Churchill Downs unveiled morning line odds and post positions for all 20 horses in the 2023 Kentucky Derby field Monday. From now until the gates open, Derby odds will continue to shift fervently, likely with major changes the morning of the race. Forte expectedly opened as the favorite at 3-1, followed by Tapit Trice (5-1) and Angel of Empire (8-1). Check out the post draw and morning line odds below.
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Kentucky Derby Morning Line odds
Odds below are only reflective of morning line odds on May 1 at 2 p.m. ET. Odds will continue to shift.
| Post Position Number | Horse Name | Kentucky Derby Odds | Morning Line Odds | Closing Line Odds | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Hit Show | 25-1 | 30-1 | 24-1 | Brad Cox | Manny Franco |
| 2. | Verifying | 15-1 | 15-1 | 14-1 | Brad Cox | Tyler Gaffalione |
| 3. | Two Phil's | 8-1 | 12-1 | 9-1 | Larry Rivelli | Jareth Loveberry |
| 4. | Confidence Game | 17-1 | 20-1 | 21-1 | Keith Desormeaux | James Graham |
| 5. | Tapit Trice | 9-2 | 5-1 | 9-2 | Todd Pletcher | Luis Saez |
| 6. | Kingsbarns | 10-1 | 12-1 | 11-1 | Todd Pletcher | Jose Ortiz |
| 7. | Reincarnate | 13-1 | 50-1 | 14-1 | Tim Yakteen | John Velazquez |
| 8. | Mage | 17-1 | 15-1 | 15-1 | Gustavo Delgado | Javier Castellano |
| 9. | Skinner | SCR | SCR | SCR | John Shirreffs | Juan Hernandez |
| 10. | Practical Move | SCR | SCR | SCR | Tim Yakteen | Ramon Vazquez |
| 11. | Disarm | 24-1 | 30-1 | 27-1 | Steve Asmussen | Joel Rosario |
| 12. | Jace's Road | 31-1 | 50-1 | 33-1 | Brad Cox | Florent Geroux |
| 13. | Sun Thunder | 30-1 | 50-1 | 33-1 | Kenny McPeek | Brian Hernandez Jr. |
| 14. | Angel of Empire | 4-1 | 8-1 | 4-1 | Brad Cox | Flavien Prat |
| 15. | Forte | SCR | 3-1 | SCR | Todd Pletcher | Irad Ortiz Jr. |
| 16. | Raise Cain | 31-1 | 50-1 | 33-1 | Ben Colebrook | Gerardo Corrales |
| 17. | Derma Sotogake | 8-1 | 10-1 | 7-1 | Hidetaka Otonashi | Christophe Lemaire |
| 18. | Rocket Can | 27-1 | 30-1 | 28-1 | Bill Mott | Junior Alvarado |
| 19. | Lord Miles | SCR | SCR | SCR | Saffie Joseph Jr. | Paco Lopez |
| 20. | Continuar | SCR | SCR | SCR | Yoshito Yahagi | Ryusei Sakai |
| 21. | Cyclone Mischief | 29-1 | 30-1 | 29-1 | Dale Romans | TBA |
| 22. | Mandarin Hero | 20-1 | 20-1 | 17-1 | Terunobu Fujita | Kazushi Kimura |
| 23. | King Russell | 31-1 | 50-1 | 32-1 | Ron Moquett | Rafael Bejarano |
How Do Kentucky Derby Odds Work?
Unlike betting on fixed odds, horse racing odds continue to move until gates open. Perhaps you’re familiar with the scene of a frantic ticket counter with dozens of people clamoring each other to get their bets in – that’s a representation of a horse racing counter.
Even if you place your bet today, your odds will continue to move until post time. Oftentimes, sharp bettors will wait until the last minute to avoid tipping their hands and causing a flux of people to bet their horse and ultimately water down their odds. Keep this in mind for the May 6 Kentucky Derby. Large bets coming in on favorite Forte may water down his market and give you worse odds; as the history of Kentucky Derby favorites suggests, he may be a bad bet this year anyway.
Check out our handy guide on picking a Kentucky Derby winner.
- What time does the Kentucky Derby start? Click this link to stay up to date on the Run for the Roses schedule.
Morning Line Odds, Post Draw Notables
Favorite Forte will run out of Gate 15 while 30-1 longshot Hit Show draws Gate 1. The international horses, Derma Sotogake (JPN) and Continuar (JPN), drew Gates 17 and 20, respectively. (Editor’s note: Continuar scratched). We may see some sort of teamwork from those two opening so closely to each other and Japan threatening its first Kentucky Derby victory ever.
Continuar, Sun Thunder (Gate 13), and Raise Cain (Gate 16) hold the longest odds at 50-1, not helped particularly by their outside positioning.
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