2023 Kentucky Derby horses, futures, odds, date: Expert who nailed 10 Derby-Oaks Doubles shares best picks
The 2023 Kentucky Derby will take place on Saturday, May 6 at Churchill Downs. With less than a month until the 149th Run for the Roses, the 2023 Kentucky Derby field is becoming clearer. Todd Pletcher is a two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer and will have multiple chances to become just the seventh trainer to go to the winner's circle at Kentucky Derby 2023. Pletcher's top horse, Forte, is the runaway leader in the 2023 Road to the Kentucky Derby standings with 190 points.
Forte won the Florida Derby to bring his career earnings to nearly $2.36 million, more than double that of any other three-year-old, and he's the 3-1 favorite in the 2023 Kentucky Derby odds. Kingsbarns, another Pletcher offering, has already qualified with a win in the Louisiana Derby and is a 43-1 longshot in Kentucky Derby 2023 futures, while Pletcher's other Derby contenders Tapit Trice and Major Dude are at 8-1 and 141-1, respectively. Before making any 2023 Kentucky Derby picks, be sure to see the horse racing predictions and futures bets from SportsLine's elite horse racing expert Jody Demling.
A fixture in the horse racing world who has been writing about, talking about and betting on races for years, Demling enters the 2023 Kentucky Derby having nailed the winner of the Belmont Stakes four of the last fives years, including an exacta in 2022 with Mo Donegal and Nest. He also nailed Flightline's win at the Breeders' Cup Classic last November.
Demling is at his best in the biggest horse races in the world like the Kentucky Derby 2023. In fact, he has hit 10 of the last 14 Derby-Oaks doubles at Churchill Downs. That means he held a ticket with the winners of both races all but four times in the last 14 years. He's also called nine of the last 18 Preakness winners, keenly understanding when the Kentucky Derby winner was poised for victory or a massive upset, and nailed the 2022 Preakness trifecta. Anyone who has followed him is up huge.
Now, with the 2023 Kentucky Derby futures already on the board, Demling is sharing his picks and predictions over at SportsLine. Go here to see them.
Top 2023 Kentucky Derby predictions
One of Demling's surprising 2023 Kentucky Derby picks: He is fading Tapit Trice (8-1), even though he's one of the favorites and just won the Tampa Bay Derby. Tapit Trice is a son of the legendary Tapit, North America's leading sire from 2014-2016 who has produced four Belmont Stakes winners. Tapit Trice has won three times in four career starts.
That has traditionally been more than enough to qualify for the Kentucky Derby, but Demling ultimately questions the horse's maturity. In addition, despite all the successes of his progeny, a son of Tapit has never won the Kentucky Derby. See which other 2023 Kentucky Derby horses to avoid at SportsLine.
Another stunner: Demling is high on Reincarnate, even though he's a long shot at 24-1. The Tim Yakteen-trained horse was sired by Good Magic and has a graded stakes win at the 2023 Sham Stakes. He has not finished worse than third place in six races, coming in third place at the Rebel Stakes at the end of February.
Reincarnate got off to a poor start at the Rebel Stakes and then was blocked by fifth-place finisher Bourbon Bash as he was rallying in the middle of the race. Despite that race not going as Yakteen had hoped, his horse still managed an eye-catching third. Reincarnate will be a serious contender in the Kentucky Derby if he can run his style of race, making him a value bet as one of the 2023 Kentucky Derby sleepers. See which other horses to back at SportsLine.
How to make 2023 Kentucky Derby picks, bets
Demling is especially high on a big longshot who will benefit from the 2023 Kentucky Derby distance and could make a serious charge at Churchill Downs. Anyone who backs this horse could hit it big. Demling is sharing which horse it is, along with his entire projected leaderboard, over at SportsLine.
