The reason that betting a favorite when you have a certain edge is better than betting a dog with the same edge is that you can afford to bet more on the favorite without risking your bankroll too much, and thus you make more profit. For example, suppose that your EV is 5%. You expect to earn $5 for every $100 you bet. Lets say that Kelly criteria says you can afford to risk $100 on a +300 dog given your edge and your bankroll size. Then you could afford to risk $900 on a -300 favorite with the same 5% edge. You would expect to win $5 on the dog bet but $45 on the favorite bet even though the edge is the same. So the bet on the favorite has better expected growth than the dog bet.