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Ways And Means was assigned 5-1 morning-line odds in the 2024 Kentucky Oaks.
(AP Photo)

The ladies take center stage Friday at Churchill Downs, as three-year-old fillies are set to go in the 2024 Kentucky Oaks. Here, we run through the odds and offer picks and best bets to consider.

Post time for the race is 5:51 p.m. ET today, May 3, 2024.

The Oaks is the traditional feature at Churchill on the Friday that precedes Kentucky Derby Day. Fourteen entries compete this year for the $1,500,000 purse over 1 1/8 miles.

While odds fluctuate until post time, No. 8 Tarifa, trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Flavien Prat, was priced as the morning-line favorite at 7-2.

This looks to be a very bettable race, with five horses listed with odds between 7-2 and 5-1 in the program, as well as some good-looking longer-priced fillies. 

More horse racing: Best betting apps & promos for Kentucky Oaks and Derby | Kentucky Derby horse-by-horse breakdown | How should I bet the Kentucky Derby? | KY Derby favorites | Derby jockeys

Odds for 2024 Kentucky Oaks

Here are the morning-line odds for today's running of the Kentucky Oaks. Click on a horse's odds to visit FanDuel Racing and place a No Sweat First Bet for up to $500.

Post Position Horse Jockey Odds
1 Tapit Jenallie Manny Esquivel 30-1
2 Gin Gin   Florent Geroux 30-1
3 Where's My Ring Jose Lezcano 15-1
4 Regulatory Risk Jose Ortiz 20-1
5 Thorpedo Anna Brian Hernandez Jr. 5-1
6 Lemon Muffin Keith Asmussen 30-1
7 Fiona's Magic Luis Saez 30-1
8 Tarifa Flavien Prat 7-2
9 Everland Abel Cedillo 30-1
10 Into Champagne Julien Leparoux     30-1
11 Ways and Means Tyler Gaffalione 5-1
12 Power Squeeze Daniel Centeno 12-1
13 Just F Y I Junior Alvarado 9-2
14 Leslie's Rose Irad Ortiz Jr. 4-1
15  Our Pretty Woman* Joel Rosario     35-1
16 (AE) Candied* Luis Saez 20-1

*No. 15 Our Pretty Woman drew into the race when the No. 1 was scratched. No.16 Candied is also eligible, meaning she'll draw in should another horse be scratched.

Bet here: Click to visit FanDuel and place No Sweat First Bet

2024 Kentucky Oaks picks to consider

This year's Oaks features a balanced field, loaded with contenders with the potential to lead at the wire. Several of these fillies are improving heading into this marquee event.

While races like this are tough to handicap, horse players love them because of their money-making potential. When multiple entries are priced tightly at the top of the odds board, even win bets can pay nicely, and exotic wagers like exactas, trifectas and superfectas have tremendous upside.

So let's try to pick some winners!

Best bet to win Kentucky Oaks

No. 13 Just FYI: This Bill Mott trainee dominated as a two-year-old, winning a pair of Grade 1 events, including the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies in November. Her three-year-old campaign was delayed due to illness, but she looked solid in her 2024 debut, a second-place finish to Leslie's Rose. Junior Alvarado will likely try to stalk an honest pace, and bettors should get a decent price on this filly.

Exacta box

We'll throw three horses in with the 13 in a four-horse exacta box:

No. 8 Tarifa. It's hard to ignore her impressive and improving speed figures, and we expect the morning-line favorite to get a piece of this one.

No. 11 Ways and Means. This Chad Brown-trained filly has gone off at less than even-money in all three of her starts. While she’s looking for her first win in a stakes event, the value looks too good to pass up, and she seems poised for a big effort today.

No. 12 Power Squeeze. Beat several of these in the Gulfstream Oaks in March at 11-to-1 odds. Her long morning-line odds today imply that many handicappers are not yet convinced, but a repeat performance cashes a nice ticket.

Bet: $2 four-horse exacta box 8-11-12-13 ($24 cost of ticket). A $1 four-horse exacta box costs $12.

Trifecta box

We'll use the same four horses in a $1 trifecta box, which costs us $24.

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Author(s)
Marcus A. DiNitto Photo

Marcus DiNitto is a Content Manager.