2025 Kentucky Derby odds: Betting, full field, expert analysis, jockeys, trainers, and fun facts

[ASFN Admin]

The field is set for the 151st Kentucky Derby and while the Run for the Roses is not until May 3 and the draw does not even happen until April 26, storylines are emerging.

Legendary trainer Bob Baffert's return to the Kentucky Derby tops the list. Back at Churchill Downs for the first time in three years following his suspension due to a failed post-race drug test involving his horse, Medina Spirit, after the 2021 Kentucky Derby, Baffert returns with multiple entries (Citizen Bull, Madaket Road, Rodriguez).

Journalism is the current favorite followed by Sovereignty and Sandman, but the field features speed beyond those three thoroughbreds. Keep in mind, the favorite has won the Kentucky Derby just under 35% of the time since 1908 (40 times). In fact, the favorite has failed to secure a victory the last five years.

Because the Run for the Roses remains a race where surprises are common, and longshots often emerge victorious, lets dive into the field for 2025.

NBC Sports' horse racing analyst Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper) offers his thoughts on the contenders and once post positions are drawn on April 26, he will be back offering his favorite plays.

The following is a snapshot of each horse in the field including their lineage, jockey, trainer, and career highlights on their path to the 151st Kentucky Derby.

(Horses listed in alphabetical order)

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Admire Daytona (50-1)

• Sire: Drefong
• Jockey: Christophe Lemaire | Trainer: Yukihiro Kato
• Career Highlight: Won the UAE Derby
• Fun Fact: Win in the UAE Derby marked Japan’s fourth
  consecutive win in the race

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American Promise (30-1)

• Sire: Justify
• Jockey: Nik Juarez | Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas
• Career Highlight: Won the 2025 Virginia Derby
• Fun Fact: The phrase “American Promise” is also
  associated with a handful of moments leading
  to the passage of the Voting Rights Act.

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Burnham Square (15-1)

• Sire: Liam’s Map
• Jockey: Brian T. Hernandez, Jr. | Trainer: Ian R. Wilkes
• Career Highlight: Won the 2025 Blue Grass Stakes
• Fun Fact: Burnham Square’s grandfather is 1990 Derby
  winner Unbridled

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Chunk of Gold (30-1)

• Sire: Preservationist
• Jockey: Jareth Loveberry | Trainer: Ethan W. West
• Career Highlight: Placed second at the 2025 Louisiana Derby
• Fun Fact: This is Loveberry’s second Derby ride. He rode
  Two Phil’s to a second-place finish in 2023.

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Citizen Bull (20-1)

• Sire: Into Mischief
• Jockey: Martin Garcia | Trainer: Bob Baffert
• Career Highlight: Won the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile
• Fun Fact: This will be Garcia’s 5th Derby. His best
  finish was third in 2015 aboard Dortmund.

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Coal Battle (30-1)

• Sire: Coal Front
• Jockey: Juan P. Vargas | Trainer: Lonnie Briley
• Career Highlight: Won the 2025 Rebel Stakes
• Fun Fact: Both of Coal Battle’s parents, Coal Front
  and Wolfblade, are descendants of Seattle Slew.

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East Avenue (20-1)

• Sire: Medaglia d’Oro
• Jockey: Luan Machado | Trainer: Brendan P. Walsh
• Career Highlight: Second in the 2025 Blue Grass Stakes
• Fun Fact: Medaglia d’Oro, East Avenue’s sire, raced in
  all three Triple Crown races in 2002, finishing fourth in
  the Kentucky Derby, eighth in the Preakness and
  second in the Belmont.

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Final Gambit (30-1)

• Sire: Not This Time
• Jockey: Luan Machado | Trainer: Brad H. Cox
• Career Highlight: Won the 2025 Jeff Ruby Steaks
• Fun Fact: The Kentucky Derby will be Final Gambit’s
  first race on dirt.

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Flying Mohawk (50-1)

• Sire: Karakontie
• Jockey: Joseph D. Ramos | Trainer: D. Whitworth Beckman
• Career Highlight: Second in the 2025 Jeff Ruby Steaks
• Fun Fact: The Kentucky Derby will be Flying Mohawk’s first
  race on dirt.

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Grande (20-1)

• Sire: Curlin
• Jockey: John Velazquez | Trainer: Todd A. Pletcher
• Career Highlight: Rallied from seventh for a second-place
  finish in the Wood Memorial to qualify for the Derby
• Fun Fact: Pletcher and Velazquez teamed up to win the
  Derby with Super Saver in 2010 and Always Dreaming in 2017.

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Journalism (3-1)

• Sire: Curlin
• Jockey: Umberto Rispoli | Trainer: Mike McCarthy
• Career Highlight: Won the 2025 Santa Anita Derby
• Fun Fact: Curlin has sired winners of the Preakness,
  Belmont Stakes, and Breeders’ Cup Classic but not
  the Kentucky Derby

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Luxor Cafe (15-1)

• Sire: American Pharaoh
• Jockey: TBA | Trainer: Noriyuki Hori
• Race Highlight: Won the 2025 Fukuryu Stakes
• Fun Fact: Luxor Cafe won three stakes races in Japan
  to qualify for the Kentucky Derby. Trainer and horse
  making their first starts outside of Japan.

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Madaket Road (40-1)

• Sire: Quality Road
• Jockey: Mike E. Smith | Trainer: Bob Baffert
• Career Highlight: Finished second in the Rebel Stakes
• Fun Fact: Baffert’s 1st of 5 Kentucky Derby wins
  was with Silver Charm in 1997.

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Owen Almighty (25-1)

• Sire: Speightstown
• Jockey: TBA | Trainer: Brian Lynch
• Career Highlight: Won the Tampa Bay Derby with
  the 2nd fastest time in the history of the race
• Fun Fact: Irad Ortiz, Jr. rode Owen Almighty at
  Tampa but the ride is in question for the Derby.

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Publisher (30-1)

• Sire: American Pharoah
• Jockey: Flavien Prat | Trainer: Steven M. Asmussen
• Career Highlight: Finished second in the Arkansas Derby
• Fun Fact: Asmussen is the winningest trainer of all-time
  amassing over 10,000 victories as a trainer

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River Thames (20-1)

• Sire: Maclean’s Music
• Jockey: Irad Ortiz, Jr. | Trainer: Todd A. Pletcher
• Career Highlight: Finished second in the Fountain of Youth
  Stakes
• Fun Fact: River Thames has never run a race the length
  of the Kentucky Derby (1 1/4 miles).

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Rodriguez (10-1)

• Sire: Authentic
• Jockey: Michael E. Smith | Trainer: Bob Baffert
• Career Highlight: Won the 2025 Wood Memorial
• Fun Fact: Both of Rodriguez’ victories have come in
  wire-to-wire fashion, and he figures to be at or near
  the front early in the Kentucky Derby.

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Sandman (8-1)

• Sire: Tapit
• Jockey: Jose L. Ortiz | Trainer: Mark Casse
• Career Highlight: won the 2025 Arkansas Derby
• Fun Fact: Tapit is the No. 1 active sire by lifetime
  Grade 1 winners, and the All-Time leading sire by
  earnings.

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Sovereignty (8-1)

• Sire: Into Mischief
• Jockey: Manuel Franco | Trainer: William I. Mott
• Career Highlight: Won the 2025 Fountain of Youth
• Fun Fact: Mott was the trainer of Resilience who
  finished sixth in the 2024 Kentucky Derby.

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Tappan Street (10-1)

• Sire: Into Mischief
• Jockey: Luis Saez | Trainer: Brad H. Cox
• Career Highlight: Won the 2025 Florida Derby
• Fun Fact: Tappan Street upset Sovereignty to win the
  Florida Derby.

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Tiztastic (20-1)

• Sire: Tiz the Law
• Jockey: Joel Rosario | Trainer: Steven M. Asmussen
• Career Highlight: Won the 2025 Louisiana Derby
• Fun Fact: Asmussen’s father was a jockey, and his
  two sons are currently jockeys.

As the Derby approaches and the Draw is announced, NBC Sports will keep you up to speed on the latest news from Churchill Downs as the best in horse racing make their final preparations in an effort to claim the coveted blanket of roses.

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