The 150th Kentucky Derby has arrived, with the Run for the Roses set to begin at 6:57 p.m. ET on Saturday. Fierceness sits atop the 2024 Kentucky Derby odds at 5-2 after winning Champion Juvenile honors last year to go along with a dominant performance in the Florida Derby earlier this year. He dictated the pace and won by a whopping 13.5 lengths to establish himself atop the 2024 Kentucky Derby betting odds. Other 2024 Kentucky Derby contenders include Sierra Leone (3-1) and Catching Freedom (8-1). Catching Freedom joins Just a Touch (10-1) as two of Brad Cox's horses in the 2024 Kentucky Derby field.
Cox has already won this race once (2021), so should you back either of his 2024 Kentucky Derby horses with your 2024 Kentucky Derby bet strategy? With the Kentucky Derby annually presenting the toughest handicapping challenge of the year, you'll want to see what CBS Sports analyst Tim Doyle has to say before making any 2024 Kentucky Derby picks, considering he crushed the Kentucky Derby last year.
The 41-year-old Doyle says he has been betting horses since he was 12, having grown up less than 20 miles from both Belmont Park and Aqueduct Racetrack in New York. He prefers to play multirace wagers, from doubles to Pick 6s. And in 2020, he had the biggest score of his life, hitting a $150,000 Pick 5 at Oaklawn Park.
During last year's Triple Crown, Doyle was on fire. He correctly called 15-1 longshot Mage to win the Kentucky Derby and 8-1 longshot Arcangelo to win the Belmont Stakes.
For the first leg of the Triple Crown, Doyle has handicapped the 2024 Kentucky Derby lineup, made his picks and constructed his best bets. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.
Top 2024 Kentucky Derby predictions
One surprise: Doyle is completely fading Sierra Leone, even though he is one of the top favorites at 3-1 in the 2024 Kentucky Derby odds. Sierra Leone has won three of his four career races, including the Risen Star and Blue Grass Stakes, However, he barely edged out the other horses in both of those races and came up short to Dornoch in the Remsen Stakes.
His speed figures have not been overly impressive either, especially compared to some of the numbers that Fierceness posted in the lead-up races. Sierra Leone is a late-closing horse, but it will be difficult to navigate such a large field on Saturday. He will also contend with a different pace than he is used to, so there are too many factors working against him in this race. See who else to fade here.
Another curveball: He is high on the chances of Japanese invader Forever Young, even though he's a 10-1 longshot. Forever Young is the seventh Japanese-bred horse to run in the Kentucky Derby, the best previous finish being sixth (twice). He has what it takes to break through as the first winner from Japan and is undefeated in five career starts.
All five of his wins have come at different tracks, including the UAE Derby in March to clinch his spot in Saturday's 2024 Kentucky Derby lineup. He added three wins in Japan and one in Saudi Arabia, but his connections have been focused on this race since the end of last year. Forever Young has proven himself against elite fields, and Doyle believes he can make history by navigating the full field on Saturday. You can see all of Doyle's 2024 Kentucky Derby bets here.
How to make 2024 Kentucky Derby picks
Moreover, Doyle's top pick is a horse who "will be in position from the jump." He's also high on a massive double-digit longshot who "can navigate through other horses." Doyle is including these horses in his 2024 Kentucky Derby bets, and so should you. He's sharing which 2024 Kentucky Derby horses to back at SportsLine.
So who wins the 2024 Kentucky Derby, and what double-digit longshot is a must-back at Churchill Downs? Visit SportsLine to see Doyle's picks for the Kentucky Derby 2024, all from the horse racing expert who called the winner of last year's Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, and find out.
2024 Kentucky Derby odds, contenders
| Prg # | Horse | Odds | Projection |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dornoch | 20-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 2 | Sierra Leone | 3-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 3 | Mystik Dan | 20-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 4 | Catching Freedom | 8-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 5 | Catalytic | 30-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 6 | Just Steel | 20-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 7 | Honor Marie | 20-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 8 | Just a Touch | 10-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 9 | Encino | SCR | SCR |
| 10 | T O Password (JPN) | 30-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 11 | Forever Young (JPN) | 10-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 12 | Track Phantom | 20-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 13 | West Saratoga | 50-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 14 | Endlessly | 30-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 15 | Domestic Product | 30-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 16 | Grand Mo the First | 50-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 17 | Fierceness | 5-2 | SEE PICKS |
| 18 | Stronghold | 20-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 19 | Resilience | 20-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 20 | Society Man | 50-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 21 | Epic Ride | 30-1 | SEE PICKS |
