2024 Kentucky Derby jockeys: Aboard Fierceness, John Velazquez eyes 4th win in Run for the Roses

The first leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby, is set for Saturday, May 4, 2024 at Churchill Downs in Louisville.

Online horse betting sites and apps like FanDuel Racing will take bets on the horses you think have a chance to win the 150th Run for the Roses, contested over 1 1/4 miles.

Now is an excellent time to remind you that horse racing is a team sport. Triple Crown-winning horses get almost all the glory, but even the fastest horses can't win without a jockey. From Hall of Famers who have been here before to first-time Triple Crown participants on their first Kentucky Derby ride, here’s a look at the jockeys that will suit up and sit down on this first Saturday in May. 

More on Run for the Roses: Derby horse-by-horse breakdown 

2024 Kentucky Derby jockeys + their horses and odds

Fierceness is the morning-line Kentucky Derby favorite, priced at 5-to-2 odds. The Repole Stable horse won the Florida Derby and has three wins in five career starts. He'll be ridden by John Velazquez

Sierra Leone, with Tyler Gaffalione in the saddle, is the next early-line favorite at 3/1. The Chad Brown-trained horse has three wins in four career starts and won the Kentucky Derby Prep Race Leaderboard.

Catching Freedom, with jockey Flavien Prat, is the third early-line favorite at 8/1. The Brad Cox-trained horse has three wins in five career starts.

Play here: Place No Sweat First Bet up to $500 at FanDuel Racing | More betting promos

The 2024 Kentucky Derby field features jockeys who have won previous Kentucky Derby races, others who have won and had the victory snatched away, Kentucky Derby veterans who have yet to produce, and others making their Derby debuts. Here’s a look.

Kentucky Derby jockeys aboard the favorites: John Velazquez rides Fierceness

Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez has won the Kentucky Derby three times and would have a fourth win, if not for Medina Spirit’s DQ in 2021. The 52-year-old will be aboard favorite Fierceness, a season removed from completing his personal Triple Crown by winning the Preakness Stakes on National Treasure.

Tyler Gaffalione will be aboard Sierra Leone in his seventh Kentucky Derby start, looking to turn around his 0-for-6 Run for the Roses record. Gaffalione finished seventh aboard War of Will in 2019 but went on to win the Preakness.

Flavien Prat will be aboard Catching Freedom in his seventh lifetime Kentucky Derby start. He’s 0 for 6 in the Run for the Roses, but Prat has a Preakness win and has placed no worse than third at the Derby for three years running.

Previous Kentucky Derby-winning jockeys with mounts on Saturday

Florent Geroux will be riding Just a Touch in a bid for his second career Kentucky Derby win. However, his first win didn’t come on the first Saturday in May. Geroux had to wait nearly a year to be awarded the win aboard 2021 runner-up Mandaloun after race-day winner Medina Spirit’s banned substance disqualification.

Luis Saez won the 145th Run for the Roses aboard Maximum Security in 2019, but race officials ultimately disqualified the horse. Saez will be aboard Dornoch in his 11th Kentucky Derby start.

2024 Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee Joel Rosario won the Kentucky Derby aboard Orb in 2013. He’ll be riding Track Phantom this year in his ninth Kentucky Derby. 

The 0-fers

Junior Alvarado will be aboard Resilience in his fifth Kentucky Derby start, hoping to win, place, or show for the first time. His best finish to date was a fourth in 2016 on Mohaymen. 

Irad Ortiz Jr. will be riding Domestic Product in his eighth Kentucky Derby. He’s 0-for-7 in the Run for the Roses, but Ortiz has been the winningest jockey in North America for the past seven years.

Irad Ortiz Jr.’s younger brother Jose Ortiz will be aboard Catalytic in his ninth career Kentucky Derby start.  He’s 0-for-8 in the Run for the Roses, but Ortiz placed second on Good Magic in 2018 and has won the Preakness and Belmont. 

Grizzled Derby vets

Emisael Jaramillo will be on Grand Mo the First in his first Kentucky Derby since an 18th-place finish in 2016. The Venezuelan jockey has ridden Grand Mo to wins in four of the horse’s six starts.

Umberto Rispoli is riding Endlessly in only his second lifetime Kentucky Derby start. The first resulted in a 14th-place finish aboard Brooklyn Strong. However, Rispoli and Endlessly are coming off back-to-back wins at the Jeff Ruby Steaks and the El Camino Real Derby.

Kazushi Kimura will be aboard T O Password in the Japanese-Canadian's second Kentucky Derby. Kimura was one of the top 20 winningest jockeys in North America last year. 

Four-time Longines World's Best Jockey winner and legendary European rider Frankie Dettori put off retirement to ride Society Man in this year’s Kentucky Derby. However, it's just his second Run for the Roses. His first was 24 years ago when he finished sixth aboard China Visit.

Brian Hernandez Jr. will be aboard Mystik Dan in the jockey’s fifth Kentucky Derby. He’s never finished better than eighth in his previous four Derby starts.

Jesus Castanon will ride West Saratoga in only his second Kentucky Derby, despite having ridden in over 20,000 career races. Castanon finished fourth on Shackleford in 2011 but went on to win the Preakness.

Jockeys making Kentucky Derby debuts

Antonio Fresu will be aboard Stronghold in his Kentucky Derby debut. The Italian jockey has been winning big races in Dubai, and Stronghold won last month's Santa Anita Derby.

Ben Curtis will be aboard Honor Marie in his first Kentucky Derby. The Irishman is a veteran jockey in the UK.

Keith Asmussen will be aboard Just Steel in his Kentucky Derby debut. The 25-year-old is the Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen’s son.

Ryusei Sakai will be aboard Forever Young in his Kentucky Derby debut. Sakai was supposed to be riding in the 149th Run for the Roses, but his ride, Continuar, withdrew.

Adam Beschizza will be aboard Epic Ride in his second Kentucky Derby start this Saturday. However, it’s his first on the first Saturday in May. Beschizza finished seventh on Enforceable in 2020, the year COVID pushed the Kentucky Derby to September. 

What jockeys have won the Kentucky Derby the most?

Eddie Arcaro and Bill Hartack each won the Kentucky Derby five times, while Bill Shoemaker’s horse led at the wire four times. Several jockeys have three Derby victories on their resume. 

Here's the list of jockeys with three Derby wins or more:   

• Eddie Arcaro: 5 Derby wins (1938, 1941, 1945, 1948, 1952)
• Bill Hartack: 5 wins (1957, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1969)
• Bill Shoemaker: 4 Derby wins (1955, 1959, 1965, 1986)
• Isaac Murphy: 3 Derby win (1884, 1890, 1891)
• Earl Sande: 3 wins (1923, 1925, 1930)
• Ángel Cordero Jr. : 3 wins  (1974, 1976, 1985)
• Gary Stevens: 3 wins (1988, 1995, 1997)
• Kent Desormeaux: 3 wins (1998, 2000, 2008)
• Calvin Borel: 3 wins (2007, 2009, 2010)
• Victor Espinoza: 3 wins (2002, 2014, 2015)
• John Velazquez: 3 wins (2011, 2017, 2020)

Betting on 2024 Kentucky Derby

Whether you like the horse, the jockey, or both, betting on the Kentucky Derby is easy. Start with the following straight bets, where you pick winners and horses to finish in the top two or three. 

Win

You pick a horse to win the Kentucky Derby. If that horse wins, you’ll get paid at odds based on how much is bet on Win tickets and how many tickets have the winner.

FanDuel Racing is offering a No Sweat First Bet on the Kentucky Derby worth up to $500 in certain states

Place

You pick a horse to win or finish runner-up in the Kentucky Derby. If that horse wins or finishes second, you’ll get paid at odds based on how much is bet on Place tickets and how many of these tickets include the winner or runner-up.

Show

You pick a horse to win, finish runner-up, or come third in the Kentucky Derby. If that horse wins, finishes second, or comes third, you’ll get paid at odds based on how much is bet on Show tickets and how many of these tickets include the winner, runner-up, or third-place horse.

You can go deeper and continue betting on the Kentucky Derby with exotics, where you pick combinations of horses to finish in the top two, three, or four.

Exacta

You bet on two horses to finish first and second in that order in this year’s Kentucky Derby. You’ll get paid long odds when you pick the top two in exact finishing order. However, you can box the bet to include two separate bets, flipping the finishing order of your horses.

Trifecta

You bet on three horses to finish first, second, and third in that order in this year’s Kentucky Derby. You’ll get paid even longer odds when you pick the top three in exact finishing order. Plus, you can box the bet, making separate trifecta bets to cover all possible finishing orders for your horses.

Superfecta

You bet on four horses to finish first, second, third, and fourth in that order in this year’s Kentucky Derby. You’ll get paid even longer odds when you pick the top four in exact finishing order. You can box the bet, making separate superfecta bets to cover all possible finishing orders for your horses, but it is expensive.

How do Kentucky Derby odds work? 

Kentucky Derby betting is parimutuel betting, which means the track pools together all bets of the same type on the Kentucky Derby. Win bets in one pool, Place bets in another, Exacta bets in yet another pool, and so on. 

Churchill Downs takes a cut and pays taxes out of the pool. The track then splits the remainder of each pool between winning bets for that bet type. The track posts winning odds as a dollar figure equal to what a $1 bet of that type would pay. It bases the odds on how much money is bet on each bet type and the number of winning bets.

You’ll find early and morning odds ahead of the Kentucky Derby estimating each horse’s chances of winning and how much will be bet, but these are just guidelines. The track can’t calculate winning odds until all Kentucky Derby bets are in. 

2024 Kentucky Derby Betting FAQs

Where can I bet on the Kentucky Derby online? 

You can bet on the Kentucky Derby online via FanDuel Sportsbook in AZ, CO, IL, IN, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, NY, OH, PA, VA, WV, and WY. You can also bet on the Kentucky Derby online via FanDuel Racing in AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT (TVG), DE, FL, IA (TVG), ID, IL, IN, LA, MA, MD, MI, MN, MT, ND, NH, NY, NM, OH, OR, PA, RI, SD, VA, WA, WV, and WY.

How can I get the latest Kentucky Derby bonus at FanDuel Racing?

FanDuel Racing’s Kentucky Derby bonus is a first-bet promo worth up to $500 to new customers in select states before the 2024 Kentucky Derby. All you have to do to get it is register for a new FanDuel Racing account, deposit, and place a bet on the Kentucky Derby. If the bet loses, you'll get a refund of up to $500 in bonus bets. 

How do you guarantee a win betting on the Kentucky Derby?

If we knew a secret to betting on the Kentucky Derby and winning, we’d be betting on the race and winning big, not writing about it. The same can be said for anyone who sells Kentucky Derby picks. There is no secret to betting on the Kentucky Derby and winning. Research the horses and jockeys, gamble responsibly, and keep things fun and simple; you might give yourself a better chance to win.