To bet on the Kentucky Derby, you first need to understand the types of bets available and how to place them. Here is a concise guide:

Types of Bets

Straight Bets:

• Win: Bet on a horse to finish first.
• Place: Bet on a horse to finish first or second.
• Show: Bet on a horse to finish first, second, or third.

Exotic Bets:

• Exacta: Pick the first and second place horses in the correct order.
• Trifecta: Pick the first, second, and third place horses in the correct order.
• Superfecta: Pick the first, second, third, and fourth place horses in the correct order.
• Super High Five: Pick the first five finishers in the correct order.

How to Bet

1. Choose Your Horse(s): Review the list of horses and odds. Favorites like Journalism (7-2 or 3-1 odds) are common picks, but longshots can pay big (e.g., Rich Strike won at 80-1 in 2022)

2. Select Your Bet Type: Beginners often start with a simple Win bet. More adventurous bettors may try Exacta, Trifecta, or Superfecta to increase potential payouts

3. Decide Your Budget: You can bet small amounts (e.g., $2 minimum) or larger sums. Some bettors use strategies like betting exactas or trifectas on a budget ($30, $60, or $125) to cover multiple horses and combinations

4. Place Your Bet: Bets can be placed at the track, through online sportsbooks, or on betting platforms like TwinSpires.
5. Consider Futures Betting: You can bet on the Kentucky Derby winner weeks or months in advance at potentially better odds. Futures bets lock in your wager early and relieve race-day pressure

Tips

• The Kentucky Derby is unpredictable with up to 20 horses racing 1¼ miles, a distance none have run before at age 3, so surprises happen often

• Favorites win less than 35% of the time historically, so consider both favorites and longshots

• Exotic bets offer bigger payouts but require correctly predicting the order of finishers.
• Betting on the Derby can be done with modest amounts and still offer chances for big returns

In summary, start by deciding which horse(s) to back, choose your bet type (Win, Place, Show, Exacta, etc.), set your budget, and place your bet either on race day or earlier via futures markets. The Kentucky Derby is a unique and exciting betting event with many strategies to explore