Steve Starr
- Go to BetOnline for the latest Kentucky Derby odds on every horse in the field
- Six-time Derby champion Bob Baffert has three top contenders in Life is Good (+1000), Concert Tour (+1600), and Medina Spirit (+2200)
- Trainer Brad Cox hopes to extend his recent winning streak with Essential Quality (+1000) or Caddo River (+1600)
Returning to its traditional spot on the calendar, the 2021 Kentucky Derby will take place on Saturday, May 1 at Churchill Downs. Essential Quality and Life is Good opened as the early co-favorites at +1000, but with the race still three months out, this is no time to bet chalk. After all, top contenders like Charlatan, Maxfield, and Art Collector all went down in the lead up to the event last year.
Instead, let’s look at the odds and pick out some ponies who offer big paydays.
Odds to win 2021 Kentucky Derby
 |
|
| Essential Quality | +1000 |
| Life Is Good | +1000 |
| Caddo River | +1600 |
| Concert Tour | +1600 |
| Keepmeinmind | +2000 |
| Greatest Honour | +2200 |
| Jackie's Warrior | +2200 |
| Medina Spirit | +2200 |
| Prevalence | +2200 |
| Risk Taking | +2200 |
| Candy Man Rocket | +2500 |
| Dream Shake | +2800 |
| Freedom Fighter | +2800 |
| Highly Motivated | +2800 |
| Nova Rags | +2800 |
| Senor Buscador | +2800 |
| The Great One | +2800 |
| Classier | +3300 |
| Mandaloun | +3300 |
| Midnight Bourbon | +3300 |
| Prate | +3300 |
| Proxy | +3300 |
| Red Flag | +3300 |
| Overtook | +4000 |
| Roman Centurian | +4000 |
| Dr. Schivel | +5000 |
| Hot Rod Charlie | +5000 |
| Known Agenda | +5000 |
| Olympiad | +5000 |
| Prime Factor | +5000 |
| Reinvestment Risk | +5000 |
| Savile Row | +5000 |
| Spielberg | +5000 |
| Capo Kane | +6600 |
| Drain the Clock | +6600 |
| Get Her Number | +6600 |
| Huntsinger | +6600 |
| Prisoner | +6600 |
| Sittin On Go | +6600 |
| Team Merchants | +6600 |
| Amount | +10000 |
More Horse Racing betting resources can be found here.
Essential Quality and Life is Good favored
The two-year-old champion from 2020, Essential Quality (+1000) won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in November, but that event hasn’t been quite the harbinger one would expect with only two Juvenile winners crossing the Churchill Downs finish line first since 1984. Essential Quality is trained by Brad Cox, a Louisville native who won four Breeders’ Cup races in the fall.
While Cox has never had a starter in his hometown Kentucky Derby, Life is Good (+1000) is trained by the legendary Bob Baffert, who has claimed three of the last six Derby’s, and is mounted by Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith. Rather than bet on the favorites, however, let’s look at the other horses that Baffert and Cox have in the field.
Bob Baffert-trained Concert Tour wins San Vicente Stakes at Santa Anita https://t.co/zYpiJlZOen
— L.A. Times Sports (@latimessports) February 7, 2021
Kentucky Derby Longshots
Also trained by Cox, Caddo River (+1600) followed up an impressive 9½-length victory in a maiden race at 1 mile over the Churchill Downs track in November with a wire-to-wire 10-length win at the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park to start the 2021 season.
At +1600, Concert Tour is another contender out of Baffert’s barn. While the colt has competed only once (an easy 6 furlong win at Santa Anita in January), as the son of 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense, he is well-bred for the distance at Churchill Downs and is ridden by Joel Rosario, a top-tier jockey with a 2013 Derby win aboard Orb.
New: #Louisville trainer Brad Cox rises to the top of thoroughbred racing and takes aim at his first Kentucky Derby.https://t.co/uW93UB3UwH
— Tim Sullivan (@TimSullivan714) January 4, 2021
Baffert will also be running Medina Spirit (+2200), who only finished a length behind stablemate Life Is Good in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes in December. After the race, Baffert said the horse’s toughness down the stretch reminded him of Silver Charm, his first Kentucky Derby winner 24 years ago.
With a couple of contenders in the field, Baffert could break a tie with Ben Jones for the most Derby wins of all time if he returns to the winner’s circle at Churchill Downs for the seventh time.
See below the top sportsbooks where you can wager online and choose the best one for you:
