Kentucky Derby Horse: Ocelli Odds, History, and Predictions

The 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby is coming up on Saturday, May 2. The field is drawn – but since it’s drawn a week out, often there can be a defection, or even a few, the week of the race. That’s what the connections of Ocelli – the third-place finisher in the Wood Memorial, and the only maiden in the field – are hoping to see. He is two spots deep on the also-eligible list, but ready to try the best horses in the country if a spot opens up.

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Ocelli Kentucky Derby Odds and Post Positions

The Kentucky Derby was drawn Saturday, April 25, and morning-line odds assigned as well. Ocelli is 50-1 on the morning line, the joint longest shot, which makes sense because he is the only maiden who was entered and because he comes out of the Wood Memorial, a race that hasn’t had the strongest impact in the Kentucky Derby in recent decades. If he draws in, he will break from the outside, or very close to it – post 20 if there are two scratches inside him, and then one spot closer in for each scratch more than that.

Ocelli Horse Trainer and Jockey

Ocelli is trained by Whit Beckman. Beckman, a former assistant to Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown, hung his own shingle as a trainer in 2021. He has won twice at the graded-stakes level, though he still seeks his first Grade 1 win as a trainer. However, Beckman has already had two Kentucky Derby starters: Honor Marie ran eighth in 2024, and Flying Mohawk was 18th in 2025.

If Ocelli draws into the starting gate, he will be ridden by jockey Joe Ramos, who had ridden him in his last two starts. Ramos has ridden in the Kentucky Derby once before; he rode 18th-place Flying Mohawk for Beckman last year. Ramos has been riding since 2019 and has won four times at the Grade 3 level (including once for Beckman with Regaled in the 2025 Delaware Handicap), but still seeks his first Grade 1 triumph.

Ocelli Race History

Ocelli started his career with a third-place finish in a 6 ½-furlong maiden sprint at Churchill last November. He improved when stretching out to 1 1/16 miles for his next two starts in maiden special weights at Fair Grounds, rallying for second, beaten 1 ¾ lengths in a December race and finishing third, beaten by the same margin in January. After that, he has run in three Kentucky Derby points races. He finished a well-beaten sixth in both the Sam F. Davis in February and the Virginia Derby in March, but rallied from near the rear to finish third, beaten 1 ¼ lengths by Albus, in the Wood Memorial. That earned Ocelli 25 qualification points and a spot on the also-eligible list.

Speed ratings are courtesy of Equibase.

Ocelli Kentucky Derby Prediction and Pick

Ocelli’s pedigree is intriguing for the stretch out – it’s not a slam dunk, but there are suggestions he could get there. Though Connect wasn’t quite as long-winded as his sire Curlin, he has had some long-winded turf horses like Forever After All and Presider. And, on his dam’s side, there’s a mix of class in everything from dirt sprints to turf routes, perhaps the most “this horse could actually be any kind” pedigree of anyone in the Kentucky Derby.

But, he’s going to have to take a huge step forward based on his actual form to get there in the Kentucky Derby. He hasn’t run a race fast enough to threaten the top contenders, and even if the pace sets up for a closer, there are closers who have mustered more menacing runs than he has been able to.

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