Kentucky Derby 2025: most exciting 2 minutes

30 April 2025 |

This year is the 151st edition of the race. The first Derby took place in 1875 and have been held every year since. Even during World War II and the Covid pandemic, when the race was postponed but still held within the same year.

The horses are ready at the post ready with their blinkers on for the annual Kentucky Derby. The Kentucky Derby is one of the oldest continually running sports events in America. The race is run by thoroughbreds over a distance of 10 furlongs or 1.25 miles. The Kentucky Derby weekend is held on the first weekend of May and consists of two days. The weekend is not just about horse racing but is a showing of your fashion style. Spectators show off their colourful suits and extravagant hats which forms a big part of the celebrations during the weekend.

The Weekend’s Traditions

There are a few traditions that take place during the weekend. The signature drink for the event is the Mint julep. The drink is a cocktail of bourbon, sugary water, and fresh mint over crushed ice, with a whopping 120,000 consumed over the weekend. Written in 1855, the traditional song My Old Kentucky Home plays just before the Derby starts. The Derby is often called the “Run of the Roses” because the winner is draped in a blanket of over 500 red roses.

Kentucky Derby 2025 Race days

The Friday is known as Kentucky Oaks day. The day features 14 races and draws a crowd of over a hundred thousand. The main race for the day is the Kentucky Derby which is a grade one for fillies. Kentucky Derby offers 14 races and feature the main race for the weekend the Kentucky Derby with a massive purse of $3 million.

Kentucky Derby Race History

The Kentucky Derby is one of three races that form part of the Triple Crown. The Triple Crown consists of the Belmont Stakes, Preakness Stakes and the Kentucky Derby. A horse needs to win all three races in the same year to win the Crown. Only 13 horses have won the Triple Crown to date, the last horses to win was Justify in 2018 and American Pharaoh in 2015.

Last year’s winner of the Kentucky Derby 2024 was Mystik Dan. Who will gallop away the winner in the Kentucky Derby 2025?

Favourites to win Kentucky Derby 2025

20 horses feature at the starting gates of the Kentucky Derby. The race is the most prestigious horse race on the American racing calendar and takes place at Churchill Downs. This year’s race will see three horses from Japan taking part in the race.  

We will be focusing on the top contenders for the race. Nine of the 20 horses have odds of 30/1, and four have odds of 20/1, making them clear outsiders in the field. Have a look at our preferred bookies to see what odds they are giving the individual horses.

Odds on the remaining seven horses

Luxor Cafe is a horse from Japan under the training of Koichi Nishikawa. The due is in at 15/1.

Burnham Square as well as Rodriquez are both in at 12/1.

Jockey Dylan Davis rides Grande, and the pair are somewhat of an underdog in the race making them a good bet at 10/1.

Considered to be the strongest contenders

Sandman has had a great year with substantial earnings. She will take part in the race under the guidance of trainer Mark E. Casse. The pair comes in at 6/1.

Sovereignty is another horse that has done well this year. Jockey Franco Manuel rides the colt, one of the front runners in the race at 5/1

Journalism is also a strong horse at the moment. The colt has all the elements to take the race and comes in at 3/1.

Furthermore, diehard and real horse racing enthusiasts will have to stay up late to watch the race live. The race will be on 12:57 on Sunday morning. The race however is rather short and just over two minutes long so viewers will be able to get to bed just before 1 am on Sunday morning. Therefore visit our bookies below to see the odds on the Kentucky Derby.

Best Horse Racing Betting Sites

There are a few top notch bookies to choose from when you place your horse racing bet. 10bet just added Horse Race betting to the mix in the last few months and are an excellent choice! Hollywoodbets and Betway are always front runners and offer great promos. Easybet added Horse racing not to long ago and Soccershop are a fan favourites as well. So shop around and see who may be your best match.

The Hollywoodbets Durban July 2025 is not to far off and you will see some excellent promos popping up soon. Betway also offers the betway Mane Million with great odds and markets in tow.

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