All eyes will be on Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday for the 2018 Kentucky Derby. It's the most wagered-upon horse race of the year and will attract bets from novice and professional bettors alike. Trained by Bob Baffert, Justify is the 3-1 Kentucky Derby favorite, followed by UAE Derby winner Mendelssohn (5-1), who can become the first European-trained horse to win. Seven horses are going off at 12-1 Kentucky Derby odds or lower.
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 already 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 fourth-biggest favorite at 8-1, saying the Amazon-sponsored horse barely finishes in the top 10.
"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 won the Florida Derby by three lengths over Hofburg, who's going off at 20-1 in the Kentucky Derby.
There are much better values in the 2018 Kentucky Derby field than the 8-1 odds the Todd Pletcher-trained Audible is getting.
A shocker: My Boy Jack, listed at 30-1, makes a serious run at the title. He's a target for anyone looking for a huge payday.
"My Boy Jack will be closing late in the Derby, which should have a very strong pace," Demling said. "He always runs a solid race and will pass plenty of tired horses late."
My Boy Jack won the Lexington Stakes over Telekinesis in April and beat Combatant in the Southwest Stakes in February. In between, he took third in the Louisiana Derby. The Keith Desormeaux-trained horse has finished in the top three in four straight races and should be on your radar Saturday.
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)
Mendelssohn (5-1)
Magnum Moon (6-1)
Bolt d'Oro (8-1)
Audible (8-1)
Good Magic (12-1)
Vino Rosso (12-1)
Hofburg (20-1)
My Boy Jack (30-1)
Enticed (30-1)
Solomini (30-1)
Noble Indy (30-1)
Flameaway (30-1)
Free Drop Billy (30-1)
Promises Fulfilled (30-1)
Bravazo (50-1)
Lone Sailor (50-1)
Firenze Fire (50-1)
Instilled Regard (50-1)
Combatant (50-1)
Blended Citizen (50-1, also eligible)