New to betting horse racing? Here's our tips ahead of the Kentucky Derby

Betting the Kentucky Derby? Here are our tips and best bets for Saturday's big horse race.

Saturday marks the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby, the greatest two minutes in sports and one of the most bet events of the year. According to Churchill Downs, $210.7 million was wagered on the race in 2024. That number was up from $188 million the previous year.

As we prepare for mint juleps and the playing of “My Old Kentucky Home,” let’s dive into the 2025 field and how to bet it. 

First it’s important to know about the Kentucky Derby’s unpredictability. The favorite has won the race just under 35% of the time since 1908 (40 times) and not once in the last five years.

There are two classifications of bets in horse racing: straight and exotic. A straight bet involves a single horse. An exotic bet involves more than one horse. 

The three most basic bets are all straight bets. They are betting a single horse to win, place, or show. Choosing a horse to ‘win’ is exactly what you think. You are betting on a specific horse to win the race. Betting on a horse to ‘place’ means you are betting on said horse to finish first or second. A bet on a horse to ‘show’ is wagering the horse will finish first, second, or third.