Kentucky Derby 2018: Latest Purse Payout, Vegas Betting Odds and Field Lineup

Anticipation for the 144th Kentucky Derby is starting to reach fever pitch, as Saturday's race marks the start of the Triple Crown racing season.

Justify is the favorite at +350 (7-2), and he appears to be worthy of that status. Justify is undefeated in his three races, and he is trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert and ridden by Mike Smith, who is also in the Hall of Fame and one of the sport's top jockeys.

Justify did not go to the post at all as a two-year-old, and that's unusual for a Kentucky Derby contender. No horse has won the Run for the Roses without running as a two-year-old since 1882, when Apollo was victorious under those conditions.

Trying to overcome a 136-year-old trend is noteworthy, and Justify is not alone in that area. Magnum Moon has won all four of his races this year, but he did not race as a two-year-old, either. Magnum Moon is listed with odds of +700 (wager $100 to win $700).

Both of those horses have an excellent chance to make a run at the title.

The payoffs are impressive. The Kentucky Derby has a prize pool of $2 million, and $1.24 million goes to the winner. The second-placed finisher will take home $400,000, the third-placed runner will earn $200,000, fourth gets $100,000 and fifth gets $60,000.

Here's a look at the full field for the Kentucky Derby. Post time at Churchill Downs is scheduled for 6:34 p.m. ET, but the horses are likely to take off from the starting gate at 6:46 p.m. NBC will televise the race.

Current Odds

1. Firenze Fire +6,600

2. Free Drop Billy +3,300

3. Promises Fulfilled +4,000

4. Flameaway +4,000

5. Audible +550

6. Good Magic +900

7. Justify +350

8. Lone Sailor +5,000

9. Hofburg +1,600

10. My Boy Jack +2,200

11. Bolt d'Oro +900

12. Enticed +2,500

13. Bravazo +5,000

14. Mendelssohn +400

15. Instilled Regard +5,000

16. Magnum Moon +700

17. Solomini +2,000

18. Vino Rosso +1,400

19. Noble Indy +2,800

20. Combatant +6,600

According to OddsShark.

In addition to Justify and Magnum Moon, horse racing fans should keep an eye Mendelssohn, who is listed at +400 and is the second choice in the race.

Mendelssohn is a powerful horse who is trained by Aidan O'Brien and ridden by Ryan L. Moore. O'Brien is the top trainer in Europe, while Moore has won three British jockey awards.

If the trainer and the jockey's strengths were not enough, Mendelssohn is coming off an eye-opening victory in the UAE Derby. He won that race by 18 ½ lengths, and if he can come close to the form he showed in rolling over that field, he will be a formidable runner in Kentucky.

Bolt d'Oro is also worthy of consideration with odds of +900. Trained by Mick Rulis and ridden by Victor Espinoza, Bolt d'Oro has run exclusively in in California. He finished second in April's Santa Anita Derby.

Hofburg is a long shot at +1,600, but the fact he has been entered in the race by trainer William Mott is an excellent sign. Mott is a patient trainer who is known to wait to enter his horses in big races until he thinks they are ready. He will not put a horse in the Kentucky Derby unless he thinks it is prepared to run a big race.

Irad Ortiz Jr. will ride Hofburg, and he has a chance to make a run at one of the top three spots on the board.

So does Vino Rosso, who is starting from one of the spots on the far outside at the No. 18 post. This could be a major issue if the horse does not break well. If he remains to the outside, he would have to run far more than the 1 ¼ mile that is required.

Vino Rosso is trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by John Velazquez, and he won the Wood Memorial in New York. He was impressive in that race, and he deserves consideration in the Run for the Roses.