Kentucky Derby by a nose over Sierra Leone, who was a popular horse racing pick and the top points earner on the Derby Trail. Sierra Leone went on to win the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic, just as his sire Gun Runner did in 2017. Mystik Dan got to the lead at the 1-mile marker and held off Sierra Leone and Forever Young in a blanket photo finish at the wire. Mystik Dan returned $39.22 on a $2 win bet. Mystik Dan finished 2nd in the Preakness, but has not finished in the money in three races since, including the 2025 Pegasus World Cup.
Mage (15/1) won the 2023 Kentucky Derby, rallying from 14th at the 3/4 mile marker to win the 1 1/4 mile Derby and pay $32.42 on a $2 win bet. Mage was retired from racing to begin his stallion career in Nov. 2023 after winning just 1-of-6 graded stakes starts.
In the 2022 Kentucky Derby, Rich Strike was a late entry a day before the race, and he rallied from 15th at the 1-mile marker and stormed down the stretch to steal the show and win at 80/1 parimutuel odds. Rich Strike became the second-biggest longshot to ever win the Kentucky Derby and paid $163.60 on a $2 win bet. Rich Strike never won another race and was just 1-for-8 in graded stakes before retiring from racing in Nov. 2023.
After a 20-year absence, parimutuel wagering returned to Churchill Downs for the 1908 Kentucky Derby. Since then, the post-time favorite has won the Run for the Roses 40 times. A string of six straight favorites won from 2013 to 2018, with Justify the most recent in 2018 on his way to capturing the Triple Crown.
Kentucky Derby Favorites And Odds
The fixed odds to win the 2025 Kentucky Derby will be updated soon as available from select U.S. online sportsbooks and FanDuel Racing. These odds will change and often shorten following each championship series race as more leading Kentucky Derby contenders emerge. Same in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager pools, which offers advance wagering on potential Derby runners at better odds than you will get closer to the May 3 race.
Covers.com provides Kentucky Derby odds updates.
- Pool 4: Feb. 14-16
- Pool 5: Mar. 14-16 (includes Oaks Future Wager)
- Pool 6: Apr. 3-5
As you follow some of the early Derby favorites, the closing odds from Pool 3 on Jan. 17-19 included:
- Barnes (6/1), Patch Adams (12/1), East Avenue (15/1), Citizen Bull (17/1), Journalism (20/1), Sovereignty (21/1), Disco Time (21/1), Rodriguez (22/1)
Other horses currently in the top 10 of In The Money Derby contenders include Burnham Square, Chancer McPatrick, Bullard and ones to watch First Resort, Speed King and Sandman. Follow for more Kentucky Derby Championship Series races and rankings.
Horse racing from race tracks have parimutuel odds, where players wager against each other and the host race tracks take a percentage of the total of each pool. The rest of the pool is split between the wagering winners.
You can follow FanDuel Racing for updated coverage, odds, picks, racing insight and additional information you can bet on leading up to and on the 2025 Kentucky Derby. Racing fans can also watch and wager on horse racing right from the Sportsbook app with live streaming from 300+ tracks and FanDuel Racing available in 28 states.
Additional horse racing analysts, handicappers, content producers and media will provide contributing coverage, insight and picks for Road to the Kentucky Derby races with tracker results and recaps updated on this page.
Race, Odds And Recap
Risen Star (to update after Feb. 15 first Championship Series race, and won by Sierra Leone in 2024)
Follow horse racing coverage and the biggest races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby with the top 3-year-olds now competing in the Triple Crown races—Kentucky Derby (May 3), Preakness Stakes (May 17) and Belmont Stakes (June 7).
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