Kentucky Derby Tips

The Kentucky Derby is one of the biggest horse racing events in the entire world. The event is held at the end of the Kentucky Derby Festival at the Churchill Downs track and is a great opportunity for beginners to get into horse racing betting.

New horse racing bettors may have a hard time choosing from the many betting markets the event offers, and may also find it difficult to make their picks. However, our Kentucky Derby betting tips should be able to help you through this process, and you should be able to make your Kentucky Derby bets with ease.

What Is The Kentucky Derby?

The Kentucky Derby is an annual horse race that takes place at the end of Kentucky Derby Week. Held since 1875 when the first Kentucky Derby began, it has never missed a year even during the pandemic, both World Wars and the Great Depression.

The Derby is often also called the "most exciting two minutes in sports", as this is usually how long it takes the horses to cross the finish line.

The festival ends with Derby weekend, which starts with the Kentucky Oaks race on Friday and ends with the Kentucky Derby race on Saturday. The Derby is also the first leg of the American Triple Crown, which also includes the Belmont Stakes and Preakness Stakes races.

If one of the horses finishes first in all three events, then they take home the Triple Crown Trophy, although this doesn't happen very often. Sir Barton was the first horse to do this back in 1919.

The Derby is one of the more valuable horse races in the world, as the event has a purse worth $3 million, with the most recent winner of the main race taking home a whopping $1.8 million.

How To Bet On The Kentucky Derby

While making your picks for race day can seem daunting, it doesn't need to be. We've included some Kentucky Derby betting tips below to make the process a whole lot easier for you.

Research the form of the horses competing

Before you start throwing bet credits around on Derby Day, it's important to look at the form of the horses that will be competing. While there may be no such thing as a sure bet, researching the form of the horses in the race, can help you make a much more educated bet.

You shouldn't just look at the results of the previous races, though, you should try to watch as many races from the event as possible. This will allow you to see how the horses actually perform on Churchill Downs, and will also allow you to hear what the commentators have to say about each horse.

Listen to the experts

If you're new to betting on horse racing, then it would be best not to rely entirely on your own judgement and research if you want to win your bets! There are many pundits, the best racing tipsters, and journalists who base their entire careers on predicting the results of these events.

You can often find their predictions on blogs, YouTube videos, and even podcasts. While there is no guarantee that their predictions will be accurate when the chips are down, they likely know a lot more about the sport than you do. So, you should try to take their advice when you can, as it can help you create a winning betting strategy.

Kentucky Derby Betting Markets

One of the harder things about betting on horse racing for beginners is choosing which markets to bet on. There are quite a few racing markets to choose from, and not all of them are suited for new bettors. So, we'll explain some of the markets below and the skill level required to bet on them successfully.

Win-only

Nearly all bettors place a bet on this market - from beginners to experts - as it's incredibly simple, and can offer some high returns. The win-only betting market only requires you to pick a winner for the race, and after researching the form of the horses competing, and listening to some pundits, it shouldn't be too hard for you to pick a winner.

Each-way

Each-way bets are more suited to people who want to play it safe. This is because the each-way market offers you some protection, as while it still requires you to pick a winner, if your horse doesn't win but finishes on the podium, you can still win some money.

This is why it's also a great market for beginners to bet on.

Place-only

Place-only bets require you to bet on a horse to come either in the top two or top four positions. As a result, the returns on these bets aren't incredibly high.

Forecasts/tricasts

The forecast betting market is not recommended for beginner bettors at all. It requires you to pick two horses that you think will finish first and second and like with accumulators if even one of your selections is wrong, you will lose your stake.

Tricasts work in the same way but require you to bet on three horses that you think will finish first, second, and third. You will also need to get the order correct to win.

Betting without favourite

In the betting without favourite market, you need to bet on a horse that you think will either beat the favourite horse to win or place second. Your returns will be higher if your horse beats the favourite, though.

Head-to-head

Head-to-head bets are incredibly simple. You merely need to bet on one of two horses that you think will finish ahead of the other.

Top jockey/top trainer

These bets are simple to place but can be difficult to predict. Top jockey bets require you to bet on the jockey that you think will ride the most successful horses. Top trainer bets, on the other hand, require you to choose a trainer that has trained the most winning horses at an event.

FAQs

When will the 2023 Kentucky Derby take place?

The Kentucky Derby race takes place on the first Saturday in May every year.

Where can I bet on the Kentucky Derby online?

You can bet on the Kentucky Derby online with Midnite along with other major horse racing events.