Journalism profile: 2025 Kentucky Derby odds, post position, history and more to know
Get caught up with Journalism's past performances, jockey, trainer and full analysis heading into the Run for the Roses
Named by co-owner Aron Wellman, who once was the sports editor of his high school newspaper in Beverly Hills, Calif., Journalism enters the 2025 Kentucky Derby as the clear favorite. By all metrics, he is the fastest horse in the race. He has the right running style to win. He has won four in a row, and he is bred to thrive at the Derby distance of 1¼ miles. But no favorite has won the Kentucky Derby since eventual Triple Crown winner Justify did so in 2018. Will Journalism end the favorite drought in the Derby?
8 Journalism (3-1 on morning line, now 7-2)
- Trainer: Michael McCarthy
- Jockey: Umberto Rispoli
- Last race: First in the Santa Anita Derby by ¾ length
- Career record: 5 starts: 4 wins, 1 third
- Career earnings: $638,880
- Best career Beyer Speed Figure: 108 (2025 San Felipe Stakes)
- Sire: Curlin
Below, we'll dig further into Journalism as part of our series profiling all the horses competing in the 151st Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 3. We'll look back into his past performances, what questions need to be answered on Saturday, and analyze how the post draw affects his chances.
Kentucky Derby profiles 1 Citizen Bull | 2 Neoequos | 3 Final Gambit | 5 American Promise | 6 Admire Daytona | 7 Luxor Cafe | 8 Journalism | 9 Burnham Square | 11 Flying Mohawk | 12 East Avenue | 13 Publisher | 14 Tiztastic | 15 Render Judgment | 16 Coal Battle | 17 Sandman | 18 Sovereignty | 19 Chunk of Gold | 20 Owen Almighty | 21 Baeza
Kentucky Derby picks Michelle Yu | Gene Menez | Jody Demling | Jeff Hochman
Now that you know who's in the field, you'll want to know how to bet the Kentucky Derby on the top horse racing betting apps.
What to know about Journalism
After breaking his maiden in his second career start, Journalism established himself as a Derby contender with a win in the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity on Dec. 14. But it was his next start, in the San Felipe Stakes on March 1, that vaulted him to the top of Kentucky Derby Future Wager at FanDuel Racing and TwinSpires. In that race, he powered ahead of two highly regarded Bob Baffert trainees, Barnes and Rodriguez, for a smashing win. The performance earned a big 108 Beyer Speed Figure, which is on par with Breeders' Cup Classic winners in the fall.
His next start, in the Santa Anita Derby, was more workmanlike. In that race he encountered some traffic trouble entering the clubhouse turn and needed the length of the stretch to get by the talented Baeza but ended up prevailing by ¾ length. The win earned a 102 Beyer figure, which means Journalism owns the two highest Beyer figures (108 and 102) of all of the Derby hopefuls.
The case for Journalism in the Kentucky Derby is strong. He is the fastest horse in the race. He has the right midpack running style in a race loaded with speed horses and deep closers. He has a capable trainer in Michael McCarthy, who trained Rombauer to a win in the 2021 Preakness Stakes. As a son of Curlin, Journalism is bred to only get better with the added distance. He will also be making his third start off the layoff, which typically is a horse's best.
But there are some reasons for concern. Has he already run his two best races of the spring? His San Felipe Stakes and Santa Anita Derby performances were two big efforts, and we won't know if those have taken anything out of him until the horses cross the finish line on Saturday.
Also, he has been racing in small fields with moderate paces. Over his four-race winning streak, he has faced 21 horses total. He is set to face 19 on Saturday. How will he react in a 20-horse field with a faster pace?
Finally, Journalism is more of a grinding horse than a nimble, athletic horse, and the Derby often requires a horse to accelerate quickly to get into a spot before another horse does.
Post draw analysis
The big winner of Saturday's post draw was Journalism, who was assigned the No. 8 post. Even better, several of the horses inside him are either speed horses or deep closers, so Journalism should be able to be no more than three-wide entering the first turn, assuming that's what jockey Umberto Rispoli wants to do. If he gets a clean trip, which is a big if in a 19-horse field, there's no reason why Journalism shouldn't be prominent down the stretch.
