5 Favorite Horses To Win The Kentucky Derby Right Now

The Kentucky Derby is one of the biggest horse racing events in the world, and picking the winner is not that simple. The 2022 Kentucky Derby is an event that even people who don't follow horse racing are likely to pay attention to.

Since we are weeks away from the main event, and most of the prep races are finished, we can start to calculate the odds based on the performance of the horses we've seen so far.

The 148^th running of the Kentucky Derby is scheduled for May 7, 2022, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

Besides the horse racing, it is also an occasion to try the Mint Julep, the official cocktail of the Kentucky Derby that became popular even abroad.

With that said, experts have already started to forecast for the event, and the first thing to take into account when predicting who is going to win the Kentucky Derby is to check out the favorites.

It is worth mentioning that in the last eight Kentucky Derby races, the favorite horse managed to win six times.

Since we are talking about favorites, it is time to check out who the bookmakers predict to be the leading contenders through their odds. Ever since the betting market opened for the Kentucky Derby, we've seen some changes in the odds week after week.

Here are some of the favorite horses that have the biggest chance of winning the Kentucky Derby.

5 Favorite Horses For Winning the Kentucky Derby

After the fourth Kentucky Derby pool opened on March 11^th, we've seen some changes in the odds indicating other favorites.

Based on previous performances, bookmakers have tuned the odds, and browsing through them is one of the best ways to get an idea of which horse holds the best chances of winning the derby.

Epicenter

Epicenter was the favorite horse right from the start with incredible appearances in the prep races. However, in the mid-stage of the prep races we've seen Epicenter fall in terms of odds. In Pool 4 Epicenter had 13/1 odds, and once Pool 5 opened we've seen a jump to 8/1 putting him in the third most favorite spot for winning the race.

The latest results from the odds suggest that Epicenter Jumped to 6/1 making him the most favorite for winning the race.

Forbidden Kingdom

The Forbidden Kingdom is another favorite horse for winning the Kentucky Derby, with flawless appearances in past races. With Juan J. as the jockey and trainer Richard E. Mandella, Forbidden Kingdom has the potential for finishing first in the final event.

Even though Forbidden Kingdom didn't appear in many races in the past year (only two), this beast of a horse still managed to win in both events. With career earnings of $434,000, it is a serious contender for winning the Derby.

Morello

A big jump in terms of odds we've seen at Morello who falls on the fourth most favorite horse for winning the Kentucky Derby. In pool 4 of the 2022 Kentucky Derby Future Wager Morello had 17/1 odds, and now it is well past other horses that were considered favorites like Classic Causeway or Zandon.

Smile Happy

After Pool 4 where Smile Happy was also the favorite, we've seen some changes in the odds dropping from 8/1 from pool 3 to 6/1 to pool 4. The situation in Pool 5 remains unchanged, and Smile Happy is still the horse with the smallest odds of winning the Derby.

Smile Happy has been a favorite since the beginning of the road to Kentucky races, and there is a good chance that it will climb high on the finish result table.

Mo Donegal

Last but not least we have Mo Donegal, who had an impressive jump in the past pools. In pool 3 of the 2022 Kentucky Derby Future Wager, Mo Donegal had 14/1 and jumped to 24/1 in the Pool 4.

However, it seems like the odds are turning in his favor since it climbed back up to 12/1 and now is considered a fifth favorite for winning the big event.

These are all the favorites for winning the Kentucky Derby and as we approach the main event things might change. With that said, it is always good to do your own research and browse through the participant's history of races just to get a better idea about which horse has the potential for winning the Kentucky Derby.

(Devdiscourse's journalists were not involved in the production of this article. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Devdiscourse and Devdiscourse does not claim any responsibility for the same.)