Kentucky Derby 2018 Jockeys and Horses' Top Odds for 144th Race Field

You don't have to be a devoted horse racing fan to get caught up in the enthusiasm that surrounds the Kentucky Derby.

This is the classic American horse race, and the thought of the first Saturday in May is always about the track at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Kentucky Derby is the most famous North American horse race, and it starts the Triple Crown season.

After 20 horses go to the post, a select number of horses will reconvene May 19 in Baltimore for the Preakness, and the same is true three weeks after that for the Belmont Stakes.

If any horse can win all three races, it will be a historic achievement: the Triple Crown.

During the 1970s, Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977) and Affirmed (1978) won the Triple Crown. However, no horse was able to follow suit until American Pharoah accomplished the feat in 2015.

While that broke a long drought, another Triple Crown winner in 2018 would shine an even brighter light on the sport.

The favorite going into this year's race is Justify, an impressive horse with a Hall of Fame team that includes trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Mike Smith. Justify comes into the race with three wins in three races and is listed at odds of plus-350 (bet $100 to win $350) by OddsShark.

Kentucky Derby Field 

1. Firenze Fire, Paco Lopez (+6600)

2. Free Drop Billy, Robby Albarado (+3500)

3. Promises Fulfilled, Corey Lanerie (+5000)

4. Flameaway, Jose Lezcano (+4500)

5. Audible, Javier Castellano (+650)

6. Good Magic, Jose Ortiz (+800)

7. Justify, Mike Smith (+350)

8. Lone Sailor, James Graham (+5000)

9. Hofburg, Irad Ortiz (+1500)

10. My Boy Jack, Kent Desormeaux (+1800)

11. Bolt d'Oro, Victor Espinoza (+850)

12. Enticed, Junior Alvarado (+2,500)

13. Bravazo, Luis Contreras (+6000)

14. Mendelssohn, Ryan Moore (+350)

15. Instilled Regard, Drayden Van Dyke (+6000)

16. Magnum Moon, Luis Saez (+750)

17. Solomini, Flavian Pratt (+2200)

18. Vino Rosso, John Velazquez (+1200)

19. Noble Indy, Florent Geroux (+3000)

20. Combatant, Ricardo Santana (+6600)

Justify's most important victory was in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. That race featured one of the strongest fields of the three-year-old racing season, and it has to give Justify's backers confidence that he can run another excellent race in Kentucky.

The Derby distance of 1 ¼ miles is often a challenge for the competitors. Most have never raced at that distance, and while trainers try to prepare their charges for the distance, they don't know how their horses will react to the final furlong of the race.

Justify should get a major challenge from Mendelssohn, who is running out of the No. 14 post position. Mendelssohn was victorious in the UAE Derby in late March, and he won that race by 18.5 lengths.

Mendelssohn is trained by Aidan O'Brien and ridden by Ryan Moore. O'Brien is one of Europe's most successful trainers, while Moore has few peers as a jockey in Great Britain. He has won jockey of the year honors three times.

Magnum Moon is another strong contender for the title, and he will be ridden by Luis Saez. Magnum Moon has been prepared for the Run for the Roses by trainer Todd Pletcher, and he is coming off a triumph in the Arkansas Derby. 

Justify and Magnum Moon did not have race at all as two-year-olds. That's very unusual for strong Kentucky Derby contenders, many of whom scored impressive wins as juveniles.

No horse has won the Derby without running as a two-year-old since Apollo accomplished the feat in 1882, so Baffert and Pletcher are trying to overcome the so-called Apollo Curse.

One of the long shots in the field that is worth considering is Hofburg, who is listed at plus-1600 and is trained by veteran conditioner William Mott. Hofburg has run only three races, but Mott must see something he likes in his charge.

Mott is known for keeping horses out of big races until they are ready and has bypassed several big-name races with solid horses at several points in his career.

Since Mott is willing and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. led the nation in wins last year, there is every chance that Hofburg could come up with a big race.