Predicting the winner of the Indy 500 based on the odds is as tricky as ever in 2020, when the Greatest Spectacle in Racing is running in August for the first time in its 104-year history. The 2.5-mile oval track will be hot and slick, and wind will be unpredictable.

On top of that, recent Indy 500 history is not necessarily helpful. The last nine Indy 500s have produced nine different winners. This is the result of the endless variables that determine who will get to drink the milk in victory lane.

Indy 500 Betting Odds Josef Newgarden +800 Will Power +800 Alexander Rossi +800 Simon Pagenaud +800 Scott Dixon +900 Helio Castroneves +1000 Ed Carpenter +1100 Spencer Pigot +1200 Colton Herta +1200 Marco Andretti +1400 Takuma Sato +1600 Ryan Hunter-Reay +1600 Ed Jones +1800 Sebastien Bourdais +2000 Graham Rahal +2500 (Odds provided by BookMaker.eu).

MORE: Get the latest betting odds & advice from Sports Insider

This year's Indy 500 is running a few months behind schedule because the COVID-19 pandemic made a traditional May race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway impossible. The 2020 IndyCar schedule didn't start until early June with a race at Texas, and the Indy 500 is the seventh race on that schedule.

1. The 2017 Indianapolis 500 (branded as the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil for sponsorship reasons) is a Verizon IndyCar Series event that occurred on Sunday May 28, 2017, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States.The race was the premier event and the sixth race of the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season.
2. Grand Prix of Indianapolis May 11, 2017 to May 13, 2017. Indy 500 May 26, 2017 to May 28, 2017. Detroit Jun 2, 2017 to Jun 4, 2017.
3. The 105th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is scheduled for Sunday, May 30, 2021. The greatest drivers in racing will compete for racing immortality in 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing' at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Join us Memorial Day Weekend and see who will drink the milk and kiss the bricks.

Below are the complete Vegas odds to win the Indy 500 in 2020, plus our top three picks of drivers who could end up taking the checkered flag.

Indy 500 odds to win 2020 race

Scott Dixon is the favorite to win the 2020 Indy 500 in part because he showed so much speed in last weekend's qualifying sessions. He qualified second behind pole-sitter Marco Andretti, but only after Andretti edged him by .017 mph, the third-closest margin in the history of Indianapolis qualifying.

Below are the complete odds to win the Indy 500 in 2020, courtesy of Sports Insider.

Indianapolis 500 Odds 2017 Over Under

Of the top five drivers on the Indy 500 odds board, only Josef Newgarden will start the race outside the top 10. Newgarden will start 13th after failing to advance to the Fast Nine Shootout.

Alexander Rossi will start the Indy 500 ninth, and Ryan Hunter-Reay will start fifth.

Simon Pagenaud, the winner of last year's Indy 500 who ranks sixth on the odds board for this year's race, will start way back in 25th.

Indianapolis 500 Schedule Of Events

MORE: Complete starting lineup for Indy 500

Indy 500 expert picks

1. Scott Dixon

Dixon is the IndyCar Series points leader in 2020 with three wins in six races. He also is due for an Indy 500 victory after last winning the series' biggest race back in 2008.

The speed in Dixon's car was made evident by his qualifying sessions, as he nearly edged Andretti for the Indy 500 pole. It was evident in the season-opener at Texas Motor Speedway, too, which is the only somewhat comparable track on which the series has raced this season. Dixon led 157 of the 200 laps on his way to a win that night.

2. Josef Newgarden

We have to pick at least one Team Penske driver to win Sunday's Indy 500, as the Penske stable has produced the last two Indy 500 winners — Pagenaud last year and Will Power in 2018.

Newgarden has never won an Indy 500, but he is third in the IndyCar points standings and has a series-high three poles this season. His team has the speed required to win the Indy 500, something that was made clear when he led 214 of 250 laps at Iowa Speedway in the series' latest race.

3. Graham Rahal

This is our upset pick. Rahal has never won an Indy 500 in 12 starts, and his best finish is third. He is sixth in IndyCar Series points, and his eighth-place starting position suggests he has good speed. It's his best starting position for an Indy 500 since he started seventh and finished 12th in 2010.

Indianapolis 500 Tickets

A Rahal finishing first in an Indy 500 that started with an Andretti in first would be fitting.