If you have been placing straight wagers on the Kentucky Derby for awhile, there is a chance that you already know a little bit about the win, place, and show aspects of horse betting that comprise straight wagers. Even though these are basic gambling schemes, you can use them to your advantage whether you are a beginner or advanced horse racing pro.
Placing straight wagers for the Kentucky Derby
Besides the Kentucky Derby, there are three other races where placing a straight wager can be important. This includes the Breeder’s Cup, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes. The reason that these races cannot be avoiding is due to their payout. Unlike other days at the track, there will be a large pool of bettors for the Kentucky Derby.
For this reason, you can bet $1 on straight bets and expect $15 to $48 depending on the year. In other words, even smaller bets that more experienced horse bettors usually do not play will pay off for the four major horse races in the United States.
When to place a Kentucky Derby straight wager
During your first few years of experiencing the Kentucky Derby, it can be difficult to determine when is the best time to place a bet. Despite what you may have heard, the nominations for the Kentucky Derby are not announced until the weeks leading up to the race.
If the Kentucky Derby is on May, 5; you can expect to see the horses that will be in the Derby to be announced around April 17. During these three weeks, sharpening your knowledge on each horse’s past will help you place the best straight wagers.
When it is within five days of the race, you will be in your prime for deciding which horses to bet on. In addition to placing the bet at a casino or Churchill Downs, you can also contribute to the same general betting pool through a third party horse betting website.
Determining how many win bets to use
For the Kentucky Derby, your payoff is so high that it makes sense to spend a little bit of extra money on wagering. However, you do not want to veer off in the wrong direction and waste your time and money. For this reason, a bit of strategy with straight wagers can be applied.
To illustrate the point, you can use the win bet and the tote board to determine which horses to place a dollar on and which need two, three, or even 10 dollars. If you have a favorite that you think will win, give it your best $10. With the other $40 you planned to spend that day, bet on 8 of the other horses listed on the tote board. Just to spice it up a bit, place a couple of $2 longshots.
Although the longshot horses are unlikely to win (according to the tote board), if it does, your Kentucky Derby payout could be enormous. Once you have placed decent bets on your top five horses, you can take the possibility of a profitable chance with horses that have lower odds.
Wagering with place and show bets
If you are not sure if your horse will win first place, you best option is to buy a ticket that also covers you in case the same horse comes in second place instead. Just like win and show, place bets are referred to as straight wagers. With a ticket for horse #7 for place, you will win the same amount whether or not it finishes the race in first or second place. Naturally, you can win more with a ticket that is just for win, but that carries a higher risk.
For the show bet, the idea is similar. In addition to second place, you are also covering third place with a show bet. Of course, this is just for one horse to finish in either third, second or first place. If you want to cover more than one horse, then you will need to learn about exotic wagers in addition to straight wagers.
Combining straight wagers across the board
If you are going to place straight wagers for show, place, and win then you are going “across the board” with a single horse. In these cases, the clerk may ask you if you have heard about boxed in exotic wagers. For example, in the exacta box, you pick two horses to win in either first or second place. If you want more horses on one ticket, you can get a trifecta box or superfecta box.
These types of exotic tickets will cost more than straight wagers but are worth the money. In particular, the Kentucky Derby straight wagers for 2011 were $43.80 (win) $19.60 (place) and $13.00 (show). For a $2 exacta the payoffs were $329.80, $2 trifecta was $3,952.40, and the $2 superfecta as $48,126.00. So think it over, and make your straight wagers now!