Pato O’Ward is the favorite to win the 109th edition of the Indianapolis 500 — at least, according to the bets placed with major sportsbooks. He has attracted the most wagers to win the race and will start from third position. That puts him slightly ahead of Alex Palou and Scott Dixon, while Josef Newgarden, starting all the way back in 32nd place, ranks fourth in betting popularity.

If you bet on O’Ward to win and he actually does, you’ll get an average return of six times your stake. A Palou victory would return 6.5 times your stake, while Dixon would yield 8.5 times your investment. Should Newgarden pull off a win from the back row, your bet would be multiplied by ten.

One notable entry in the list is polesitter Robert Shwartzman. Despite struggling significantly under race conditions during Carb Day, he still holds a strong position with odds of 16-to-1.

On the other hand, a surprisingly low ranking is given to Scott McLaughlin. Even though he’s the only Penske driver starting from the top ten, was by far the best oval racer last year, and seems to have the strongest car in race trim, he sits at fourth on the list with 11-to-1 odds.

If you’re backing Dutch pride Rinus VeeKay and he pulls off the win, it’ll be a very profitable day: a victory would return a whopping 125 times your stake! Interestingly, Devlin DeFrancesco is listed at the very bottom with 275-to-1 odds, despite finishing an impressive fourth on Carb Day.

What’s the Return on a One-Dollar Bet if the Driver Wins?
1. Pato O'Ward - 6x
2. Alex Palou - 6,5x
3. Scott Dixon - 8,5x
4. Josef Newgarden - 10x
5. Scott McLaughlin - 11x
6. Takuma Sato - 12x
7. Robert Shwartzman - 16x
= Felix Rosenqvist - 16x
9. Kyle Larson - 20x
10. David Malukas - 25x
= Will Power - 25x
= Alexander Rossi - 25x
= Christian Lundgaard - 25x
14. Marcus Ericsson - 28x
15. Colton Herta - 30x
16. Santino Ferrucci - 33x
= Kyle Kirkwood - 33x
= Helio Castroneves - 33x
19. Conor Daly - 40x
20. Ed Carpenter - 80x
21. Christian Rasmussen - 100x
= Ryan Hunter-Reay - 100x
= Sting Ray Robb - 100x
24. Rinus VeeKay - 125x
= Marcus Armstrong - 125x
= Louis Foster - 125x
27. Nolan Siegel - 150x
= Graham Rahal - 150x
= Kyffin Simpson - 150x
= Marco Andretti - 150x
31. Jack Harvey - 175x
32. Callum Ilott - 200x
33. Devlin DeFrancesco - 275x

Source: Oddschecker.com