2025 Kentucky Derby horses, futures, date, odds, preview: Expert who hit 11 Derby-Oaks Doubles discloses picks
Tiztastic, the son of 2020 Kentucky Derby favorite Tiz the Law, will try to follow in the footsteps of his father with a victory in the Kentucky Derby 2025 on Saturday, May 3 at Churchill Downs. Despite taking off as the favorite, Tiz the Law finished second in the 2020 Kentucky Derby. Tiztastic secured his spot in the 2025 Kentucky Derby field following a victory in the Louisiana Derby, snapping a four-race winless streak. Tiztastic is 20-1 in the latest 2025 Kentucky Derby odds for the first leg of the Triple Crown at Churchill Downs, and his starting gate will be determined on Saturday during the 2025 Kentucky Derby post draw. Should Tiztastic’s pedigree entice you to include the horse in your 2025 Kentucky Derby bets?
Journalism, the Santa Anita Derby victor, is the 3-1 favorite among the 2025 Kentucky Derby horses. He is followed by Sandman (8-1), Sovereignty (8-1), Rodriguez (10-1) and Tappan Street (10-1) in the 2025 Kentucky Derby field. 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 Rodriguez, even though he’s one of the favorites. In fact, Demling says Rodriguez doesn’t even hit the board in his 2025 Kentucky Derby projections. Rodriguez could be one of the popular 2025 Kentucky Derby picks as a Bob Baffert horse. Baffert is tied for the most wins in Kentucky Derby history (six), but two of his three Derby victories over the past 20 years were favorites. Rodriguez, who is currently priced at 10-1 odds, is unlikely to move to favorite status for the Kentucky Derby 2025.
Rodriguez is the son of a Kentucky Derby winner, Authentic, who won the 2020 Kentucky Derby. Any Kentucky Derby win is impressive, but Authentic’s came in a smaller 15-horse field as the final leg to the Triple Crown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rodriguez has failed to win three of his five career races and has never started at Churchill Downs. 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 latest Kentucky Derby odds 2025. Luxor Cafe has the championship-caliber pedigree needed to compete and win at a track like Churchill Downs. Luxor Cafe is sired by American Pharoah, who won the horse racing Triple Crown in 2015 and became the first horse in history to complete the American grand slam later that year with a Breeders’ Cup Classic win.
“The son of Triple Crown champion American Pharaoh dusted the competition on the Japanese Road to the Derby. His resume looks better after the UAE Derby because he crushed the winner previously,” Demling told SportsLine. At 15-1, Demling believes Luxor Cafe offers plenty of betting value. See which other horses to back at SportsLine.
How to make 2025 Kentucky Derby picks, bets
Demling is especially high on a double-digit longshot who “has a legit shot.” 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.
