The biggest race of the year for three-year-old fillies is coming up Friday, May 3 at Churchill Downs: the Kentucky Oaks! The purse has been raised to $1.5 million, and some of the best sophomore fillies in the country will go 1 ⅛ miles at Churchill Downs for those spoils and the iconic blanket of lilies. And, if you play the horses, betting the Kentucky Oaks is one of the most exciting and lucrative opportunities of the year!
Some of the greatest horses over the years hoave won this race: Modesty, Princess Rooney, Rachel Alexandra, and even recent stars like Secret Oath and Monomoy Girl. Read on to find out who can add their names to this list, and to find out the most profitable places to bet the Kentucky Oaks online!
Kentucky Oaks Online Betting
Before you start handicapping the race, it’s time to set up an account at a trusted online sportsbook. Betting the Kentucky Oaks online is convenient, since you can play from your computer, tablet, or phone -- anywhere with an internet connection. It is also more profitable since online sportsbooks offer market-leading odds and great bonuses. Our expert reviews make it easy to choose the best online sports betting site.
Taking a few minutes now to find out the site with the best bonuses for the way you like to bet can mean hundreds or even thousands of extra dollars for your bankroll. Our reviews will help you find the best online betting bonuses, and make your Kentucky Oaks betting experience the most profitable one yet!
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Kentucky Oaks Field
This is the official field for the 2024 Kentucky Oaks including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning lines:
- Tapit Jenallie (Eddie Milligan, Jr./Emmanuel Esquivel) - 30/1
- Gin Gin (Brad Cox/Florent Geroux) - 30/1
- Where’s My Ring (Val Brinkerhoff/Jose Lezcano) - 15/1
- Regulatory Risk (Chad Brown/Jose Ortiz) - 20/1
- Thorpedo Anna (Kenny McPeek/Brian Hernandez, Jr.) - 5-1
- Lemon Muffin (D. Wayne Lukas/Keith Asmussen) - 30/1
- Fiona’s Magic (Michael Yates/Luis Saez) - 30/1
- Tarifa (Brad Cox/Flavien Prat) - 7/2
- Everland (Eric Foster/Abel Cedillo) - 30/1
- Into Champagne (Ian Wilkes/Julien Leparoux) - 30/1
- Ways and Means (Chad Brown/Tyler Gaffalione) - 5/1
- Power Squeeze (Jorge Delgado/Daniel Centeno) - 9/2
- Just F Y I (Bill Mott/Junior Alvarado) - 9/2
- Leslie’s Rose (Todd Pletcher/Irad Ortiz, Jr.) - 4/1
- Our Pretty Woman (Steve Asmussen/Joel Rosario) - 15/1 - ALSO ELIGIBLE
- Candied (Todd Pletcher/Luis Saez) - 20/1
If horses scratch from the Oaks field before 9:00 a.m. Eastern on Friday, then one or more horses from the also-eligible list will replace them in order of their priority on that list: Our Pretty Woman has first priority, then Candied.
Keep in mind that the morning line can be a helpful guide to horses expected to take money or not, but that those are not guaranteed prices. Odds at the track fluctuate until post time, meaning you never know what you’ll get until the gates fling open. Your best bet is to play at an online sportsbook. They allow fixed odds betting on major races like the Kentucky Oaks, so you can be confident you have the best price at the moment you place your bet!
These are the odds at the top of the Kentucky Oaks market at the best online sportsbooks:
 |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tarifa | +350 | +400 | +350 |
| Just F Y I | +450 | +500 | +450 |
| Thorpedo Anna | +500 | +500 | +450 |
| Leslie's Rose | +500 | +500 | +475 |
| Ways and Means | +600 | +550 | +550 |
| Power Squeeze | +1000 | +1200 | +1100 |
| Where's My Ring | +1200 | +1600 | +1200 |
Kentucky Oaks Handicapping
Now that you have your betting account set up, it’s time to sort out the contenders from the pretenders in the Kentucky Oaks:
Kentucky Oaks Top Selection
The Kentucky Oaks will be hotly contested, but Leslie’s Rose gets top billing. Even though she has the outside draw, Churchill Downs plays fairly to horses on the outside. She has the tactical speed to work the right trip from an outside draw.
Even though she was beaten as the Davona Dale (G2) favorite, she bounced back beautifully when trying two turns for the first time at Keeneland. Expect her to handle 1 ⅛ miles well, too, given her pedigree. Sire Into Mischief’s foals can even win the Kentucky Derby if there is enough stamina underneath. She is out of a Galileo half to Materiality and My Miss Sophia, so there is.
Kentucky Oaks Contenders
Tarifa is likely to be the favorite out of a victory in the perennially live Fair Grounds Oaks (G2). She also won the Rachel Alexandra (G2) confidently in the start before that -- and in fact has won four of her five outings. She has tactical speed and a good gate, as well as the ability to handle some trouble and run well. Those are all excellent tools to bring to the Oaks.
Where’s the Ring didn’t break her maiden until her eighth career start, but that start came in the 1 ⅛-mile Gazelle (G3). That proved her ability to get the Oaks distance and punched her ticket in one fell swoop. She has the tactical speed to work out a trip, and even her two starts leading into the Gazelle suggest she is an improving horse: three back she did the dirty work on a fast pace, and two back she was second to a well-regarded Baffert trainee, Kinza.
Kentucky Oaks Longshots
If Our Pretty Woman draws in off the also-eligible list, make sure to include her on your tickets. She set the pace in the Fair Grounds Oaks and finished only ¾ length behind Tarifa, an excellent stakes debut. She is too good to be relegated to the AE list, and if she draws off, she has the tactical speed and the wet-track form to be a threat, especially given how fairly Churchill plays to outside draws.
The question about Lemon Muffin is…who is the real Lemon Muffin? The one who won the Honeybee (G3) looked like a horse who woke up beautifully over two turns. If the one in the Fantasy (G2) is the real one then the Honeybee was a fluke. But, with trainer D. Wayne Lukas on the record as saying she came out of the Fantasy with a minor illness? If she’s back on song for this then she can take a step forward and hit the exotics at a big price.
Gin Gin also has some appeal. She was well beaten in the Gazelle by Where’s My Ring, but even her performance came back fairly fast. Her form at Churchill Downs last year was generally good, and she also has never missed the board in three wet-track tries. Her connections are good in this race, too: Brad Cox and Florent Geroux have won this race twice together.
Free Kentucky Oaks Picks
These are your free expert picks for the 2024 Kentucky Oaks:
- $30 to win: #14 Leslie’s Rose
- $10 to win/place/show: #3 Where’s My Ring
- $1 exacta key: #14 Leslie’s Rose with #3 Where’s My Ring, #7 Tarifa
- $1 trifecta key (if Our Pretty Woman draws in): #14 Leslie’s Rose with #3 Where’s My Ring, #6 Lemon Muffin, #7 Tarifa, #15 Our Pretty Woman
- $1 trifecta key (if Our Pretty Woman does not get in): #14 Leslie’s Rose with #2 Gin Gin, #3 Where’s My Ring, #6 Lemon Muffin, #7 Tarifa
- $1 superfecta key (if Our Pretty Woman draws in): #14 Leslie’s Rose with #3 Where’s My Ring, #6 Lemon Muffin, #7 Tarifa, #15 Our Pretty Woman
- $1 superfecta key (if Our Pretty Woman does not get in): #14 Leslie’s Rose with #2 Gin Gin, #3 Where’s My Ring, #6 Lemon Muffin, #7 Tarifa
