2021 Indianapolis 500 Betting Odds Preview

The milk will be on ice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend, ready for the winner of the 105th Indianapolis 500.

There are several former Indy 500 winners in the field this year, including race favorite Scott Dixon. At Bovada Sportsbook, Dixon, who won the Indy 500 in 2008, is a +350 favorite.

Pole position doesn’t guarantee success for Dixon

Dixon secured the pole position earlier this week and will attempt to be the first pole sitter to win since Simon Pagenaud in 2019. In the last 12 Indy 500 races, the pole sitter has won only twice.

Dixon is also the current points leader in the IndyCar Series with one win this season at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this month. He has cracked the top 10 in all five races so far, including four top-five finishes.

Following Dixon on the Indy 500 odds at Bovada are Colton Herta at +600, Patricio O’Ward at +1000 and Alexander Rossi at +1200.

Herta only other driver with triple-digit odds

Herta has one win on the season so far, at St. Petersburg in April. This will be his third Indianapolis 500. His best career finish in the Indy 500 came last year when he placed eighth.

O’Ward also has one win in the Series this year, at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this month. That was also the first IndyCar Series win of his career. In his first Indy 500 last year, O’Ward finished in sixth place.

Rossi won the Indy 500 in 2016. In five career starts in the Indy 500, he has cracked the top 10 each time, including finishing second in 2019. Rossi has yet to win a race in the IndyCar Series this season with his best finish coming two weeks ago in the Indianapolis Road Course race when he finished seventh.

Defending champ Sato also won in 2015

The defending champion of the Indy 500 is Takuma Sato. He won last year’s Indy 500, held without spectators in August, and he also won at Indy in 2015. He is a +3500 underdog at Bovada to add a third win this weekend. Sato hasn’t challenged for the podium much this season with his best finish coming in St. Petersburg, where he placed sixth.

Other former Indianapolis 500 winners in this weekend’s field include three-time winner Helio Castroneves (+3000), 2018 winner Will Power (+2500), 2019 winner Simon Pagenaud (+2200), 2013 winner Tony Kanaan (+1500) and two-time winner Juan Pablo Montoya (+3500).