- For example, if you wanted to bet $10 on #7 Justify to win the 2018 Kentucky Derby (the 12th race of the day at Churchill Downs), you would have gone up to the betting window and asked for the following: “Churchill Downs, Race 12, $10 to win on 7.”.
- $10 Free Bet For You & Your Guests Be the perfect host by offering your guests a $10 Free Bet on TwinSpires, the Official Betting Site of the Kentucky Derby. Every time one of your guests signs up with your invitation code and places their first bet, you will receive a $10 FREE Bet and so will your guest!
- Best betting sites for the Kentucky Derby. Betting on horse racing has traditionally been an in-person activity. You know the deal: You walk up to a counter, hand over your betting slip and, hopefully, come back and collect your winnings soon after.
- At Churchill Downs on May 1, the 147th running of the historic Kentucky Derby will take place. This is your Kentucky Derby reference page, examining the history, New York horse betting options, the road to the Derby and handicapping variables for the Fastest Two Minutes in Sports. The Kentucky Derby, dating back to 1875, assembles 20 of the nation’s top 3-year-old thoroughbreds.
As the 2021 Kentucky Derby is rapidly approaching, we’ve put together our Kentucky Derby picks – along with their respective odds. Check them all out below.
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How to bet at a Kentucky Derby party
Planning on attending or hosting a Kentucky Derby party this year? Betting on your favorite horse(s) is a big part of the fun, and you don’t have to be at the track to get involved.
These tips will ensure you and your guests get a run for your money during the Run for the Roses:
Bet with your computer or mobile device
If you live in one of the many states that allows advance deposit wagering (ADW), you’re in luck—you can place bets online and await the results from home. A popular option is TwinSpires.com, the official wagering partner of the Kentucky Derby. TwinSpires users can place bets on their computer or mobile device and enjoy high-quality livestreams of all the action. Even better, new players can take advantage of a $100 signup bonus.
Get your bets in early
Don’t assume you’ll have a chance to bet the Derby in the final minutes before post time—once your party gets going, time is bound to fly. Plan your wagers beforehand and place them well before the race, double-checking each bet for accuracy. This goes double if you’re placing bets on behalf of your friends and family. You don’t want to congratulate your cousin on winning a $5 show bet, only to realize you submitted the wrong number and actually wagered his money on a losing horse.
Play party games
Games are a fun way to get everyone involved without necessarily spending a single cent. Write the names of every Kentucky Derby runner on slips of paper, place them in a hat, and let guests randomly draw a name to determine which horse they’ll play.
From here, the variations on gameplay can be infinite. You could arrange for everyone to place a $2 win bet on their chosen horse, giving them a real rooting interest in the outcome. Or you could bet with “Monopoly money,” wagering imaginary amounts and calculating what each player’s winnings would have been. Consider writing down various dollar amounts on slips of paper so players can choose their wager amounts at random; use a wide range of values ($2, $100, $1 billion) for maximum entertainment.
- Which Party Games should I play?
- Other ways to pick a winner:
The Show Parlay Party Game
The Derby Hat Draw
Horse Auction Action
Lucky Longshots
Vegas at the Derby
Spin the Bottle Bet Selector
Even more games to try!
Bet Shares - Create a ticket and split the cost
Refer a Friend and get $10
The Derby Hat Draw
Horse Auction Action
Lucky Longshots
Vegas at the Derby
Spin the Bottle Bet Selector
Even more games to try!
Bet Shares - Create a ticket and split the cost
Refer a Friend and get $10
Handicapping Expert Picks
Practice your betting with free-to-play games here
How to bet your favorite horse
How to bet on a budget
Practice your betting with free-to-play games here
How to bet your favorite horse
How to bet on a budget
Where to get started and how to win at Kentucky Derby party pools and group games!
The Kentucky Derby is more than just a horse race—it’s a national event. Like the Super Bowl or March Madness, folks who don’t normally follow Thoroughbred horse racing will tune in to watch (and wager) on the Derby, which has been held every year since 1875.
Planning to join in with a wager or two of your own? Whether you’re paying a visit to Churchill Downs or partying from the comfort of your home, these five tips will help you get the most enjoyment out of your Derby betting foray.
Read about the contenders
- Bet the favorites
- Have a plan
- Get your bets in early
- Play party games
While betting on horse races is a fun challenge in and of itself, your enjoyment of the sport will be increased multifold by learning about the horses involved. Industry websites, including Brisnet.com and TwinSpires.com, are packed with news and analysis to help guide your betting decisions. The news section of the Kentucky Derby website is a similarly rich resource of race results, insights, and interesting backstories. Learn about the horses as horses—not just numbers in the program—and the sport will come to life before your eyes.
Betting horses at random will produce only infrequent winners, so if you want to impress your friends with a steady stream of victorious selections, go with the flow and bet on favorites. You won’t stumble into high-priced winners, but hey—winning sure beats losing, no matter what the payoff. Favorites win 35% of the time in the Kentucky Derby, a success rate that more or less holds true for all other North American horse races. Bet on every favorite over the course of 12 races, and you’ll likely pick four or five winners, sufficient to make you a handicapping hero.
Even if you’re betting just for fun, it’s wise to approach a day of racing with a plan in mind. Set aside your wagering budget and ration it accordingly throughout the afternoon. View your bets as the price of an entertaining afternoon and assume you won’t win back a dime—that way, if you’re skilled enough (or lucky enough?) to cash some winning wagers, you can happily pocket your profits and head home as the toast of the track.
Don’t wait around until the last minute to get your bets placed! Planning and placing wagers can take longer than you anticipate. If you’re at the track, you might get hung up in line waiting to bet; if you’re at home, you might stop for a snack and realize too late that the race is about to begin. There’s no reason to be hurriedly placing a wager as the horses enter the starting gate—get your bets in early, and you won’t get shut out when post time arrives.
Watching the Kentucky Derby with a group of friends? Team up with party games so everyone can enjoy a piece of the action. Betting a simple show bet parlay can be a potentially lucrative way to keep the fun going all afternoon. Another idea? Put the names of every Kentucky Derby horse in a hat and take turns drawing names until every horse has been selected. If everyone bets a small amount on their chosen runner(s), you can guarantee someone will experience the satisfaction of winning a Derby wager.
Good luck!
Good luck!
Wager > Betting 101 > What to say at the betting window
If you're a beginning bettor you probably want to place your bets at a mutuel window with a live mutuel teller before using self-service betting machines and mobile applications. Here’s what you should do when you get to the betting window:
- Have your money in hand, so that once you're at the counter, you're ready to make your bet
- State the track's name
- State the race number you are betting on
- State the amount of money you are betting
- Say the type of bet you are placing
- Finally, state the horse's program number
It should sound something like this, 'Churchill Downs, Race 11, $2 to win on #4.' After you've handed the teller your money, make sure you take your betting ticket and store it in a safe, or lucky, place. If your bet wins, you'll need to return to the betting window and give the teller your ticket to collect your winnings.
Heading to your local racetrack to wager on the Kentucky Derby? While it’s easy to place bets online using your computer or mobile device, there’s something about being at the track, betting in person, and holding actual tickets in your hand that can’t be replicated online. Even losing bets can live on as souvenirs of the day.
If you’re just getting started and haven’t bet at the track before, never fear! These four tips will help guide you through the process:
Make sure to use the correct betting window
When approaching the betting windows, make sure you enter the right line. If you’re planning to place a $10 win bet, you don’t want to be in a line for bettors wagering $50 or more. Check for signage to determine which windows are for which denominations.
Know the lingo
Know the lingo
Want To Bet On Kentucky Derby Winners
Using the correct terminology for outlining your wager is the key to a successful, accurate transaction. When you approach the betting window, you’ll need to provide five pieces of information in a specific order—the name of the racetrack, the race number, the base amount of your wager, the type of wager, and the program numbers of the horses involved.
For example, if you wanted to bet $10 on #7 Justify to win the 2018 Kentucky Derby (the 12th race of the day at Churchill Downs), you would have gone up to the betting window and asked for the following: “Churchill Downs, Race 12, $10 to win on 7.”
To place a wager involving multiple races (a Pick 3, Pick 4, etc.) or multiple finishing positions within a single race (an exacta, trifecta, etc.), separate the different sections of your bet using the word “with.” Let’s imagine you were betting the 2018 Kentucky Derby and wished to play an exacta, which involves selecting the top two finishers in the correct order. Suppose you wanted to bet $5 on #7 Justify to win over #6 Good Magic. You would have asked for the following: “Churchill Downs, Race 12, $5 exacta 7 with 6.”
You don’t want to be the person who goes up to the betting window, outlines a wager, realizes it’s more expensive than expected, and tries to adjust on the fly. You’ll hold up the line, and you’ll be rushing to reconfigure your tickets, perhaps leaving out the winning combination in your haste.
This situation can be avoided by thoroughly planning your bets in advance. Write all the combinations you intend to play and calculate their cost. If a complex ticket is hard to tally, use an online wagering calculator to confirm the cost. Write down your wagers and bring them with you to the betting window—you’ll get them placed with time to spare, and the folks behind you in line will thank you.
Consider using a self-service betting machine
Consider using a self-service betting machine
If you want to skip the betting windows, you can instead place wagers using a self-service betting machine. After purchasing a voucher, you can use an intuitive touchscreen interface to place your bets using the same approach outlined above. Winning tickets can be inserted into the machine and added to the value of your voucher, which you can redeem when you’re finished betting.
Bet On The Kentucky Derby
Good luck with your wagers!
Using your Mobile Device to bet at the track?