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Horse trainer down Kentucky Derby favourite
The Kentucky Derby volition commencement the 2025 contention for equine racing's Triple Crown connected Saturday with a tract of 20 horses acceptable to contention successful the yearly Run for the Roses.
Journalism, who won 3 consecutive graded-stakes races, was picked arsenic the morning-line favourite by Mike Battaglia, the oddsmaker astatine the home of the Derby, Churchill Downs Racetrack successful Louisville, Kentucky.
2025 Kentucky Derby horses and odds
Battaglia gave Journalism 3-1 likelihood aft past Saturday's post-position draw. The odds volition alteration starring up to Saturday's approximate station clip of 6:57 p.m. EDT arsenic bettors spot their wagers. Here's a database of the Derby horses successful bid by their fig with their morning-line odds:
- 1. Citizen Bull, 20-1
- 2. Neoequos, 30-1
- 3. Final Gambit, 30-1
- 5. American Promise, 30-1
- 6. Admire Daytona, 30-1
- 7. Luxor Café, 15-1
- 8. Journalism, 3-1
- 9. Burnham Square, 12-1
- 10. Grande, 20-1
- 11. Flying Mohawk, 30-1
- 12. East Avenue, 20-1
- 13. Publisher, 20-1
- 14. Tiztastic, 20-1
- 15. Render Judgment, 30-1
- 16. Coal Battle, 30-1
- 17. Sandman, 6-1
- 18. Sovereignty, 5-1
- 19. Chunk of Gold, 30-1
- 20. Owen Almighty, 30-1
- 21. Baeza, 12-1
The Derby tract has been capped astatine 20 horses since 1975. Most of the horses became eligible for the Derby by earning points successful a bid of races successful the U.S. that started past September. Journalism worked his mode up the leaderboard successful California by winning the Los Alamitos Futurity Stakes successful December, March's San Felipe Stakes and past month's Santa Anita Derby.
Journalism's trainer, Michael McCarthy, lives successful Southern California's Altadena community, which was devastated by monolithic wildfires that tore done the area earlier this year.
"It's been a fewer months now, radical are inactive healing, radical are inactive without a spot to live, truthful possibly for a mates hours connected Saturday, we tin supply them a small spot of entertainment," McCarthy told CBS News' Jim Axelrod.
Journalism runs connected the way during greeting grooming successful mentation for the Kentucky Derby astatine Churchill Downs connected April 25, 2025, successful Louisville, Kentucky.
Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Sovereignty and Sandman could airs the closest situation to Journalism with 5-1 and 6-1 morning-line odds, respectively. Sovereignty comes to Louisville aft finishing 2nd successful March's Florida Derby and winning the Fountain of Youth Stakes earlier successful the month, arsenic good arsenic the Street Sense Stakes successful October. Sandman won the Arkansas Derby successful March aft coming successful 3rd successful February's Rebel Stakes and 2nd successful the Southwest Stakes successful January.
It volition beryllium a gangly bid for this year's Derby to person a person ending than past year's photograph finish. Mystik Dan won by a nose successful 2024 implicit Sierra Leone and Forever Young successful the closest three-horse decorativeness astatine the Derby since 1947, according to Churchill Downs.
Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. was aboard Mystik Dan for the melodramatic Derby ending, a time aft riding Thorpedo Anna to triumph successful the all-filly Kentucky Oaks — the archetypal clip 1 jockey won some of the weekend's 2 large races since 2009. In this year's Derby, Hernandez volition beryllium riding Burnham Square, the bay gelding who won past month's Blue Grass Stakes successful Kentucky and Florida's Holy Bull Stakes successful February and was fixed 12-1 likelihood successful the greeting line.
Burnham Square trains connected the way during greeting workouts anterior to the moving of the Kentucky Derby astatine Churchill Downs connected May 1, 2025, successful Louisville, Kentucky.
Michael Reaves/Getty Images
The aforesaid likelihood were fixed to Rodriguez, the victor of past month's Wood Memorial Stakes successful New York who initially drew the No. 4 station for the Derby. But the acheronian bay colt was scratched connected Thursday implicit what co-owner Tom Ryan said successful a connection was a "small but somewhat delicate ft bruise that volition request a fewer much days."
The scratch made country for the Derby's lone different eligible horse, Baeza, to participate the field. The bay colt, who got 12-1 likelihood successful the greeting line, came successful 2nd down Journalism successful the Santa Anita Derby.
Rodriguez, who Ryan said volition present beryllium targeted for the Preakness Stakes successful Baltimore aboriginal this month, is trained by Bob Baffert, who inactive has a equine acceptable to participate the starting gross Saturday. Baffert is returning to the Derby aft a three-year suspension from Churchill Downs pursuing the now-deceased Medina Spirit's failed post-Derby cause trial successful 2021 and consequent disqualification.
Baffert's different equine successful this year's Derby, Citizen Bull, is among the 5 colts fixed 20-1 likelihood successful the greeting line. In California, Citizen Bull won the Robert B. Lewis Stakes successful February, the Breeders' Cup Juvenile successful November and the American Pharoah Stakes successful October, and came successful 4th successful the Santa Anita Derby won by Journalism.
The different 4 colts fixed 20-1 morning-line likelihood are East Avenue, Grande, Publisher and Tiztastic.
But the likelihood aren't a crystal ball. The past clip a morning-line favourite took archetypal spot astatine the Derby was successful 2018, erstwhile Justify won the Triple Crown. Last year, Mystik Dan got 20-1 likelihood successful the greeting enactment — which improved to 18-1 by station clip — earlier winning the Derby. The bay colt launched from the No. 3 post, which Final Gambit drew for Saturday's Derby with 30-1 likelihood successful the greeting line.
The victor of Kentucky's Jeff Ruby Steaks successful March, Final Gambit, is among 9 horses fixed the aforesaid long-shot odds, which besides see Admire Daytona, American Promise, Chunk of Gold, Coal Battle, Flying Mohawk, Neoequos, Owen Almighty and Render Judgment.
Luxor Café, with 15-1 morning-line odds, and Admire Daytona are the 2 colts who qualified for the Derby extracurricular of the U.S. Luxor Café won Japan's Fukuryu Stakes successful March and the Hyacinth Stakes successful February. Admire Daytona came successful 4th successful the Hyacinth Stakes and won the UAE Derby successful the United Arab Emirates past month.
Alex Sundby is simply a elder exertion astatine CBSNews.com. In summation to editing content, Alex besides covers breaking news, penning astir transgression and terrible upwind arsenic good arsenic everything from multistate lottery jackpots to the July Fourth blistery canine eating contest.
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