As one of the world’s greatest horse races, the Kentucky Derby attracts the attention of sports fans all over the planet.
If you like the idea of placing a wager on it this year, what are the basic facts that you need to know first?
Understand the Basic Details
This is typically the best-attended horse race in the US. The Kentucky Derby is held each May at the historic Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville. The horses are all three-year-old thoroughbreds and they compete for over one and a quarter miles in this Grade I race.
The Derby is part of the overall Kentucky Derby Festival, which runs for a couple of weeks and involves things like balloon races and fireworks shows. As for the race itself, it’s known as The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports, as this is generally how long it lasts.
This is also the first part of the famed American Triple Crown of the most prestigious horse races. You can click here to visit TwinSpires.com/kentuckyderby/ to find more information.
This year’s event will take place on Saturday, May 7. This will be the 148th running of the Derby and you can either watch it live on TV or buy a ticket to see the action from Churchill Downs.
See Who Is Competing
Each year, a field of 20 horses compete in this race. However, we won’t know until nearer the date exactly which horses will be these. This is because they collect points during the Road to the Kentucky Derby, by performing well in races like the Iroquois Stakes, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, and the Southwest Stakes.
At the time of writing, the leader on this board is Epicenter. Trained by Steve Asmussen, this horse has already picked up 164 points and $940,000 in prize money. In the second place, Crown Pride is a Japanese-bred horse that has collected 100 points and over $670,000 in prize money to date.
After those two horses, we can see names such as Classic Causeway, Slow Down Andy, and Un Ojo. Of course, the final standings can change dramatically before the Kentucky Derby date comes around, so it’s worth keeping an eye on how this leaderboard develops.
Decide When to Bet
Therefore, you need to decide whether to place your bet now or wait until close to the date, when the final field is known and everyone’s form is clearer. The main reason for placing a futures bet in advance of the big day is that the odds may be more generous. This is because it’s more difficult to work out so far in advance what might happen in May.
On the other hand, if you wait until nearer the day, the odds are more likely to be a more accurate representation of each horse’s chances. So, if you want to give yourself the best odds, you bet early. If you prefer to have the best chance of winning, you might want to hold off until you get closer to the date of the race.
Register and Place Your Bet
Once you‘ve decided when you want to bet and on which horse, you just need to register online and place your bet. This is easily done by first of all choosing an online sportsbook and registering as a new member, in a short process that should only take a moment or so.
Look out for any welcome bonuses you can accept as part of the signup process. You can then fund your account using any of the accepted banking methods and look for the latest Kentucky Derby odds. Choose the horse you think will win or else you could opt for an exotic bet like superfecta or trifecta that covers more than one horse.
After this, you can settle back and enjoy the big race with the added excitement of knowing that you could win money on it.