Kentucky Derby attendance has increased every year since the 2020 race had no spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the rainy 2025 Kentucky Derby weather forecast, more people could show up to the 2025 Kentucky Derby than the 156,710 which attended last year. Fans can only hope that they get as exciting an ending as a year ago, with the first three-way photo finish since 1947. The jockey at the lead of that finish was Brian Hernandez Jr., and he’ll be aboard Burnham Square at the 2025 Kentucky Derby on Saturday. Burnham Square is a middle-tier contender at 12-1 in the 2025 Kentucky Derby odds. 2025 Kentucky Derby horses with single-digit horse racing odds include Journalism (3-1), Sovereignty (5-1) and Sandman (6-1). 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 on betting sites like FanDuel Racing, TwinSpires and 1/ST BET is up huge.
Now, with the 2025 Kentucky Derby post positions set and odds on the board, Demling is sharing his 2025 Kentucky Derby betting 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 Sandman, even though he’s one of the top favorites at 6-1 and just won the Arkansas Derby. Though trainer Mark Casse has put together a Hall of Fame career, he hasn’t won a Triple Crown race since 2019 and has never won the Kentucky Derby. Sandman is one of his best shots yet as seven Kentucky Derby winners first won the Arkansas Derby, including three since 2010.
Sandman, however, only has that one win in his graded-stakes history. He settled for third at the Rebel Stakes in February behind Kentucky Derby longshot Coal Battle. Demling has found several longshots he likes better, saying that Sandman “looks too immature to win the Derby.” See which other 2025 Kentucky Derby horses to avoid at SportsLine.
Another stunner: Demling is high on Luxor Cafe, even though he is a 15-1 longshot in the Kentucky Derby odds 2025. The Japan-based horse enters Churchill Downs on a four-race win streak, including three stakes victories. Perhaps the highlight was his Hyacinth Stakes victory in late February in which he crushed eventual UAE Derby winner Admire Daytona. Japan starters are also coming off their best showing at Churchill Downs after both Japanese horses finished in the top five at last year’s Kentucky Derby.
Luxor Cafe is one of three sons of Triple Crown winners in the 2025 Kentucky Derby lineup, as he was sired by 2015 champion American Pharoah. However, Luxor Cafe’s high marks for pedigree go beyond his father since his mother, Mary’s Follies, was also a stakes winner. Meanwhile, Luxor Cafe’s damsire, More Than Ready, was a Grade 1 winner who hit the board at the 2000 Kentucky Derby. There is more to like about Luxor Cafe than to dislike as a longshot for horse racing wagers. See which other horses to back at SportsLine.
How to make 2025 Kentucky Derby picks, bets
Demling is especially high on a colossal double-digit longshot who is “generating buzz on the backside.” 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 huge 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.
2025 Kentucky Derby odds, post positions
2025 Kentucky Derby horses, program numbers
1 Citizen Bull | 2 Neoequos | 3 Final Gambit | 5 American Promise | 6 Admire Daytona | 7 Luxor Cafe | 8 Journalism | 9 Burnham Square | 11 Flying Mohawk | 12 East Avenue | 13 Publisher | 14 Tiztastic | 15 Render Judgment | 16 Coal Battle | 17 Sandman | 18 Sovereignty | 19 Chunk of Gold | 20 Owen Almighty | 21 Baeza