The 151st running of the Kentucky Derby will take place on Saturday, May 3, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. 

The post time for the 2025 Kentucky Derby is scheduled for 6:57 p.m. ET, and there are 20 horses currently in the field. 

The headliner for this year’s Run for the Roses is No. 8 Journalism, who was installed as a 3-1 favorite on the morning line. That number has drifted a tad to 7-2 after the early betting and the field was reshuffled due to a couple of scratches.

Journalism, a Kentucky-bred contender trained by Michael McCarthy, has won four of his five career starts and has never missed the board. He checks into the Derby on a four-race winning streak and just lit up the Santa Anita Derby on April 5. 

Barring anything crazy happening, Journalism will go off as the favorite on Saturday.

No. 18 Sovereignty (9-1) was the second favorite on the morning line, just ahead of No. 17 Sandman (5-1), but they have flipped spots on the board.

Another price to keep an eye on is No. 21 Baeza (21-1). An also-eligible, Baeza got into the field after No. 4 Rodriguez, one of Bob Baffert’s two horses, scratched.

There seemed to be a lot of veteran horseplayers who were hoping that Baeza would get into the field after running a game second to Journalism in the Santa Anita Derby. Don’t be surprised if Baeza becomes a trendy long shot on Saturday.

Baffert’s other horse, No. 1 Citizen Bull, is 14-1.

This is Baffert’s first Kentucky Derby since he was suspended for three years after his horse Medina Spirit tested positive for banned substances after winning the Run for the Roses in 2021.

Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.