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Sophomore dirt routers get one last chance to chase a million-dollar purse against fellow three-year-olds on Saturday, September 20 in the Grade 1, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at Parx. The 1 ⅛-mile dirt race always features a mix of familiar faces from the Triple Crown season and up-and-coming runners who are getting better in the second half of the year, and often serves as a live prep for the Breeders’ Cup season.
The 2025 Pennsylvania Derby drew a field of eight horses. Baeza, third behind Sovereignty and Journalism in both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes, is the morning-line favorite. Preakness and Haskell runner-up Gosger gets out of the shadow of Journalism, as does Haskell third-place finisher Goal Oriented.
The winners’ list of the Pennsylvania Derby contains great names like Broad Brush, Summer Squall, Harlan’s Holiday, Bayern, Frosted, and Seize the Grey. Who is going to join that list in 2025? Keep reading to find out, and to find the best places for betting horse racing online!
Where to Bet the Pennsylvania Derby
It’s important to pick the winner of the Pennsylvania Derby, but it’s just as important to choose the best place to bet the Pennsylvania Derby online first! There are many options for playing online, so the choice can seem tough at first, but you’ve got experts in your corner. They have done the research into top online sportsbooks and they are here to help you make a profitable decision quickly.
Every recommended site has the basics of a great experience: a smooth user interface on a computer or on-the-go, trusted payouts and deposits, and market-leading odds. Every site also offers its own structure of incentives like sportsbook sign-up bonuses, referral benefits, and even horse racing rebates that pay you for every bet you make!
The Best Online Racebooks
These are the best online sportsbooks for betting the Pennsylvania Derby:
Pennsylvania Derby Horses and Odds
This is the official field for the 2025 Pennsylvania Derby including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning lines:
- So Sandy (Cherie DeVaux/Kendrick Carmouche) – 15/1
- Altobelli (James Nicholson, Jr./Angel Castillo) – 50/1
- Magnitude (Steve Asmussen/Ben Curtis) – 6/1
- David of Athens (Brendan Walsh/Tyler Gaffalione) – 12/1
- Happily Delusional (Louis Linder, Jr./Paco Lopez) – 30/1
- Goal Oriented (Bob Baffert/Irad Ortiz, Jr.) – 5/2
- Big Truzz (Brian Lynch/Javier Castellano) – 10/1
- Baeza (John Shirreffs/Hector Berrios) – 2/1
- Gosger (Brendan Walsh/Luis Saez) – 4/1
- Mo Plex (Jeremiah Englehart/Joseph Ramos) – 12/1
Keep in mind that the morning line is not a guarantee of a price on race day, but rather the track’s forecast of the betting market. It can be a useful guide to who is expected to take money or not, but odds on track shift all the way until post time.
Your best bet is to wager on the Pennsylvania Derby at an online sportsbook. They offer bonuses you’ll never find at the track, and also offer fixed-odds betting on major horse races. That way, if you see an overlay on a horse you think can win, you can lock in the price and insulate yourself from late odds moves!
 |  |  |
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| Baeza | +200 | +200 | +200 |
| Goal Oriented | +250 | +250 | +250 |
| Gosger | +400 | +400 | +400 |
| Magnitude | +600 | +600 | +600 |
| Big Truzz | +1000 | +1000 | +1000 |
Free Pennsylvania Derby Picks
With your betting account all set up, it is time to meet the top contenders for the 2025 Pennsylvania Derby!
Pennsylvania Derby Favorites
Baeza is the likely favorite, and with good reason. Though he still seeks his first graded win, he has run well in all four graded-stakes starts, holding his own against horses like Sovereignty and Journalism. The price will be short, but with tactical versatility and a pair of very good efforts over the 1 ⅛-mile distance, he should be able to finish in the money with his usual day at the office.
Goal Oriented also stands to be heavily bet given that he is trained by Bob Baffert, a trainer who has seen success in this race. The key for him would be to stay out of a battle on the front – there is a plethora of early pace in this race, and he is often on or close to the front. But, he has shown the ability to rate – he rated off a sharp pace in the Haskell last out – and if Irad Ortiz can work that kind of trip he fits. The price could be underlaid, however, on the Baffert factor.
Pennsylvania Derby Best Bet
Gosger is the best bet in the Pennsylvania Derby. With only five starts he still has room to keep moving forward, and he has been a very good second in both his tries at the top level. Now, he gets out from behind Journalism, the horse who beat him in both the Preakness and the Haskell.
His running style appeals strongly. You want early speed at Parx, but with Magnitude, Mo Plex, Altobelli, and rail-drawn So Sandy likely to hit the gas and even David of Athens and Goal Oriented possible to do it, his ability to stalk and pounce should help him along. And, his near-outside post should help him get a clean trip.
Intriguing Price Horses
David of Athens and So Sandy are the most interesting long shot prospects in the Pennsylvania Derby. David of Athens can move forward in just his fourth career start, he is bred to stretch out, he passed horses in his maiden win, and Tyler Gaffalione chooses to ride him an not last-out stakes winner Big Truzz. So Sandy has a challenging rail draw, but has a pair of good efforts at the distance and has shown a good stalking gear in his last two starts.
Pennsylvania Derby Free Picks
These are the best bets for Saturday’s 2025 Pennsylvania Derby:
- $20 to win – #9 Gosger
- $1 exacta box – #9 Gosger with #4 David of Athens, #8 Baeza
- $0.50 trifecta key – #9 Gosger with #4 David of Athens, #6 Goal Oriented, #8 Baeza
- $0.20 superfecta key – #9 Gosger with #1 So Sandy, #4 David of Athens, #6 Goal Oriented, #8 Baeza
Sports Betting Sites 