How To Legally Bet On The Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is without a doubt the most prestigious horse racing event in the United States, and with a history going back to 1875 it is easy to understand why wagering on this particular horse race is such a continually popular activity. Newcomers to the horseplaying hobby and veteran bettors of horses and races have access to plenty of options for placing bets on the outcome of the big race due to broad protections for the hobby in most state laws and indeed all the way to the federal level. However, not every seasoned horse racing gambler knows how to legally bet on the Kentucky Derby using all the options at their disposal, which is why we put together this comprehensive guide on the subject.
First, we will give you a crash course on the different options at your disposal for betting on the “Run for the Roses” whether in person at the races or online an internet betting shop. We then will take a closer look at such topics as the nature of pari-mutuel betting, racebooks actually located at the horse racing track the various simulcast and off-track betting options that many gambling venues around the country offer for their customers. Finally, we will dive a little deeper into the particulars of some of the legal offshore Kentucky Derby racebook sites that accept US players and how to find out more information about each of them and why they are an excellent choice for bettors in states without legal Kentucky Derby betting options.
One of, if not THE most distinctive feature of betting on the Kentucky Derby and other horse racing events is that this kind of wagering takes place according to pari-mutuel betting rules. In this case, horseplayers engaging in legal pari-mutuel betting on the Kentucky Derby wager against other bettors, whereas sports bettors or casino gamblers are betting against the bookies or the house, respectively. This element adds an interesting wrinkle to the entire process of placing wagers because how the other players involved fare in their bets will influence how you do as well, and that’s in addition to the odds being offered and the action taken by other players on those odds.
In other words, getting involved in legal pari-mutuel betting on the Kentucky Derby means you will have to take into account that how well you can do by picking winners in the “Run for the Roses” ultimately depends on how well your competition does at the same time.
Pari-mutuel betting has a long history in the United States, and – in a turn of good news for bettors – it has been legal pretty much the entire time, particularly with regard to horses and races. Unlike other kinds of gambling, which almost always involve the house or an oddsmaker writing fixed odds on their contests, pari-mutuel’s nature as a form of wagering played between the bettors themselves (but facilitated by the racebook’s show runners of course) helped keep it legal nationwide – on a state by state basis anyway. That’s because one of the commonly understood powers retained by the constituent 50 states in the union (per the 10th Amendment to the US Constitution) is that the states can decide for themselves what kind of gambling or wagering activities they want to allow and in many cases regulate (and tax) within their borders.
However, the potential existed for decades that one state government could pass a law that would infringe on the rights of another states to offer their residents a legal platform for accessing pari-mutuel wagering opportunities on horse races in particular. Rapidly progressing technological trends brought this conundrum to a head with the possibility for betting on horse races – like the Kentucky Derby – taking lace on the other side of the country. The federal Interstate Horse Racing Act of 1978 (IHRA) rectified the problem by ensuring that, at least from the federal government’s perspective, pari-mutuel betting on horse racing across state lines was 100 percent legal in the US.
While there are states without legal Kentucky Derby betting opportunities for their residents and visitors, pari-mutuel wagering is still among the most widely available form of horse racing betting that exists in the US, and that is true whether you prefer to do your wagering in person at the races or at online racebook.
There is simply no other sporting event in America that is as much of a spectacle as the Kentucky Derby. Only the Super Bowl comes close in terms of notoriety, but the annual “Run for the Roses” in Louisville, Kentucky, has the NFL Championship game beat by a country mile in terms of history and tradition. With a legacy going back all the way to 1875 with nary a break through the Great Depression, two World Wars and numerous instances of really rotten weather year in and year out, the Kentucky Derby is a cultural institution without peer in American history. That being said, it kind of goes without saying that betting on the Kentucky Derby at the races at Churchill Downs on Derby Day is an experience like no other, and many fans of playing the ponies see a trip to the track as a lifetime aspiration.
Seeing as heading out to take in all the sights, sounds (and mint juleps) at Churchill Downs is such an event in itself, it makes perfect sense that the folks running the show during Derby Week will pull out all the stops to make sure guests have a great time while betting on the Kentucky Derby. There are, accordingly, plenty of legal Kentucky Derby betting options for horseplayers who are actually on hand and in attendance on the big day, from the physical racebook at the track, with betting windows and paper betting slips and kiosks and payout lines and all that, to free downloadable smartphone apps and the track’s own official web based racebook.
While there are probably better values to be had if you are strictly interested in legally betting on “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports” – being at the track on Derby Day is such a hugely important cultural event that even the most hardened horseplayers probably will not mind the added expense. If you want to really experience the Kentucky Derby the right way and to its fullest extent, you really have to get in on betting on the Kentucky Derby at the races at least once in your life.
We mentioned it in passing previously, but betting on the Kentucky Derby via simulcast is another popular option, and it has been that way for decades. Ever since getting official federal protection in the form of the Interstate Horse Racing Act of 1978 (IHRA), pari-mutuel betting across state lines has been a thriving and even growing industry. Most racebooks – and even the majority of high profile casinos, cards parlors, gambling cruises and so on – will offer a simulcast wagering option for their patrons. Essentially, betting via simulcast is the same as placing wagers on a horse races actually taking place in your same location except the race in question could be occurring on the other side of the country or even the other side of the planet.
Live broadcasts of horse racing for the purpose of betting is an extremely effective way for betting shops to generate extra gambling revenues, particularly on big events like the Kentucky Derby and other Triple Crown races, or even the “normal” graded stakes races happening on a monthly basis somewhere in the world. Case in point, you can bet that there will be many a racetrack in the United States that will be having the mother of all Derby Day parties on May 5 just to cash in – literally and figuratively – on the action and excitement surrounding the “Run for the Races.”
Simulcast betting, in practice, is no different than placing bets on a live event that you are actually watching on the track. You make your wagers the same way, you collect your payouts the same way, et cetera. All in all, you are just watching a live broadcast of a race and betting on the horse racing results. It’s as simple as that.
Legal Kentucky Derby off-track betting options exist in most states around the country, and even the states that do not have simulcast options and even some states without any physical horse racing tracks will allow off-track betting. This variety of betting on the horses and races that most dedicated horseplayers are into is widely available at venues that do not even claim to be tangentially related to horse races, and that goes for bars, truck stops, or even slot machine parlors and riverboat cruises. At the most basic level, a legal off-track betting station is a kiosk, vending machine, electronic teller machine, or even a desk at a casino or other similar facility that allows you to remotely place a wager or several on horse racing results.
Variations exist – as is the case with anything else – but, generally speaking, when you are playing the ponies via off-track betting platforms you won’t be able to watch the race you are wagering on at the same machine or kiosk or ticket desk that presents you with your betting slip. Sometimes there are exceptions to this, however, and there is no reason why a legal Kentucky Derby betting off-track option couldn’t also be located at a simulcast location. It really just depends on where you are and what the local laws prohibit or permit.
Off-track betting options, far from limiting the action taken in by traditional racebooks, have actually boosted their profitability by allowing the pioneering of “exotic wager types” like exactas, trifectas, superfectas, Pick 6s and so on. Even with possible payouts far outstripping normal wager types like show, place or win bets, exotic bets and the off-track betting systems that made them possible actually increased the revenues taken in by horse racing betting operations despite a marked downturn in the sheer number of people that actually in attendance at the races themselves. In a strange way, off-track betting has helped to grow the sport of horse racing and further boos the thoroughbred breeding and training industry even though fewer people are watching the races in person.
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The final, and newest, form of legal Kentucky Derby betting options we will take a look at are the internet based legal offshore Kentucky Derby racebook sites based in foreign countries. Although these sites got started offering sports betting opportunities and internet gambling platforms for American bettors that were denied access to both by a long string of overreaching federal laws aimed at curbing the spread of gambling on the domestic front, they also offer highly competitive racebooks as well.
Horse racing betting sites like those offered at Bovada, BetOnline, and SportsBetting, remain stalwarts in this ultra competitive segment of the online gambling marketplace despite wagering on horse racing being widely legal in the United States. That is because the odds, and in many cases the sheer number of wagering options for each race, available through these 100 percent legal overseas betting shops are often better for more experienced horseplayers, leading to some massive payouts if the winning horses can be predicted. That is especially true in the case of major horse racing events like the Kentucky Derby and other Triple Crown races (those being the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes), which draw the attention of gamblers and other enthusiasts from all over the globe.
Legal offshore Kentucky Derby racebook sites accept players from the US without any trouble, and a full range of deposit and withdrawal options are available for account holders, ranging from major credit cards to direct bank wire transfers to popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dash. This makes starting and maintaining an online racebook account extra convenient and easier than ever, as you can use their legal mobile betting apps for iPhone and Android devices to bet on “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports” no matter where you are on Derby Day. When combined with domestic offerings like on-track racebooks, simulcast betting shops and off-track betting platforms, it is entirely possible to win money of the scale that could change your life if you use an offshore racebook site like the ones we most highly recommend.
The bottom line is this: if you are wondering how to legally bet on the Kentucky Derby betting this year, there are plenty of ways you can make it happen.