
How to Bet on the Kentucky Derby
Legal sports betting sites aren’t yet available across the country, but there’s good news for most people who are looking to bet on the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby online this weekend. Many states, even ones that don’t yet offer full legal sports betting, permit wagers on horse racing. Here’s everything you need to know about betting on the big race, including the best promo offer and more.
Legal Kentucky Derby betting is available in 31 states, including Pennsylvania, New York, Florida, Michigan and Illinois. Multiple race books are permitted to accept wagers online. The betting sites available for the Kentucky Derby differ from traditional sportsbooks and are currently available to more users in more states.
If you’re looking to bet on the Kentucky Derby online, then TVG, the sister site of FanDuel Sportsbook, is the place to do it. With a comprehensive odds offering and a strong new user bonus, TVG provides a quick and easy-to-use betting experience.
Kentucky Derby Betting Sites
TVG

TVG is the best all-around betting app for betting the Kentucky Derby. Owned by the same company that owns FanDuel, TVG offers a premium, safe and secure betting experience. Like the FanDuel app, the TVG platform offers a crisp, clean look with outstanding functionality while supplying a thorough yet easy-to-navigate betting odds and markets.
Best of all, it’s completely legal and regulated.
New users who sign up for TVG here can get a $300 first bet offer for the Derby.
How To Sign Up
Those looking to sign up and bet on the Kentucky Derby can both safely and quickly do so. It requires just three simple steps:
- Create an account with TVG by clicking here.
- Deposit funds into your account using a variety of methods.
- Place your first bet on the Derby backed by up to $300 in bonus bets.
From there, simply select a race event, choose your horses and wager type, and lock in a first bet offer on the Kentucky Derby.
States Where You Can Bet on the Kentucky Derby Online
Thanks to a differing set of legislation for race books, the ability to wager legally online on horse races is much more widespread than traditional sports betting, which is regulated in only a handful of states.
Here are all of the states where legal betting on the Kentucky Derby online betting is available:
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
Our recommended Kentucky Derby choice – TVG — is available in all of the states listed above.
Kentucky Derby Betting Online
Placing a bet on the Kentucky Derby is easy. Horses are listed in order of their odds to win the race.
The first number listed is the amount that is paid out on a stake in the amount of the second number.
For example: Essential Quality, the betting favorite, is listed at 2-1 odds, meaning you would have to bet $1 to win $2. Other top favorites like Rock Your World (5-1) and Known Agenda (6-1) would pay $5 and and $6 with $1 wagers, respectively.
Long shots include Like the King and Brooklyn Strong, each of which have 50-1 odds, and would provide significantly more aggressive payouts in the event of a win.
Types of Bets You Can Place on the Kentucky Derby
The great thing about horse racing is that you can place a lot more than just a single bet on a horse to win. You can choose the top three horses, the order of finish, and so on, providing prospective bettors with a variety of ways to wager and win.
Betting terms to know:
- Win: Horse to win the race
- Place: Horse to finish second
- Show: Horse to finish third
Here are the various types of bets for the Kentucky Derby:
- Exacta: picking the first 2 horses
- Trifecta: 3 horses
- Superfecta: 4 horses
- Super High Five: 5 horses
- Win-Place-Show: bet on a horse to finish in a certain spot
2021 Kentucky Derby Odds
Here are the current Kentucky Derby betting odds, courtesy of TVG:
Horse | Odds |
---|---|
Known Agenda | 6-1 |
Like the King | 50-1 |
Brooklyn Strong | 50-1 |
Keepmeinmind | 50-1 |
Sainthood | 50-1 |
O Besos | 20-1 |
Mandaloun | 15-1 |
Medina Spirit | 15-1 |
Hot Rod Charlie | 8-1 |
Midnight Bourbon | 20-1 |
Dynamic One | 20-1 |
Helium | 50-1 |
Hidden Stash | 50-1 |
Essential Quality | 2-1 |
Rock Your World | 5-1 |
King Fury | 20-1 |
Highly Motivated | 10-1 |
Super Stock | 30-1 |
Soup and Sandwich | 30-1 |
Bourbonic | 30-1 |
Race Details
Date: May 1, 2021
State time: 6:57 PM EST (coverage begins at 2:30 PM EST)
Network: NBC, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app
Stream: fuboTV
Sportsbook partner: Thanks to a partnership with NBC Sports, expect PointsBet to be heavily featured on the NBC Kentucky Derby broadcast despite not being able to accept wagers on the event.
