2024 Kentucky Oaks preview, prediction: Horses, odds, picks

Saturday’s Kentucky Derby is the headliner this weekend, but the hardcore railbirds in your life will tell you that the party really gets started on Friday evening with the Kentucky Oaks.

The 2024 Kentucky Oaks will take place at 5:51 p.m. ET on Friday at Churchill Downs and features a field of 14 of the world’s best three-year-old fillies.

The general consensus for this year’s Kentucky Oaks is that it is one of the deepest fields in recent memory, so you’re going to see plenty of support for a number of horses.

That should keep the odds in range on most of the contenders, which means you’re going to get a terrific price on a horse that would be incredibly chalky in just about any other setup.

No. 8 Tarifa is the morning-line favorite with 7-2 odds, but there seems to be a lot of skepticism about whether or not she’ll go off as the favorite considering the field she’ll be up against.

No. 14 Leslie’s Rose (4-1) is the second choice, just ahead of No. 13 Just F Y I (9-2), No. 5 Thorpedo Rose (5-1) and No. 11 Ways and Means (5-1). 

As noted above, you can make plenty of salient arguments for any of the horses in this contest (you know it’s a deep field when the also-eligibles are getting attention), but this is how we’re going at the 2024 Kentucky Oaks:

2024 Kentucky Oaks picks

No. 5 Ways and Means (5-1): There does seem to be some buzz around this Chad Brown horse, so hopefully the value holds as we get closer to the gate. Ways and Means looked like she was on her way to being the favorite in this race before an injury caused her to hit the shelf for six months, but she was terrific in her first race back, overcoming a miserable trip to finish second at the Gulfstream Park Oaks on March 30. Let’s hope the concern over the injury keeps enough money off Ways and Means.

No. 3 Where’s My Ring (15-1): This race is setup in such a way that most punters are going to spend their time trying to nitpick through the five horses between 7-2 and 5-1, so that could leave plenty of juice on some long shots and Where’s My Ring is one that could fly under the radar. Where’s My Ring has plenty of pace and has improved since she added blinkers. Her ceiling could be as high as some of the favorites. 

No. 12 Power Squeeze (12-1): It bears repeating but the depth of this field means you’re going to catch some great prices on horses that, in other years, would be at, or near, the top of the board. Power Squeeze fits that bill. Coming in on a four-race winning streak, Power Squeeze could be in contention to win the Oaks if she doesn’t have to make up a ton of ground late.