Kentucky Derby Odds 2012: Why Bodemeister Will Win the Derby, Triple Crown

The Kentucky Derby is only days away, and the horse racing world is getting ready to head to the historic Churchill Downs for the biggest race of the entire season.

Discussion has already begun about who the best horses in the race will be, and the two favorites up until this point are Bodemeister and Union Rags, both at 9/2 odds.

While both horses are impressive in their own right, it's Bodemeister who has the edge over Union Rags because of the amount of experience the people handling him have.

Here's why Bodemeister is a shoo-in to be the first Triple Crown winner in over three decades.

Trainer Bob Baffert

Bodemeister's trainer is Bob Baffert, and there are few in the sport who are better.

Baffert's winning pedigree speaks for itself, having won three Kentucky Derby races (1997, 1998 and 2002). Incredibly, in each of the years he's won the Derby, Baffert has gone on to win the Preakness and come one race short of the Triple Crown.

Chances are, if Baffert's horse can win the Kentucky Derby, the horse will also win the Preakness. That means Bodemeister will have a great shot at completing the Triple Crown, giving Baffert the distinction he's come so close to getting in the past.

Jockey Mike Smith

Mike Smith will be riding Bodemeister, and much like Baffert, he's had great success in the past.

Smith has won each of the Triple Crown races at some point in his career. He won the Preakness in 1993, the Kentucky Derby in 2005 and the Belmont Stakes in 2010.

Smith has a great experience edge over Union Rags' jockey, Julian Leparoux. Leparoux has never won a single Triple Crown race.

Smith's winning history instantly gives Bodemeister an edge over most horses in the race, and having a Belmont win under his belt, Smith could be the jockey that gets Baffert over the hump in the Triple Crown's final race.

Odds-On Favorite Due for Win

A favorite not winning is nothing new in horse racing. Last year, Animal Kingdom shocked the world by winning the Kentucky Derby at 20/1 odds and throwing a wrench into the plans of the horse racing world.

In fact, the favorite in the Derby hasn't won since Big Brown did it in 2008 and Street Sense the year before that.

The favorite is due to win this race in a big way, and that could work to Bodemeister's benefit in the 2012 Kentucky Derby.