With the race set for Saturday, Dortmund continues his climb up the odds to win the Kentucky Derby at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com, sitting at 7-2 heading into the weekend.
Dortmund, who was back at 15-2 odds as recently as April 1, continues to close the gap on the favorite American Pharoah, who is perched at 13-5 after being awarded one of the outside post positions in this week’s gate draw.
The Bob Baffert-trained stablemates have not disappointed in their march toward the 141st running of the Derby at Churchill Downs.
American Pharoah was mesmerizing in his most recent victory at the Arkansas Derby, destroying the field, which included Kentucky Derby hopefuls Far Right and Mr. Z, by a full eight lengths and extending his current winning streak to four races.
Dortmund has been equally dominant, galloping to a 4.5-length victory at the Santa Anita Derby in early April, extending his perfect record to 6-0.
Carpe Diem has struggled to keep pace with the favorites, coming out of Wednesday’s gate draw with the No. 2 post position and slightly diminished odds of 17-2. The 3-year-old son of Giant’s Causeway has won four of his last five races, including a recent victory in the Blue Grass Stakes at Lexington’s Keeneland Racecourse, where he and jockey John Velazquez continued to work until last weekend.
Carpe Diem had risen as high as 6-1 on the Kentucky Derby odds after tumbling as far as 18-1 in mid-February, but little further movement in his betting line is expected prior to race day.
Favorites have claimed victory in the last two editions of the Run for the Roses, but with a total of just six favorites carrying the day over the past three decades, attention must be paid to some of the intriguing picks in this year’s field.
Undefeated Materiality grabbed the No. 3 post position at Wednesday’s gate draw and maintains solid 14-1 odds at the sportsbooks. One of four Todd Pletcher-trained horses in this year’s Derby, along with Carpe Diem, Stanford, and Itsaknockout, Materiality has won three consecutive races, including a thrilling two-horse finish in the Florida Derby over rival Upstart, who is a 22-1 bet for Saturday’s race.
Itsaknockout has emerged as a favorite among boxing betting fans playing Saturday night’s superfight between welterweights Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. The winner of three consecutive races before finishing a disappointing fourth in the Florida Derby, Itsaknockout is at 33-1 on the Kentucky Derby odds and is a long-shot 50-1 props wager to join Mayweather as a winner on Saturday night.
Thumbnail photo via Jamie Rhodes/USA TODAY Sports Images
