The 107th Indianapolis 500 will take place on Sunday, May 28, and a record-breaking field is prepared to take the green flag.
Spain’s Alex Palou posted a record pole speed of 234.217 miles per hour, and two other drivers, Rinus VeeKay and Felix Rosenqvist also topped the previous record held by Scott Dixon.
Several drivers and teams can win The Greatest Spectacle In Racing in this wide-open field, giving us several options for our Indianapolis 500 best bets.
Indianapolis 500 Winner Odds
IndyCar odds to win the Indianapolis 500 are current as of Wednesday, May 24, at 1 p.m. ET and courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook.
- Pato O’Ward (+500)
- Alex Palou (+575)
- Scott Dixon (+700)
- Alexander Rossi (+900)
- Rinus VeeKay (+1000)
- Marcus Ericcson (+1100)
- Takuma Sato (+1100)
- Felix Rosenqvist (+1200)
- Josef Newgarden (+1400)
- Scott McLaughlin (+1500)
- Santino Ferrucci (+1500)
- Will Power (+1600)
- Tony Kanaan (+1700)
- Colton Herta (+2000)
- Kyle Kirkwood (+2500)
- Conor Daly (+3000)
Indianapolis 500 Winner Prediction
Alexander Rossi (+900) • Caesars Sportsbook
Rossi has competed in seven runnings of the Indianapolis 500, winning in 2016. He’s finished in the top five four times and was in the hunt with a strong chance to win a second 500 in 2019 and 2020.
Rossi changed teams in the offseason and now drives for the powerful Arrow McLaren team, which placed all four of its cars in the top 12. Rossi put up the second-fastest speed on the first day of qualifying and has a strong car in traffic.
Rossi is my motorsports best bet to win his second Indianapolis 500, driving car No. 7 from the seventh starting position.
Indianapolis 500 Favorites
Pato O’Ward (+500) • Caesars Sportsbook
In a very short time, O’Ward has established himself as one of the drivers to beat at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
O’Ward has finished sixth, fourth, and second in his previous three runnings, and he’s developed into a strong oval driver, with two of his four wins coming on such a track.
O’Ward, like Rossi, drives for Arrow McLaren, and he starts in the middle of Row 2. He had a shot to win the race on the last lap in 2022, and it won’t be a surprise to see it happen again this year.
Alex Palou (+575) • Caesars Sportsbook
Spain’s Palou, the IndyCar Series champion in 2022, has had the best car since the series arrived at the Brickyard for the annual open test in April.
Palou’s car has great balance, and his team, Chip Ganassi Racing, are the defending champions, having won with Marcus Ericsson in 2022.
Last year, Palou led 42 of the first 68 laps before a penalty took him out of contention. If the former IndyCar Champion can avoid another situation of that nature, he’ll be a strong candidate to win on Sunday.
Scott Dixon (+700) • Caesars Sportsbook
The low-key driver known as The Iceman has been more under-the-radar than usual this month, which could be a good thing for his chances.
Dixon won the pole the last two years, and he dominated in 2022, leading 95 of the 200 laps before being taken out of contention due to a pit-road speeding penalty.
Dixon’s team has been extremely strong at Indianapolis, and his sixth starting position gives him an outstanding opportunity to win his long-awaited second Indianapolis 500.
Indianapolis 500 Contenders
Rinus VeeKay (+1000) • Caesars Sportsbook
He may not race under his real name, but VeeKay, (born Rinus van Kalmthout) has figured out how to get around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway quickly.
VeeKay has qualified for the Indianapolis 500 four times, and none of them have been worse than fourth on the grid, including this year, where he finds himself starting in the middle of the front row.
VeeKay started fourth and finished last in the 2022 500 after being knocked out in a crash, he led 32 laps in the 2021 race on the way to a career-best eighth in the 500.
His sheer speed, as well as how well the Ed Carpenter Racing team typically runs at the Brickyard, will keep him in the hunt all day.
Marcus Ericsson (+1100) • Caesars Sportsbook
The defending Indianapolis 500 winner is sometimes referred to as the “Sneaky Swede” for his ability to put himself in contention for victories late in the race, usually without fanfare.
Last year, Ericsson led only 13 laps, but when his teammates Dixon and Palou were sidelined from contention due to penalties, the former Formula 1 driver was there to grab the baton and take home his first baby Borg-Warner trophy.
Ericsson has been fast again this year in practice, and he qualified 10th on the grid. As fast as the Ganassi cars have been in qualifying, they look even better in race, so a repeat win for the Swedish driver is not out of the question.
Takuma Sato (+1100) • Caesars Sportsbook
There’s a reason Sato is a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner. After all, his motto is, “no attack, no chance.”
Sato has run up front at the Indianapolis 500 for more than a decade now, dating back to his near-miss, last-lap loss to Dario Franchitti in 2012.
Sato qualified eighth and is now driving a limited schedule for Chip Ganassi Racing. He’s not worried at all about the points championship, only about getting his face on the Borg-Warner Trophy for the third time.
Sounds like the perfect recipe for a chance to join the coveted three-time winners club at the Brickyard.
Felix Rosenqvist (+1200) • Caesars Sportsbook
Like Ericsson, Rosenqvist is another super-fast driver from Sweden. He’s been quick on road courses and ovals, especially Texas Motor Speedway, but hasn’t been able to get a second IndyCar win to go with the one he got at Elkhart Lake for Ganassi in 2020.
Rosenqvist drives for Arrow McLaren, and he had the fastest time after the first day of qualifying on Saturday but ended up third in pole qualifying Sunday.
Rosenqvist needs a big win on his résumé, and he has the talent and the equipment to pull that off on Sunday.
Indianapolis 500 Sleepers
Josef Newgarden (+1400) • Caesars Sportsbook
Ever since auto racing legend Roger Penske bought the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2019, his cars have lacked outright speed at the track his team has dominated at.
Newgarden didn’t have a strong pace in Saturday’s qualifying session, ending up 17th, but he and teammates Will Power and Scott McLaughlin have great cars in race trim.
Newgarden is one of the top drivers in the series, as evidenced by his two series championships, and he’s going to win the Indianapolis 500 at some point. It just likely won’t be this year.
Santino Ferrucci (+1500) • Caesars Sportsbook
All this young American seems to do at the Brickyard is race well. He’s finished seventh, fourth, sixth, and 10th in his four previous starts, all while not starting higher than 15th on the grid.
This year, Ferrucci and A.J. Foyt Racing were the story of qualifying, shocking the establishment by landing in the Fast Six session, where the 24-year-old will start fourth on the grid.
Ferrucci is not afraid to take risks, which can get him into trouble at times. However, he has incredible hands and an innate ability to miss trouble ahead. He’s going to be a factor on race day, and another top finish seems like a certainty, with a win as a possibility.
Will Power (+1600) • Caesars Sportsbook
As mentioned, Newgarden’s teammate has a great car in race trim and traffic, as evidenced by Power leading the Monday afternoon practice session.
Power qualified 12th for Sunday’s race, and he’ll need a strategy to move to the front. In that case, he’s in luck, as Team Penske is one of the best in that aspect of the series.
The Penske cars don’t have the raw speed of the Ganassi or Arrow McLaren cars, so the breaks will have to fall his way for him to end up in Victory Lane on Sunday.
Tony Kanaan (+1700) • Caesars Sportsbook
Kanaan is the people’s choice, and he’s making what he says will be his final start in the Indianapolis 500 after an incredible career at the Brickyard, punctuated by several near misses and an incredible triumph in 2013.
Kanaan is driving the fourth car for Arrow McLaren, so he has a fast mount. He finished third last year and likely would have had a shot at the win had an accident not caused a red flag to come out late.
He’s starting ninth on the grid in the same row as fellow winners Rossi and Sato and will be exciting to watch all day. It’s his only IndyCar race of the season and likely his last — and it could also be a victory.
Indianapolis 500 Best Prop Bets
Alexander Rossi: Top 5 Finish (+110) • Caesars Sportsbook
WAGER: 1 Unit
As I mentioned previously, in seven runnings, Rossi has finished in the top five four times. That number would likely be even higher had he not been docked with a questionable pit-road penalty that set him back in 2020.
Rossi will almost certainly be a top-5 car Sunday and is a potential winner as well. Take the plus-odds here.
Winning Car Number: Odd (-115) • Caesars Sportsbook
WAGER: 1 Unit
While pole-sitter Palou drives a car with an even number, I like the odd number choice here. By taking the odds, you get potential winners in O’Ward, Rossi, Dixon, and Sato, just to name a few.
I like this prop bet to cash with an odd number car taking the victory on Sunday.
Tony Kanaan: Top 5 Finish (+200) • Caesars Sportsbook
WAGER: 1 Unit
While Kanaan is in a one-off entry, he’s got the backing of Arrow McLaren behind him. He’s finished in the top five three times in the last seven years, including last year’s third-place finish for Ganassi.
Kanaan will have a strong car and will be a factor on Sunday. A top-five seems very possible for the 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner.
