Kentucky Derby 2024 predictions, odds: Top expert picks for win, place, show, exacta, trifecta, superfecta

Jody Demling has revealed his win, place and show picks for the Kentucky Derby 2024 on Saturday, May 4

The 2024 Kentucky Derby will take place on Saturday, May 4 at Churchill Downs, the first leg of the Triple Crown. In 2018, Justify became the 13th horse in history to complete the Triple Crown and two of his direct offspring will have a chance to run for immortality on Saturday. Just Steel and Just a Touch were sired by Justify and they qualified via second-place finishes in prep races earlier this spring. Just a Touch was second in the Blue Grass Stakes and is 10-1 in the 2024 Kentucky Derby odds, while Just Steel was the runner-up in the Arkansas Derby and is 20-1.

Fierceness is the 5-2 Kentucky Derby favorite for the 150th Run for the Roses. Other 2024 Kentucky Derby contenders include Sierra Leone (3-1) and Catching Freedom (8-1). The 2024 Kentucky Derby post time is 6:57 p.m. ET. With so much to consider while making your 2024 Kentucky Derby picks, a little expert help can go a long way.

The 150th Kentucky Derby will feature a pair of Japanese entries in T O Password (30-1) and Forever Young (10-1). No Japanese horse has won the Kentucky Derby and there have only been five international winners in history, with two hailing from the UK (Omar Khayyam and Tomy Lee), one from Venezuela (Canonero II), and two from Canada (Northern Dancer and Sunny's Halo). Derma Sotogake (2023) and Master Fencer (2019) have the best previous finish from a Japanese-bred horse, each taking sixth in the Run for the Roses. The first Japanese horse to appear in the Kentucky Derby field was Ski Captain in 1995, and he went on to finish a disappointing 14th after going off at 12-1.

Given all the history, there's a method to picking which horses to focus on for exacta, trifecta and superfecta bets in a Kentucky Derby like this, and SportsLine expert Jody Demling knows what it is. He can help you make the best 2024 Kentucky Derby picks possible.

A fixture in the horse racing world who has been writing about, talking about and betting on races for years, Demling enters the 2024 Kentucky Derby having nailed the winner of the Belmont Stakes four of the last six years, including an exacta in 2022 with Mo Donegal and Nest. He also called Flightline's win at the Breeders' Cup Classic in November of that year. 

Demling is at his best in the biggest horse races in the world like the Kentucky Derby 2024. In fact, he has hit 10 of the last 15 Derby-Oaks doubles at Churchill Downs. That means he held a ticket with the winners of both races all but five times in the last 15 years. 

He's also called 10 of the last 19 Preakness winners, including nailing his Preakness winner, exacta and superfecta picks in 2023, keenly understanding when the Kentucky Derby winner was poised for victory or a massive upset. Anyone who has followed him is up huge. Now, he's sharing all of his 2024 Kentucky Derby bets here.

Top 2024 Kentucky Derby expert picks

Here's a refresher on these types of bets from SportsLine's Jody Demling:

Kentucky Derby Exacta: Pick the first- and second-place finishers in the correct order. A $2 exacta returned $330.44 at the 2023 Kentucky Derby with Mage and Two Phil's.

Kentucky Derby Trifecta: Pick the first-, second- and third-place finishers in the correct order. A $1 trifecta returned $982.36 at the 2023 Kentucky Derby with Mage, Two Phil's and Angel of Empire.

Kentucky Derby Superfecta: Pick the first-, second-, third- and fourth-place finishers in the correct order. A $1 superfecta returned a colossal $15,643.65 at the 2023 Kentucky Derby with Mage, Two Phil's, Angel of Empire and Disarm.

Demling is not taking Fierceness (5-2) to win this year, even though he's the favorite. Instead, he is building his tickets around Sierra Leone and a massive double-digit longshot who "keeps getting better and better." You can see his picks here. 

How to make 2024 Kentucky Derby bets

Demling has specific recommendations for exacta, trifecta and superfecta wagers so you can cover all your bases at the Kentucky Derby 2024. He's sharing them over at SportsLine.

So which horses do you take? And in what combinations? Visit SportsLine to get Demling's picks for exacta, trifecta and superfecta bets for the 2024 Kentucky Derby.

2024 Kentucky Derby odds, futures