The latest Indy 500 odds clearly show it’s going to be a close race! The best IndyCar drivers in the world will descend on the world-famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 26th, and I’m here to help you pick the winner.
The top sports gambling sites don’t have a clear favorite, so you can get high Indianapolis 500 betting odds for pretty much all drivers. Let’s break the prices down, before I analyze the top favorites and share my prediction for the race.
2024 Indy 500 Betting Odds
The Indy 500 is one of the most popular races in the US each year. Unsurprisingly, it’s also one of the most popular races to wager on each spring. Here are the latest Indy 500 odds, courtesy of Bovada Sportsbook.
| Driver | Indy 500 Betting Odds | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Alex Palou | +550 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| Josef Newgarden | +600 | Team Penske |
| Pato O’Ward | +650 | Arrow McLaren |
| Scott Dixon | +800 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| Marcus Ericsson | +1000 | Andretti Global |
| Alexander Rossi | +1100 | Arrow McLaren |
| Scott McLaughlin | +1200 | Team Penske |
| Kyle Kirkwood | +1400 | Andretti Global |
| Will Power | +1400 | Team Penske |
| Colton Herta | +1800 | Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian |
| David Malukas | +1800 | Arrow McLaren |
| Santino Ferrucci | +1800 | A.J. Foyt Enterprises |
Alex Palou, Josef Newgarden, and Pato O’Ward are the most likely winners, but the Indy 500 winner odds even for them are quite high. You can grab at least +550, so getting the eventual champion right can be lucrative.
Let’s analyze the main contenders next, before I go through a few sleepers.
Indy 500 2024 Favorites
If you want to bet on the Indy 500 in 2024, I strongly encourage you to consider the favorites. The following four drivers are most likely to produce the eventual winner:
Alex Palou (+550)
The driver with the current best odds to win Indy 500 is Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing. Palau has 26 points so far this season, putting him sixth in the current NTT IndyCar Series standings. He is listed at +550 odds to win in Indy in 2024.
Palou finished fourth in last year’s Indy 500 race, which was disappointing after his performance in the previous races and the qualifiers. He finished in the top five in four of the five opening races of the 2023 season, including victory in the GMR Grand Prix.
His qualifying performance only added to the hype around Palou last year. He set a new pole record speed, 234.217 MPH, when qualifying for the Indy 500 in 2023.
Everyone expected a win, but Palou’s inexperience eventually failed him. The driver is still raw at this level, even if he’s very fast. I expect a good performance in 2024, but the odds for other drivers are more appealing.
Josef Newgarden (+600)
The driver with the second-best odds to win this year’s Indy 500 is Josef Newgarden. He has 54 points so far, which is good enough to put him in first place in the championship rankings. Bovada has Newgarden listed at 6-1 to win the Indy 500 this year.
The veteran has been competing for nearly two decades, so he has plenty of experience to lean on. He joined the IndyCar Series in 2012 and has been with his current team, Team Penske, since the 2017 season.
Last year, Newgarden also started competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship Series. He currently holds first place in both the IMSA SportsCar Championship rankings and the IndyCar Series rankings.
Newgarden’s decade-plus of experience and his familiarity with his team will make him challenging to beat. He won the event last year and is looking to become the first back-to-back Indy 500 winner since Hélio Castroneves in 2001 and 2002. A win this year would also make Newgarden just the 21st driver to win multiple Indy 500s.
With so much history on the line, I expect the star to deliver another strong performance in the Indianapolis 500.
Pato O’Ward (+650)
One of the youngest drivers competing in this year’s Indy 500 race is Pato O’Ward (+650). The Mexican racing phenom will turn 25 less than three weeks before race day. He joined the IndyCar Series in 2018 and has finished in the top 10 in each of the last four seasons.
The move.
With the #Indy500 on the line, @PatricioOWard has no regrets about last year's daring pass on @Ericsson_Marcus.
In fact, he'll be less forgiving this year.#INDYCAR | @ArrowMcLaren | #IsItMayYet? pic.twitter.com/DfaARZDCuo
— Indianapolis Motor Speedway (@IMS) March 25, 2024
In 2020, O’Ward joined the Arrow McLaren team and began racing in the number 5 car. Since joining the organization, the young driver has had the most successful run of his young career so far.
He finished fourth in the general standings last year, tied for his second-best career finish in the IndyCar Series. O’Ward’s best finish was in 2021, when he came in third overall with 487 points. He is currently second in the series with 40 points, behind only the aforementioned Newgarden.
O’Ward missed his chance to be the youngest driver ever to win the Indy 500, but I don’t think this will discourage him. If he claims victory this year, he would still be among the top 10 youngest drivers ever to do it. A win in Indy would also be the biggest achievement of his career to this point.
Scott Dixon (+800)
Rounding out the top four in the latest Indy 500 winner odds is Scott Dixon. Bovada has the veteran listed at 8-1 odds to win the Indy 500 for the second time in his career.
Dixon won the race back in 2008 but has not been able to claim the top spot since. He has finished second a number of times but has not been able to get over the hump.
Despite his struggles in Indianapolis, Dixon has still been one of the top drivers in the IndyCar Series. The New Zealander has won the series six times in his career, with his most recent championship coming in 2020. He has more than two decades of experience in the series and will be difficult to beat in May.
However, Dixon is currently 43 years old, and history is not on his side as an older driver. Only 19 drivers have won the Indy 500 after turning 40. The good news is that two recent winners, Takuma Sato (2017 and 2020) and Hélio Castroneves (2021), show that veteran drivers are not doomed.
Top Longshots for the Indianapolis 500 in 2024
One of the reasons that the Indy 500 is so exciting is that it is anyone’s race to win. The drivers listed above are the betting favorites, but upsets can and do happen in Indianapolis. Here are some of the top Indy 500 best bets for longshots to win it all in 2024.
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Colton Herta has the fifth-most points in the IndyCar Series this season with 31. However, he is tied for just the 10th-best odds to win the Indy 500. The youngster has been consistent this year, so he has a shot.
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Castroneves has four Indy 500 wins, tied for the most by any driver. He won his first in 2001 and his most recent in 2021. Another victory this year would give him sole possession of the title of most decorated Indy 500 driver. He will be 49 years old come race day and could become the oldest driver ever to win the race. The probability is low, but the odds are way too high for a proven driver like Castroneves.
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Marco Andretti debuted in the IndyCar Series in 2006 but is still searching for his first Indy 500 win. The 37-year-old has come close in the past and has multiple top-five finishes. Andretti’s grandfather, Mario Andretti, won the race in 1969, so he will be desperate to do the same.
Betting on longshots can be a good sports betting strategy for events like Indy 500, where we’ve had a ton of surprising winners throughout the years.
2024 Indy 500 Prediction and Betting Pick
There are plenty of talented drivers competing in Indianapolis this year. My Indy 500 prediction is that the defending champion, Josef Newgarden (+600), will claim victory again this year.
Newgarden could make history by becoming the first back-to-back winner in over two decades. He has had the best start of any driver in the IndyCar Series so far this season. I believe his luck will continue in Indianapolis next month.
Where To Bet On The Indy 500?
Whether you want to follow my Indy 500 betting pick or wager on a different driver, you should consider Bovada for your bets. The sportsbook offers excellent odds for the race, extensive motorsports coverage as a whole, and a juicy welcome bonus of up to $500.
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