Kentucky Derby 2022: Betting Odds, Top Contenders For Triple Crown Horse Race

The field for the 2022 Kentucky Derby is set as 20 horses will compete in the 148th Run for the Roses. After Monday’s post-position draw, the opening betting odds suggest that a pair of horses are the top contenders to win the year’s first Triple Crown race.

Zandon opened as the favorite to win the 2022 Kentucky Derby with 3/1 odds. Epicenter isn’t far behind with 7/2 odds in Saturday’s race at Churchill Downs. No other horse in the field has better than 8/1 odds as they seek to join the list of recent longshot winners.

Epicenter was expected by many to be named the Kentucky Derby favorite, coming off a victory at the Louisiana Derby on March 26. The horse drew the No. 3 post position, while Zandon has the No. 10 post after coming off a win in last month's Blue Grass Stakes.

Trainer Steve Asmussen said he’ll be surprised if Epicenter doesn’t win the Kentucky Derby and jockey Joel Rosario is comfortable with the post.

“Joel’s very confident in the rhythm of the horse,” Asmussen said, via The Courier-Journal. “If he’s away cleanly, Joel will let him be who he is and I think he’ll stay on beautifully. … I’ve always said about post positions: ‘You don’t know to complain about them until after the race is run.’”

Messier, with the No. 6 post, has the third-best odds at 8/1. White Abarrio and Mo Donegal are up next with 10/1 odds. Taiba is given a realistic chance to win the Kentucky Derby at 12/1.

Happy Jack, Summer Is Tomorrow, Tiz the Bomb, Pioneer of Medina, Barber Road, Classic Causeway, Tawny Port and Ethereal Road are all long shots with 30/1 odds.

Medina Spirit initially won last year’s Kentucky Derby with 12/1 odds, but the horse was stripped of the victory because of a failed drug test. Mandaloun, which later became the official 2021 Derby winner, had 26/1 odds on the day of the race.

Three years ago, Country House became the Derby winner with 65/1 odds.