Alex Palou is the overwhelming favorite to win the 110th edition of the Indianapolis 500, according to bookmakers’ odds data from oddschecker.com. If you place a one-dollar bet on a Palou victory, you would receive ‘only’ $2.80 in return if he wins. That makes him by far the biggest betting favorite in recent years. For comparison, the driver who offered the lowest return over the past ten years was Scott Dixon in 2021, when a one-dollar bet paid out four dollars with a victory.

Palou’s status as the favorite comes as no surprise. The Spaniard won the 2025 Indy 500, will start this year’s race from pole position and has won no fewer than eleven of the last 23 races.

Behind Palou, Pato O’Ward and David Malukas are tied as the second favorites, with a victory paying seven times the stake. O’Ward has finished second twice and third once in his last four Indy 500 starts, while Malukas has impressed in his first season with Team Penske and was the only Penske driver who did not disappoint during qualifying.

Remarkably, Alexander Rossi’s injury has not hurt his odds, as a victory would still pay ten times the stake. That is the same return as two-time Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden, who will once again have to fight his way through the field after qualifying 23rd.

How many times would your stake be returned with a victory for each driver?
1. Alex Palou – 2,8x
2. Pato O’Ward – 7x
= David Malukas – 7x
4. Alexander Rossi – 10x
= Josef Newgarden – 10x
6. Conor Daly – 11x
7. Scott McLaughlin – 13x
8. Felix Rosenqvist – 14x
= Santino Ferrucci – 14x
10. Scott Dixon – 18x
11. Kyle Kirkwood – 25x
12. Christian Rasmussen – 30x
13. Helio Castroneves – 33x
= Takuma Sato – 33x
15. Rinus VeeKay – 40x
= Will Power – 40x
= Marcus Ericsson – 40x
18. Kyffin Simpson – 45x
19. Christian Lundgaard – 50x
20. Ed Carpenter – 60x
21. Ryan Hunter-Reay – 66x
= Marcus Armstrong – 66x
23. Graham Rahal – 80x
= Caio Collet – 80x
25. Romain Grosjean – 100x
26. Nolan Siegel – 150x
= Dennis Hauger – 150x
28. Louis Foster – 200x
= Jack Harvey – 200x
30. Mick Schumacher – 250x
31. Katherine Legge – 500x
= Jacob Abel – 500x
= Sting Ray Robb – 500x

Source: Oddschecker.com