The Kentucky Derby is one of the oldest and most popular horse races in the United States. It attracts the attention of fans from all over the globe and most of them are looking to make some money by betting on the event.

Bookmakers and sportsbooks are more than happy to oblige and they offer plenty of different betting options, especially online. In fact, there are so many Kentucky Derby betting markets available on the internet that it might get slightly confusing for people who have limited experience in gambling on horse racing.

Here’s a look at the four most common types of inter-race exotic bets that handicappers utilize: Daily Double – To win a daily double bet you have to pick the winners of two consecutive races. If you want to bet a daily double that includes the Kentucky Derby you can. The Kentucky Derby is the Super Bowl of horse racing. And like the Big Game, the “Run for the Roses” has no shortage of betting options. If you’re looking beyond the standard Kentucky Derby. Free horse racing betting calculator for handicappers to determine cost of exotic wagers based on wager type and combinations. FREE EXOTIC WAGER COST CALCULATOR Use this calculator to determine the cost of an exotic wager that you wish to bet. Partial Exotics By partial exotic bets, we mean ones that are made for below the $2 minimum. Examples of partial exotic bets found at tracks throughout the country include the $1 exacta, the 50 cent trifecta, or the 10 cent superfecta. You only have to pay the amount listed for one of the bets above. Exotic bets are wagers on two or more outcomes tied together. This exponentially increases the payout of the bet, but it also makes them more difficult to win. The most common types of exotic bets are the exatca and trifecta. Exacta – Horses must finish 1st and 2nd in exact order.

Kentucky Derby Exotic Bets Games

In this you’ll find all the main Kentucky Derby bets explained in detail, so you will know your betting options if you decide to give it a shot.

Before I get into that, let me provide a list of the best Kentucky Derby betting sites for those of you who are simply looking for a place to bet online.

Our top-rated Kentucky Derby betting sites are secure, offer high odds for the race, and have various other perks like juicy promotions, fast payouts, and mobile betting.

If you decide to join them, you will have the opportunity to place real money wagers on various betting markets. Let’s take a look at them and see how each works.

Let’s begin with explaining the traditional Kentucky Derby bets that are not much different from the betting options you can find for every horse race.

The race winner is the popular Kentucky Derby wager that’s available in every racebook that offers odds on the competition. You simply pick one of the horses and place a wager that it will finish first in the race.

If the horse wins the Kentucky Derby, your wager is successful, as simple as that. There are no complicated conditions here which is why so many people love this wager.

Here’s an example of Kentucky Derby odds for the outright winner. These are from the 2020 race.

Place and show wagers are lower risk wagers that come with a greater chance of winning but reduced payouts. With a place wager, you’re betting on your chosen horse to finish in the top two positions. With a show wager, you’re betting on your chosen horse to finish in the top three positions.

These wagers are especially good options if you want to back an outsider to do well, but don’t necessarily believe it will win the race.

An across the board wager combines three bet into one. It’s a win bet, a place bet, and a show bet all on the same ticket.

Kentucky Derby Betting At Home

If your chosen horse wins, you’ll get a payout for all three components of the wager. If your chosen horse finishes second, you’ll win on the place and show components. If it finishes third, you just win the show component.

This is another good option if backing outsiders. It comes with the chance of a very good payoff if your selection manages to win, while still paying out for a second or third place finish. You could also consider this option for backing one of the favorites if you want a bit of “insurance” should it fail to win but still finish in the top positions.

Note that in some parts of the world, bookmakers and betting sites offer what’s called an each-way option. This is similar to the across the board wager, but the wager is divided into just two parts. The first part is for the horse to win, the second part is for the horse to finish “in the places.” This usually means in the top three.

I’ve decided to group up these Kentucky Derby markets because the principle behind them is the same. You place a wager on multiple horses to all finish in the top positions.

The most popular exotic wager for the Kentucky Derby is the exacta. Here, you have to correctly predict the top two horses in the exact order.

With a trifecta or a superfecta, you have to successfully pick the top three and top four horses respectively. Again, you need to get the exact order correct.

The payouts you could get for any of these wagers can be very high, but they’re hard to win. They are an excellent choice if you are looking for a fun bet with a small stake and a large potential return.

The terms exacta and trifecta can be replaced by forecast and tricast in some betting sites. They represent the same Kentucky Derby wagers, they’re just different terms.

Kentucky Derby Exotic Bets Racing

You could also go for the quinella, which is easier to win. Here you select two horses again, but you’re backing them to finish in the top two positions in any order.

Kentucky Derby Props Explained

Most of the betting markets I mentioned so far are available for any race. Since the Kentucky Derby is not any race, there are plenty of special wagers you can find. They are called props and they open the door to some exciting opportunities that a lot of people underestimate.

Let’s take a look at the most popular types of Kentucky Derby props and how they work.

There are plenty of props related to the Kentucky Derby winner. For example, you can often place a wager on the first letter of the winner’s name or on the number of words in the winner’s name.

On the surface, these markets seem random and entirely luck-dependent, but that’s not always the case. If you are willing to back a certain horse to win the Kentucky Derby, it might be a good idea to check the winner props before you go for the traditional race winner option.

If the horse’s name consists of three words, for example, it might be better to go for this market instead. The price could be slightly worse, but it’s possible that there are other horses with three words in their name that have a legitimate shot at winning the Kentucky Derby. That gives you a couple of more potential winners at a small cost.

Here are several examples of winner props offered for the race.

• First letter of the winner’s name
• Number of words in the winner’s name
• Starting gate of the winner

Kentucky Derby Bet Online

We know that Secretariat holds the Kentucky Derby record but nothing lasts forever. Some betting sites will offer odds on whether the time of the legendary horse will be beaten. There are also wagers on the winner’s finishing time and the time for the opening quarter, the first half mile, or more.

The principle behind them is usually the same. The bookmaker sets a line and you can bet on whether the time will be above or below that value.

You can also bet on certain outcomes relating to the trainers and jockeys at the Kentucky Derby. For example, you can place a wager on the age of the jockey or the trainer of the winning horse.

Kentucky Derby Bet Calculator

Once again, the racebook sets an over/under line for that purpose.

You could often find even more props on the Kentucky Derby and they can be related to anything. The bookmakers usually explain how each market works and it’s relatively easy to understand the concept behind it.

And yet, there might be an exception. If that’s the case, don’t hesitate to talk to the support and ask for additional details.

Final Words

Kentucky Derby Exotic Bets Betting

I hope that the Kentucky Derby bets explained here can help you make good decisions when betting on the race. The good news is that most of them are available other popular races that run regularly.

If you are interested in some tips on those races, I encourage you to check the latest picks of our experts. They cover plenty of events throughout the year, so there’s a constant stream of betting previews with recommended wagers.

Coming back to the Kentucky Derby specifically, you might also be interested to read my post on how to bet on the Kentucky Derby online.

For people who are looking to make a nice profit by betting on the Kentucky Derby and are willing to do a bit of extra research, one of the best ways to seek out the best chance at profit is by betting inter-race exotics. We’ll look at what they are in more detail in a moment, but basically they are bets in which you have to pick the winners of two or more races in a row including the Derby. It’s incredibly hard to pick the winner in the Derby, so it might seem daunting to have to pick the winner in other races as well. The advantage, though, is that the other races that precede the Derby aren’t nearly as tough to pick as the Derby – the field sizes are smaller, the challenges are less daunting, and the puzzle is easier to figure out. If you want to make a significant profit on the day you have to bet exotics of some point, and it’s likely easier to pick the winners of different races then it is to pick the horses that will finish in the top four or five spots in the Derby. Here’s a look at the four most common types of inter-race exotic bets that handicappers utilize:

Daily Double – To win a daily double bet you have to pick the winners of two consecutive races. If you want to bet a daily double that includes the Kentucky Derby you can include the race before it or the race that follows it. You can bet any dollar amount you want on the bet, though most tracks have a $2 minimum. Because you are only betting on two races the payoff isn’t likely to be massive unless there are upsets in both races. As a result, you really can’t afford to bet a whole lot of horses in both races or the cost of the bet could easily exceed the payout – especially if favorites come in. There is no better way to feel stupid than to cash a nice exotic ticket and still lose money.

Pick Three – The name of the pick three makes its meaning clear – you have to pick the winner of three races in a row. Most tracks, including Churchill Downs, offer rolling pick threes. That means that a new pick three starts on each race. That means you can bet on more than one pick three that includes the Kentucky Derby. Pick threes are a happy medium for casual bettors – they are not impossible to pick and they can be bet at a reasonable price, yet they offer the potential for a pretty solid payout and return on investment if a couple of unexpected horses make the winners circle. One of the biggest mistake that people make when betting the pick three or any of the other inter-race exotics is automatically picking the same number of horses in each race. It makes far more sense to go really deep in a race that you are uncertain of, and only pick one or two horses if the race seems more clear. By doing that you can keep your costs low and give yourself a better overall chance of winning the bet. On Kentucky Derby day you’ll likely want to go very deep in the Derby because of the uncertainty in that race and limit your picks in the other races.

Pick Four – This is the same as the pick three except you have to pick four winners in a row. Unlike the pick three, though, there are only two pick fours on a card – one at the beginning of the card, and one at the end. Pick fours can be played at most tracks for $1 or more, and the payoffs can be quite large – often several thousand dollars on big race days. The problem for casual bettors, though, is that the price can get very high for these tickets if you aren’t careful. If you were to pick four horses in each race, for example, then a $1 ticket would cost you $256. The return on investment could still be good if you win, but the risk is high and that could be hard on a lot of bankrolls if you aren’t a winner. One way to keep the costs lower is to buy several smaller tickets that cover some likely combinations instead of picking a whole bunch of horses on one big ticket.

Pick Six – This is where the big boys play. The pick six can pay hundreds of thousands of dollars on big race days like the Derby. It’s not a bet for casual bettors to mess with, though. The minimum bet is $2, so the prices can quickly become very large. Picking just three horses in each race would cost you $972, and three horses is not a lot of depth in the Derby. To properly bet this race, serious bettors invest thousands of dollars – often in a syndicate that combines the resources of many bettors hoping to combine for a big score. If you aren’t a serious bettor and strong handicapper then your time and money are probably better spent elsewhere.