The Kentucky Derby, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America, is probably the most famous horse race in the world. It starts off on the first Saturday in May every year, and runs over two weeks as the Kentucky Derby Festival.
The race details of the Kentucky Derby are quite specific. It is a Grade I stakes race, held specifically for three-year-old Thoroughbreds. It continues on for a distance of two kilometres, or one and a quarter miles, at Churchill Downs. Horse-specific details include that the colts and geldings racing must carry fifty-seven kilograms, that is, one hundred and twenty-six pounds, and that fillies racing must carry fifty-five kilograms, or one hundred and twenty-one pounds.
The Kentucky Derby goes my numerous other names in popular culture. These include ‘The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports’, ‘The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports’, and ‘The Run for the Roses’. The former two refer to the approximate duration of the horse race, while the latter one refers to the blanket of roses that is draped over the race’s champion.
The Louisville Kentucky Derby has run consecutively every year since 1875, making it a long-standing horse racing tradition. It is also the first race of the American Triple Crown, a series of horse races. The Kentucky Derby is followed by the Preakness Stakes, which, in turn, is followed by the Belmont Stakes. In order to be crowned the overall champion, a horse must win all three races.
Betting on a Horse Race
Given its stature and prestige, the Kentucky Derby offers an exciting opportunity for sports bettors. There are various types of bets sports bettors can place on horse races, both on the Kentucky Derby as an individual event and on the Triple Crown as a series of horse racing events.
Types of Wagers
There are many types of wagers that can be offered at https://onlinebetting.nz/mobile-betting/apps/ for each race, but there are three basic ones that pertain to most horse races, including the Kentucky Derby.
The first is the simple win wager. This means that sports bettors simply place their bets on the horse they think will win the race, and that horse must win in order for sports bettors to win their wager.
Then there is the place wager. Here, sports bettors will bet that a specific horse will finish in the top two. They will win their wager if their chosen horse finishes first or second.
Then, there is the show wager. This means that sports bettors will bet on a horse they think will finish in the top three. Sports bettors will win the wager if their chosen horse finishes in first, second or third place.
The win wager has the highest payoff, simply because of the difficulty of actually succeeding at a win wager. A show wager will offer the lowest payoff, but is also offers sports bettors the highest probability of actually winning something.
If sports bettors have mastered the knowledge of win, place, and show wagers, they can move on to select an exacta wager or read horse racing tips online. This means that they will select two horses to bet on, selecting which horse will come first and which on will come second. An exacta wager is more complex than a win wager, but offers far higher payouts.