Is it May yet?
When DraftKings Sportsbook first published their way-too-early odds to win the 110th running of the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 2025 winner Alex Palou was listed as a co-favorite with two-time runner-up Pato O'Ward.
Palou entered the 2025 race with 15 career victories, most among active drivers without an Indy 500 victory, yet none had come on an oval. He ended that drought by leading the race's final 14 laps, the most since Takuma Sato led the final 16 to win it in 2020.
Palou went on to win his fourth NTT IndyCar Series championship in 2025, making him the first driver to win the Indy 500 and the IndyCar championship in the same year since Dario Franchitti in 2010. No driver had led the standings wire-to-wire and won the Indy 500 in the same year since Johnny Rutherford in 1980. Palou also won the series oval championship.
Only two drivers have won back-to-back Indy 500s since the turn of the century, and now Palou is no longer a co-favorite to win this year's running of the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing". In fact, he's not even listed outright second.
Alex Palou no longer the Indy 500 favorite for 2026
O'Ward, the third place finisher in 2025 and runner-up in both 2022 and 2024, is now the outright favorite to get his face on the Borg-Warner Trophy this year. He is listed by DraftKings Sportsbook at +550.
With nine career IndyCar victories to his name, O'Ward now has the undesirable distinction of being the winningest active full-time IndyCar driver without an Indy 500 victory under his belt. He also owns finishes of sixth (2020) and fourth (2021), and he crashed out late in 2023 while battling for second.
Like Palou was before he got his first Indy 500 win, O'Ward has been a contender every year. Palou, who is now listed tied for second at +600 with 2023 and 2024 winner Josef Newgarden, also had more than his fair share of close calls before finally getting the job done just under nine months ago.
He finished second behind four-time winner Helio Castroneves in his first Indy 500 with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2021, and he had to rally from 30th in both 2022 and 2023 due to issues in the pits. He placed ninth and fourth, respectively. In what was arguably his most lackluster Indy 500 performance in the No. 10 Honda, he still finished fifth in 2024 after leading laps late.
Palou's teammate, 2008 winner Scott Dixon, is currently listed fourth at +900. There's a three-way tie between Sato and Newgarden's two Team Penske teammates, 2024 polesitter Scott McLaughlin and 2025 runner-up David Malukas, at +1000. Malukas is new to Team Penske for 2026.
Sato has yet to officially be confirmed by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. The two-time winner led the most laps in 2025 after securing a career-best start on the middle of the front row.
Full Indy 500 odds can be found here and are always subject to change.
All 18 races on the 2026 IndyCar schedule are set to be shown live on Fox, including the season opener in St. Petersburg, Florida next Sunday, March 1. The Indy 500 is the season's seventh race, and it's scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 24. Start a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss any of the action from America's top open-wheel racing series!