The Kentucky Derby will attract bets from Average Joes, professional bettors, and everyone in between. At 6:46 p.m. ET Saturday, 20 horses will race from the starting gate in the 2018 Kentucky Derby, the 'fastest two minutes in sports.' Justify, trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Mike Smith, is the 3-1 favorite, the same as where he opened. My Boy Jack, who was 30-1 on the morning line, is now right behind Justify at 5-1. Six horses are listed at lower than 10-1 Kentucky Derby odds.
Before you bet the 144th Run for the Roses, you'll want to hear what Jody Demling has to say.
A fixture in the horse racing world who has been writing about, talking about and betting on races for years, Demling comes into the 2018 Kentucky Derby on a mind-blowing streak: He has nailed nine straight Oaks-Derby doubles at Churchill Downs. That means he held a ticket with the winners of both races nine straight years.
Last year, he was all over Derby champ Always Dreaming when that horse was 6-1, long before he was the co-favorite, calling him "the best horse on the grounds."
Demling followed up his win last May by picking Tapwrit to edge Irish War Cry in the Belmont Stakes -- which is exactly what happened, enabling him to cash trifecta and superfecta bets for a monster payout.
Demling also nailed the Travers Stakes winner, West Coast, for SportsLine members. And he capped off 2017 by hitting the superfecta in the Breeders' Cup Classic.
To start off 2018, Demling called the top two finishers in the Pegasus World Cup. Then, he called Noble Indy winning the Louisiana Derby over favorite My Boy Jack. He also nailed the top two finishers at the Arkansas Derby, Magnum Moon and Quip.
With major sports books taking action, Demling has released his Kentucky Derby picks and listed where he believes all 20 horses will finish.
We can tell you he's not high on Audible, the third-biggest favorite at 6-1, saying the Amazon-sponsored horse barely finishes in the top 10. Audible opened at 8-1, but has since moved up the Kentucky Derby odds board.
"Audible won't get the same perfect setup he had in the Florida Derby," Demling told SportsLine. "Instead of a nine-horse field he ran against in the Florida Derby, Audible will face 19 other horses on Saturday."
Audible will run from the No. 5 post on Saturday and beat Hofburg in the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park, covering 1 1/8 miles in a time of 1:49:48. However, in a field as talented as the Kentucky Derby's, which features five horses who were favored and won their prep races, Demling says there are far better values than the 6-1 odds you'll need to lay on him.
A shocker: Demling says Vino Rosso, listed at 15-1, makes a strong run at the title. He's a target for anyone looking for a huge payday.
"Vino Rosso is a live horse because jockey John Velazquez picked this entry out of the Todd Pletcher barn," Demling told SportsLine. "He's a smaller horse compared to the rest of the field, but he's proven he has a ton of fight in him."
Vino Rosso, one of four horses trained by Pletcher in the 2018 Kentucky Derby field, won the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, beating fellow Derby competitor Enticed by three lengths. He finished third in the Sam F. Davis Stakes, only trailing the winner by one-and-a-quarter lengths, and was fourth in the Tampa Bay Derby.
Demling is especially high on a monumental long shot that would net any backer a colossal windfall. Demling is sharing which horse it is, along with his entire projected leaderboard, over at SportsLine.
Which horse wins the Kentucky Derby? And what massive long shot does Demling say contends? Check out the latest Kentucky Derby odds from Churchill Downs below, then visit SportsLine to see Demling's picks for the Kentucky Derby.
Justify (3-1)
My Boy Jack (5-1)
Audible (6-1)
Mendelssohn (6-1)
Bolt d'Oro (8-1)
Good Magic (9-1)
Magnum Moon (13-1)
Vino Rosso (15-1)
Hofburg (25-1)
Lone Sailor (26-1)
Free Drop Billy (42-1)
Promises Fulfilled (48-1)
Flameaway (49-1)
Enticed (55-1)
Noble Indy (57-1)
Firenze Fire (62-1)
Solomini (67-1)
Bravazo (69-1)
Combatant (77-1)
Instilled Regard (99-1)