Payouts For 2025 Kentucky Derby Bets Are Up

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated May 3, 2025 7:52 PM ET

If you planned on betting the two favorites in the Kentucky Derby today we hope you had the presence of mind to box your bets at least.

No. 18 Sovereignty won the Kentucky Derby by several lengths over No. 8 Journalism. Sovereignty had started the race with the second-shortest odds in the 19-horse field while Journalism had been the weeklong favorite.

By the end of the betting, Sovereignty had 7-1 odds of winning while Journalism had 3-1 odds.

So what does that mean for people who placed money on the horses?

For people wagers straight up win-place-show betting, a $2 wager to on Sovereignty to win pays out $17.96. It's $7.50 to place and $5.58 to show.

Sovereignty, trained by Bill Mott, works out Saturday, April 19, 2025, at Churchill Downs two weeks ahead of the 2025 Kentucky Derby.© Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As for Journalism, a $2 place bet pays out $4.94 and it's $3.70 on a wager to show.

Coming in third was No. 21 Baeza, a late addition to the race after two horses were scratched. A $2 wager to show pays out $8.38.

If you went with more complex bets, the payouts were a little bit higher. A $2 exacta (a 1-2 finish) pays out $48.32, while a $1 trifecta of all three horses pays out a whopping $231.12.

Finally, a $1 superfecta on Sovereignty, Journalism, Baeza and No. 3 Final Gambit paid out an incredible $1,682.27.

#8 SOVEREIGNTY ($17.80) wins the $5 million Kentucky Derby (G1) at @ChurchillDowns. The son of Into Mischief was ridden by @JuniorandKellyA, trained by Bill Mott, owned and bred by @godolphin. Congrats to all the connections! pic.twitter.com/SR56wS9Lit
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) May 3, 2025

All eyes are now on Pimlico in Maryland for the upcoming Preakness Stakes in two weeks. It's been seven years since a Kentucky Derby winner went on to win the Preakness, and that was 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify.

Since Justify's Triple Crown win, not a single horse has managed to win multiple jewels in the Triple Crown. Six Kentucky Derbies, six Preakness Stakes, and six Belmont Stakes have yielded 18 different winners.

But if Sovereignty could beat Journalism, there's really no reason to believe that he can't beat any horse that he may face in Pimlico - no matter how well-rested they are.

And given that Pimlico tends to be one of the more difficult tracks to race on, the fact that Sovereignty won on a sloppy track at Churchill Downs can only boost his chances of claiming that coveted second jewel in the Triple Crown.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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