The 149th running of the Kentucky Derby took place on Saturday, May 6. Mage was the surprising winner at odds of 15-1, followed by Two Phil’s in second place and betting favorite Angel of Empire in third. Often dubbed “the greatest two minutes in sports,” the race sees the nation’s top 3-year-old thoroughbreds battle it out at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, and always attracts a lot of betting. Let’s take a look at how to bet on the Kentucky Derby.
How to bet on the Kentucky Derby online
Online betting on horse races is legal and available in multiple states. To do so, you’ll need to do the following:
- Register for an account at a legal horse betting site, such as FanDuel Racing.
- Claim any welcome bonuses and/or make a deposit to fund your account.
- Scroll through the list of available races and select the Kentucky Derby.
- Review the odds for all of the horses in the field.
- When ready to wager, click the odds that correspond with your selection.
- Your choice will move over to your betting slip.
- You’ll select the type of bet you want to place, enter how much you want to wager and verify that everything is correct.
- Click to confirm and place your wager.
FanDuel Racing is available in these states:
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Delaware
- Florida
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- New Hampshire
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- Vermont
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
2023 Kentucky Derby morning line odds and post positions
The full field, post positions and final odds for the 2023 Kentucky Derby are below. Get more information on Kentucky Derby odds here.
| Position | Horse | Final odds | Opening odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hit Show | 25-1 | 30-1 |
| 2 | Verifying | 15-1 | 15-1 |
| 3 | Two Phil’s | 8-1 | 12-1 |
| 4 | Confidence Game | 17-1 | 20-1 |
| 5 | Tapit Trice | 9-2 | 5-1 |
| 6 | Kingsbarns | 10-1 | 12-1 |
| 7 | Reincarnate | 13-1 | 50-1 |
| 8 | Mage | 15-1 | 15-1 |
| 9 | SCRATCHED | SCRATCHED | |
| 10 | SCRATCHED | SCRATCHED | |
| 11 | Disarm | 24-1 | 30-1 |
| 12 | Jace’s Road | 30-1 | 50-1 |
| 13 | Sun Thunder | 29-1 | 50-1 |
| 14 | Angel of Empire | 9-2 | 8-1 |
| 15 | SCRATCHED | SCRATCHED | |
| 16 | Raise Cain | 29-1 | 50-1 |
| 17 | Derma Sotogake | 8-1 | 10-1 |
| 18 | Rocket Can | 27-1 | 30-1 |
| 19 | SCRATCHED | SCRATCHED | |
| 20 | SCRATCHED | SCRATCHED | |
| 21 | Cyclone Mischief | 29-1 | 30-1 |
| 22 | Mandarin Hero | 20-1 | 20-1 |
| 23 | King Russell | 30-1 | 50-1 |
Best site for betting on the Kentucky Derby
For betting on horse racing legally in the US, FanDuel Racing is a solid option. The site provides coverage for all of the top tracks across the globe, and betting on major races such as the Kentucky Derby is among the featured offerings.
FanDuel Racing also has a clear layout that makes it easy to use. You can sort through the upcoming races with ease, and there are even some built-in options — some of which are free — that can help you handicap the races. The racebook is available on the web and via mobile devices, and it also has live streaming and a dedicated channel for horse racing action.
Signing up for Kentucky Derby betting
The sign-up process at FanDuel Racing is fairly quick. Head to the site via the link above to claim the welcome bonus, and then do the following:
- Click the join button.
- You’ll be prompted to enter the following details:
- Name
- Date of birth
- Phone number
- Password
- Click to continue and enter your mailing address.
- Next, you’ll provide the last four digits of your Social Security number.
- Finally, you’ll review all of the information that you’ve entered, verify that it’s correct, accept the terms and conditions, and create your account.
To begin wagering, you’ll then need to make a deposit. The available banking options may vary by state, but they typically include the following:
- Debit/credit card
- PayPal
- E-check
- Wire transfer
Deposits will process instantly, so you can expect to see the money in your account immediately. When it’s time to make a withdrawal, processing times can vary based on the method that you choose, but things tend to move quickly here, as well.
Available Kentucky Derby bets
There are several different ways to wager on the Kentucky Derby on the day of the race. At the top of the list are the main single-race bets:
- Win: A bet on a horse to win the race.
- Place: If you bet on a horse to place, you’ll win your bet if your horse manages to finish first or second.
- Show: Your horse needs to finish in the top three spots.
You can also tie all three of the wagers together into a win/place/show bet. Known as betting across the board, the goal is to make a clean sweep if you land on the horse that wins the race. If you do so, you’ll win all three bets.
Unlike betting on other sports, the amount of your potential payout is not directly tied to odds that the book sets, but rather to the amount of money in the pari-mutuel pool. For example, a winning bet will depend on the total dollar amount in the pool for that bet and the number of betting tickets.
You can also take your chances on bets with multiple horses, aka exotics. While such wagers are not easy to win consistently, the payout can be large if you do manage to get one right.
- Exacta: Pick the top two horses in the race, in the correct order.
- Trifecta: Like an exacta, but picking the top three horses.
- Superfecta: As above, but for this one, you need to pick the top four horses.
- SuperHighFive: Bet on five horses to finish in spots one through five.
As mentioned, for all of these bets, you’re attempting to pick the horses in the exact order. You can also box your selections, which means the order no longer matters. Another option is to wheel your picks, which means that you are mixing up your selections for each finishing position in various ways.
The cost for exotic wagers can quickly climb based on the number of selections that you include on the ticket. As always, there are no guarantees simply because you think you’re covering more bases, so be sure to keep that in mind as you build your bets.
Last but not least, while the Kentucky Derby is the biggest race of the day, the card at Churchill Downs also contains other races. You can bet on each of them individually as well, but there are also ways to bet on multiple winners across the day.
- Pick 3
- Pick 4
- Pick 5
- Pick 6
For all of the above, the goal is to pick the winner in a number of consecutive races: three for the pick 3 and so on. The minimum wager for these bets is typically small, but you can make multiple picks for each race, with the cost rising accordingly.
2023 Kentucky Derby news and notes
- Saturday, May 6: Mage wins the Kentucky Derby with a time of 2:01:57 and post-time odds of 15-1. Two Phil’s takes second, followed by betting favorite Angel of Empire in third.
- Saturday, May 6: On the day of the race, betting favorite Forte joins the list of scratches due to a bruised foot, dropping the field to 18.
- Friday, May 5: In the days leading up to the race, four horses are scratched: Continuar, Lord Miles, Practical Move and Skinner. Also eligible entrants Cyclone Mischief, King Russell and Mandarin Hero take their place.
- Monday, May 1: Post positions and morning line odds come out for the Kentucky Derby. Forte is the 3-1 favorite, then Tapit Trice at 5-1 and Angel of Empire at 8-1.
- Saturday, April 15: The Lexington at Keeneland is the final prep race for this year’s Road to the Derby. First Mission takes the top prize of 20 points while outpacing the field as a 2-1 favorite.
- Saturday, April 8: Three more horses earn 100 derby points with big prep victories: Lord Miles at the Wood Memorial, Tapit Trice at the Blue Grass and Practical Move at the Santa Anita Derby.
- Saturday, April 1: Another two horses punch their tickets while earning 100 points by taking down key prep races: Forte wins the Florida Derby, and Angel of Empire comes out on top at the Arkansas Derby.
- Saturday, March 25: Three horses earn 100 points with big victories: Derma Sotogake (JPN) at the UAE Derby, Kingsbarns at the Louisiana Derby and Two Phil’s at the Jeff Ruby Steaks.
- Saturday, March 11: Tapit Trice is the top choice at odds of 1-2 heading into the Tampa Bay Derby. After falling way behind out of the gate, the favorite pulls out a stirring rally to snatch the win and claim 50 points.
- Saturday, March 4: Four prep races shake up the leaderboard. Forte wins the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park, while Raise Cain takes down the Gotham at Aqueduct. Practical Move outpaces the field for the San Felipe at Santa Anita Park, and Congruent comes out on top at the John Battaglia Memorial at Turfway Park.
- Saturday, Feb. 25: The Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn also award 50 points to the winner and deliver another surprise. Confidence Game takes the race at odds of 18-1, followed by 9-1 Red Route One in second and 9-2 Reincarnate in third.
- Saturday, Feb. 18: 50 points are at stake for the winner of the Risen Star at Fair Grounds. Two of the longer shots outpace the field, with 13-1 Angel of Empire claiming the victory followed by 16-1 Sun Thunder in second.
- Friday, Nov. 4, 2022: The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile takes place at Keeneland. Forte is the winner at 5-1, outpacing second-place finisher Cave Rock, who was heavily favored at post time with odds of 2-5. National Treasure finishes third.
- Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022: The Road to the Kentucky Derby kicks off with the running of the Iroquois at Churchill Downs. Curly Jack is the winner at odds of 10-1 and earns 10 points. Honed finishes second, with Jace’s Road in third.
2023 Kentucky Derby race facts
There have been 149 runnings of the world’s most famous horse race. Here are some of the key points for the 2023 Kentucky Derby:
- 2023 location: Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky
- Distance: 1 ¼ miles
- Age qualifications: 3-year-old colts, geldings, fillies
- 2022 purse: $3 million
- 2023 race date: May 6
- Post time: 6:50 p.m. ET
- Where to watch: NBC
- Fastest time: 1:59.4, Secretariat, 1973
- Most wins by a trainer: Bob Baffert and Ben Jones, six
How and where to watch the Kentucky Derby
NBC is the broadcast home for the Kentucky Derby. The network will be providing coverage on the main broadcast channel, as well as on Peacock, the NBC Sports app and NBCSports.com. You can stream the Derby directly to your mobile device.