Every first Saturday in May, the Kentucky Derby takes place at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY. As the most famous horse race in the world (and one of the longest-lasting, having been run every year since 1875), the Derby is the first leg of the famed Triple Crown and always produces an air of mainstream excitement around the world. Naturally, betting on the Kentucky Derby is big business, and folks can place their wagers on the finest Grade I 3-year-old Thoroughbreds at many physical and online locations all over the world.
Currently, only 38 states have legal land-based horse betting facilities, though betting on the Kentucky Derby is effectively legal anywhere in the country if you use a reputable offshore racebook or sportsbook to place your wagers.
As the single biggest horse racing betting event on the planet, the Kentucky Derby turns an estimated betting handle of over $200 million at Churchill Downs itself, with simulcast OTB (off-track betting) locations and legal Internet racebooks accounting for upwards of $10 billion in US and international wagers. And while many folks believe that horse racing is in a decades-long decline, the numbers don’t lie: For betting purposes, the sport is as healthy as it’s ever been, with each successive Kentucky Derby producing more action with bookmakers than any race prior.
How To Bet On The Kentucky Derby
There are many different tacks to take when working out how to bet on the Kentucky Derby, but putting money on the event is effectively the same as wagering on any other horse race. The key difference is that, as it’s so popular, the Derby actually has more options to choose from at your racebook of choice, and the betting limits are generally much higher.
That said, your payouts will be determined by your level of risk, and in order to maximize your return, you will have to do more than just pick a horse to Win, Place, or Show. To that end, there is a slew of parlay options available when betting on the Kentucky Derby, and the riskier your lineups, the more you stand to win. Hitting on a bet type like the Quinella, Exacta, Trifecta, or Superfecta will pay out increasingly more money, but these are increasingly difficult to predict correctly.
Most racebooks will also offer multiple variants of these basic horse racing wager types, including Daily Doubles, Pick 3s, Pick 4s, Pick 6es, and more. Rest assured, when it comes to horse racing in general, there is no shortage of bets to be made, and the Kentucky Derby always has the most bets available to fans and gamblers worldwide.
Best Kentucky Derby Racebooks
For the millions of Americans who can’t make the trip to Churchill Downs or who don’t have easy access to simulcast betting locations in their areas, legal online sportsbooks offer some of the best Kentucky Derby racebooks anywhere. By signing up with sites like Bovada, SportsBetting, BetOnline, 5Dimes, BetDSI, BookMaker, and other top providers, you’ll have access to all the Kentucky Derby odds and parlays you’d get at a local racetrack, with the added bonus that each of these books offers their members lots of other options and perks and top of what any simulcast location has on tap.
The first option for most online horse racing bettors is Bovada, as it’s the most popular sportsbook in the US. However, the site also features a fully-fledged racebook in addition to its sports betting and casino gaming options. Betting on the Kentucky Derby at the Bovada racebook is an engaging, straightforward experience, as the site is easy to browse and bets are simple to place.
Additionally, with Bovada, new Kentucky Derby bettors that sign up now can take advantage of a $250 Sports Welcome Bonus to put towards the ponies, maximizing their earning potential for the world’s biggest horse racing event. (Unfortunately, Bovada currently does not accept customers from DE, MD, NV, or NJ.)
SportsBetting has long been a marquee wagering destination for American customers, and it proudly serves all 50 states. In addition to having lines for all manner of sports betting pursuits and a robust suite of casino table games, SportsBetting also has a thorough(bred) racebook for its millions of US customers. Betting on the Kentucky Derby at the SportsBetting racebook is accessible to everyone 18 and older, and SportsBetting accepts the widest variety of deposits of any sportsbook or racebook in the business (including American Express, Ethereum, and Litecoin).
New SportsBetting members looking to wager on the ponies can get a $25 Horse Free Play, and all Internet horse racing wagers earn a 7% daily rebate. SportsBetting is truly your inside track to betting on the Kentucky Derby!
Banking Options For Kentucky Derby Betting
Regardless of which sportsbook or racebook you join, you will have numerous banking options for Kentucky Derby betting at your disposal. While each book accepts various different modes of payment compared to their competition, all of them universally accept credit card deposits and Bitcoin transfers. Most of these providers will only take Visa and Mastercard, though Bovada and SportsBetting are the exceptions, as they also accept American Express. Further, Bovada also accepts Bitcoin Cash, while SportsBetting and BetOnline take Bitcoin Cash and other altcoins like Ethereum, Litecoin, and DASH.
Most racebooks will also accept more traditional buy-in methods, like cashier’s checks, money orders, and bank wire transfers, though it is important to note that, unlike credit cards and cryptocurrencies, money sent via these means will usually take up to two weeks to show up in your account. So if you’re going to betting on the Kentucky Derby and wish to use a “paper” method to deposit your funds, you’ll have to plan ahead.
When it comes to payout methods, these vary from racebook to racebook, and some services are more limited than others. For example, Bovada will only offer withdrawals in the form of courier check, Bitcoin, or Bitcoin Cash. However, SportsBetting and various other sites have several more options, including bank wires, peer-to-peer transfers, money orders, Ethereum transfers, Litecoin transfers, and more. Different cash-out methods come with different processing fees as well, with crypto generally being the cheapest route (with the highest limits to boot...er, horseshoe).
2020 Kentucky Derby Futures Odds
With the horses set to race in the 146th running of the Kentucky Derby, online racebooks have set the bar for who they think the favorite to win is. Now that odds have shifted being that Art Collector was a late scratch for the race but Tiz The Law has remained the favorite since the betting odds went live. Tiz The Law is the hottest horse out there right now as he won the first leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes which back up his heavy favored odds even more. The following odds are from Bovada:
