The 2025 Kentucky Derby will take place at Churchill Downs on Saturday, May 3. There are already over a dozen 2025 Kentucky Derby horses that have automatically qualified for the 151st Run for the Roses via the 2025 Road to the Kentucky Derby. That includes Journalism, who won the Santa Anita Derby and was sired by 2007 Preakness winner Curlin. Curlin hit the board in all three horse racing Triple Crown races in 2007, including a third-place finish in the Kentucky Derby. Now, Journalism is the 5-1 favorite in the latest 2025 Kentucky Derby odds. He’s followed in the 2025 Kentucky Derby futures by Sovereignty (7-1), Citizen Bull (9-1), Final Gambit (10-1) and Coal Battle (14-1). Before making any 2025 Kentucky Derby picks, be sure to see the horse racing predictions and futures bets from SportsLine’s elite horse racing expert Jody Demling.
A fixture in the horse racing world who has been writing about, talking about and betting on races for years, Demling has nailed the Kentucky Oaks-Derby double 11 times in the last 16 years. He also predicted the winner of the Belmont Stakes four of the last seven years and called 10 of the last 20 Preakness winners, including in 2023, when he hit the winner, exacta, trifecta and superfecta, as well as the trifecta in 2024. Anyone who has followed him on those picks is up huge.
Now, with the 2025 Kentucky Derby futures already on the board, Demling is sharing his picks and 2025 Kentucky Derby predictions over at SportsLine. Go here to see them.
Top 2025 Kentucky Derby predictions
One of Demling’s surprising 2025 Kentucky Derby picks: He is fading Final Gambit, even though he is one of the top favorites and just won the Jeff Ruby Steaks. Recently downgraded to a Grade 3 stakes race, the Jeff Ruby still offers 100 qualifying in the Road to the Kentucky Derby standings.
Final Gambit only ran once as a two-year-old and didn’t break his maiden until just over a month before his win at the Jeff Ruby. With only four starts under his belt, he’ll be one of the more lightly-run horses in the 2025 Kentucky Derby field. He’s also come from last-to-first in both of his wins, with Demling noting that the early speed stopped rather suddenly to pave his path to victory. That running style might not be conducive to success against a loaded 20-horse field. See which other 2025 Kentucky Derby horses to avoid at SportsLine.
Another stunner: Demling is high on Coal Battle, even though he is a 14-1 longshot in the latest Kentucky Derby odds 2025. Sire Coal Front was a five-time graded stakes winner most notable for wins at the Amsterdam Stakes in 2017 and Godolphin Stakes in 2019.
Meanwhile, grandsire Midshipman was a Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner in 2008 and likely would have been a leading Triple Crown contender if not for soft tissue injuries. Coal Battle had a four-race winning streak snapped late last month at the Arkansas Derbym but a third-place showing was enough for him to lock up a spot in the 2025 Kentucky Derby with 95 qualifying points. See which other horses to back at SportsLine.
How to make 2025 Kentucky Derby picks, bets
Demling is especially high on an epic double-digit longshot who “could be a superstar.” Demling is sharing which horse it is, along with his entire projected 2025 Kentucky Derby leaderboard, over at SportsLine.
Which horse wins the Kentucky Derby 2025, and which double-digit longshot is a must-back? Check out the latest 2025 Kentucky Derby odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Demling’s picks for the Kentucky Derby, all from the expert who has nailed 11 Derby-Oaks doubles.