Legal Kentucky Derby Betting
Legal Kentucky Derby betting is one of the most popular bets to make each year and is by far the most popular horse racing bets that you could make. Luckily for you, you have several options to bet on the Kentucky Derby with online horse race betting sites. These sites cater to their users to make sure you have the best possible experience when using them. There is tons of information for you to take in before you bet on the Kentucky Derby with one of these sites and we’ll lay out everything for.
On this page, you’ll learn about the horse betting sites that have Kentucky Derby odds and how to get the most out of your betting experience. We’ll also get into different betting types and show you past winners as well and show you all of the perks that there are to using these sites.
Yes, you can bet on the Kentucky Derby legally across the United States without any worry at all. These sites are licensed and have nothing against them that would stop you from using them. Neither any state government laws nor federal government laws have any restrictions against using these sites to bet on the Kentucky Derby and no one has ever faced any legal issues for using them either and they never will.
There are some top Kentucky Derby betting sites that you could choose from and each of them make betting on the derby enjoyable. That is thanks to their platforms and bonuses, their mobile platforms, and their ability to accept crypto as a way to bet. You should know that you are not limited to signing up for just one Kentucky Derby betting site either and can sign up for as many as you want to take advantage of everything that they each have to offer.
If you are looking for the best of the best, look no further than Bovada for all of your Kentucky Derby betting odds. They have one of the easiest to use sites making it easy to find any Kentucky Derby betting odds that you could possibly think of. New users will also be greeted with a $250 sign up bonus just for making an account and making your first deposit. That is thanks to their 50% welcome bonus that matches your first deposit up to that $250 mark.
You can freely bet on the Kentucky Derby from your phone with BetOnline as they have one of the best mobile platforms that an online horse betting site has to offer. They are compatible with pretty much any smartphone or tablet that has a web browser including Apple, Android, and Samsung products. All you need to do to access them is go to their URL from that web browser on your device and you’ll be able to log in like normal.
With MyBookie, you can bet on the Kentucky Derby with Bitcoin along with several other forms of crypto. There are around seven forms of crypto that you can use to bet on the derby at MyBookie including Ethereum, Solana, and USDC amongst a few others. The great thing about using crypto to bet on the Kentucky Derby is that there are little to no processing times when making deposits or withdrawals and can be linked right to your crypto wallet.
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The 2024 Kentucky Derby was the 150th rendition of the famous race. Mystik Dan finished first and had +2000 opening odds. This put Mystik Dan in the conversation to win the Triple Crown. Following the Derby, odds for there to be a Triple Crown winner jumped to +1600.
Depending on where you place your bet, you’ll have a number of rules you’ll have to follow, like track betting limits and minimums. One track rule for betting on the Kentucky Derby that is pretty much the same everywhere is that your bet must be in at least five minutes before the race begins. Some tracks might allow you to cut it a bit closer than that, but this is the most important thing to keep in mind. Once those windows close, that’s it, betting on the race is shut down. Online racebooks are the same way. If you do choose to use an online racebook, make sure you familiarize yourself with the track rules on their site before you start to choose the types of bets you want to place.
There are two types of bets available at legal online racebooks: straight and exotic. Straight bets involve betting on the actions of a single horse. Exotic wagers involve betting on two or more horses or the outcomes of more than one race. These types of wagers each have their own bet types within them, which is what we’ll review below.
Straight Wagers:
- Win – Bet on a horse to win the race.
- Place – Pick a horse to be one of the first two that crosses the finishing line.
- Show – Bet on a horse to come in either 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in a race. As long as it finishes within the top three, your ticket wins.
- Across the Board – An across the board bet combines a win, place, and show wager. What you do is place even money at all three positions on a single horse. So, if that horse wins the race outright, you collect on all three bets. If they come in second place, you collect on two of the bets (place and show). If the horse finishes third, you collect a payout on the show bet. Keep in mind that a $3 Across the Board bet would require you to put down $9, since it’s even money on all three positions.
Exotic Wagers:
- Exacta – Pick the horses that will finish in first and second place, in order.
- Exacta Box – If you’re not sure which horses will finish in the top two positions in a race, choose an exacta box. This wager type allows you to choose two or more horses to include in the wager. The box will take into account the different winning combinations of all of the horses that are bet on. For example, you could choose three horses to bet on, which gives you six possible finishing combinations. If one of those combinations is correct, your exacta box is a success.
- Trifecta – Choose the correct finishing order of the first, second, and third place horses in a race.
- Trifecta Box – Bettors can choose to hedge their bets and choose a trifecta box rather than a trifecta. Here, you choose three or more horses to bet on. The box allows for any combination of the winners, rather than having you name the correct order. The more horses you have, the more chances you have to win. You also must put more money up front, because of the number of different combinations. For example, a 3 horse trifecta box is $12, but a 5 horse trifecta is $120. This is based on a $2 box.
- Superfecta – A superfecta bet requires the bettor to choose the horses that will finish in first, second, third, and fourth place. For a successful superfecta, you must name the horses in the correct order.
- Superfecta Box – Superfecta boxes allow you to choose four or more horses to wager on to finish in the top four positions. The number of horses you choose to include in the box determines the number of possible winning combinations. If one of the combinations in your box wins the race, your ticket is a success.
Morning line odds are payout estimates released the morning of the event. The track handicapper will create these odds himself, so they aren’t based on something in Vegas. Think of morning line odds as a jumping off point for what people base their wagers on. Morning line odds will more than likely change throughout the day.
They change because of a number of different factors, like a horse being scratched from the race, but mostly because of public opinion. If a number of bettors come in and place large wagers on a horse had longshot odds, the oddsmaker will take that into account and adjust the lines. Vice versa, if a horse that was favored did poorly in practice and people stopped betting on him, the oddsmakers would adjust the lines.
Tote Boards are used to calculate betting odds and track how people are wagering. At the turn of the 20th century, they became an immensely popular way for people to watch oddsmakers at the track. They didn’t make their way to the US until 1932, when they first appeared at Hialeah Park, in Florida.
Tote Boards have come a long way since that time, now appearing on large-screen LED TV’s at racetracks. The running tally of what is going on at the track is important for all bettors. Casual bettors can see how the odds chance from the morning lines to right before closing. Expert bettors might try to time their bets in order to get the most favorable odds. Learning to read a tote board is paramount to getting the full horse racing betting experience.
There are five essential pieces of information you need to know for every bet. Whether you’re following a menu in order to input your wager online or speaking with a teller at a betting window, these crucial bits of information must make their way into what you say otherwise your ticket will become void and you’ll have wasted your money. I’ll tell you the order you should follow when placing a bet and you’ll never have a problem betting again.
The order goes Track Name, Race Number, Dollar Amount, Type of Bet, Horse Number. It’s very important that you follow this order, otherwise, your bet won’t be right. Don’t mix up the race number and horse number, and always make sure to say how much the bet is before the type of bet you’re laying. Pretty soon, you’ll know the betting order like the back of your hand. Until then, keep a checklist handy to make sure you’ve got everything in the correct order.
- Track Name
- Race Number
- Dollar Amount Of Bet
- Type Of Bet
- Horse Number
The Triple Crown is a series of three races, starting with the Kentucky Derby, followed by the Preakness Stakes, and ending with the Belmont Stakes. Triple Crown betting is a type of futures bet. One way to bet on the Triple Crown is by wagering on whether or not there will be a Triple Crown winner this year.
The Kentucky Derby produces a single winner each year. That winner is the only horse that can go on to win the Triple Crown. If you like how the horse performed, you can bet on him (or her) to win the next two races in the series. Or, if you think the horse doesn’t have what it takes, you can bet against them, saying that there won’t be a Triple Crown winner.
Each race presents its own challenges, so the winner of the Kentucky Derby will have to be strategic. So will Triple Crown bettors. Triple Crown betting presents a number of challenges, giving bettors quite a bit to research and ponder before you place those wagers. You can bet on the winner of each race individually, or you can place a futures bet on whether or not the Derby winner will also be the Triple Crown winner. The choice is up to you.
The Kentucky Derby is a race that was first introduced to American thoroughbred racing in 1875. The one and a quarter mile dirt track is left-handed, like most American tracks. The Derby is open to three-year-old Colts, Geldings, and Fillies, only, so you only get one shot at running this historic race. Called the “most exciting two minutes in sports”, this race is quite possibly the most popular in the US. It is a Grade I stakes race.
The Kentucky Derby takes place at Churchill Downs, in Louisville, Kentucky. Held every year on the first Saturday in May, the race is open to up to 20 horses. In addition to the most exciting two minutes in sports, the Derby is also referred to as the “run for the roses”, due to the blanket of roses that are draped across the winning horse at the end of the race. The Kentucky Derby is the first leg of the Triple Crown.
The Derby kicks off the Triple Crown, producing the single horse to take on the gauntlet for a chance in history. With so much riding on this race, it’s no wonder why attendance at the Derby is the highest of any Thoroughbred race, including that of the Breeder’s Cup or either the Preakness or Belmont Stakes. The Kentucky Derby sees over 170,000 people at the track each year, with over $137 million wagered on the two-minute event.
| Past Winners (Since 2005) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Horse | Jockey |
| 2005 | Giacomo | Mike Smith |
| 2006 | Barbaro | Edgar Prado |
| 2007 | Street Sense | Calvin Borel |
| 2008 | Big Brown | Kent Desormeaux |
| 2009 | Mine That Bird | Calvin Borel |
| 2010 | Super Saver | Calvin Borel |
| 2011 | Animal Kingdom | John Velazquez |
| 2012 | I’ll Have Another | Mario Gutierrez |
| 2013 | Orb | Joel Rosario |
| 2014 | California Chrome | Victor Espinoza |
| 2015 | American Pharaoh | Victor Espinoza |
| 2016 | Nyquist | Mario Gutierrez |
| 2017 | Always Dreaming | John Velazquez |
| 2018 | Justify | Mike Smith |
| 2019 | Country Horse | Flavien Prat |
| 2020 | Authentic | John Velazquez |
| 2021 | Rich Strike | Sonny Leon |
| 2022 | Mandaloun | Florent Geroux |
| 2023 | Mage | Javier Castellano |
| 2024 | Mystik Dan | Brian Hernandez Jr. |
| List Of Past Triple Crown Winners | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Horse | Jockey |
| 1919 | Sir Barton | Johnny Loftus |
| 1930 | Gallant Fox | Earl Sande |
| 1935 | Omaha | Willie “Smokey” Saunders |
| 1937 | War Admiral | Charles Kurtsinger |
| 1941 | Whirlaway | Eddie Arcaro |
| 1943 | Count Fleet | Johnny Longden |
| 1946 | Assault | Warren Mehrtens |
| 948 | Citation | Eddie Arcaro |
| 1973 | Secretariat | Ron Turcotte |
| 1977 | Seattle Slew | Jean Cruguet |
| 1978 | Affirmed | Steve Cauthen |
| 2015 | American Pharaoh | Victor Espinoza |
| 2018 | Justify | Mike Smith |
- Churchill Downs
- 700 Central Ave.
- Louisville, KY 40208
Driving from the west (St. Louis) – Take I-264 East from 1-64E. Take exit 9 (Taylor Blvd). Go north on Taylor Blvd, exit onto Longfield Ave for Gate 10 and Central Ave for Gate 17.
Driving from the east (Lexington) – Take I-264 West from 1-64W. Take Exit 10 (Third St/Southern Pkwy). Take a right and head north on Third St/Southern Pkwy. Go to Central Ave. Turn left for Gate 17, continuing on Central Ave. Turn left on fourth St for Gate 10, bearing right (You will pass the barns).
Driving from the south (Nashville) – Take I-65 North or I-264 West to Exit 10 (Third St/Southern Pkwy). Take a right and head north on Third St/Southern Pkwy. Go to Central Ave. Turn left for Gate 17, continuing on Central Ave. Turn left on fourth St for Gate 10, bearing right (You will pass the barns).
Driving from the north (Indianapolis) – Take I-65 South. Take exit 132 (Crittenden Drive). This exit veers left. Continue on Crittenden Drive, going straight. Take a right a Central Ave intersection, then continue straight down Central Ave for 1.6 miles, then you will reach the track.