Kentucky Derby Horse Racing Odds Explained: Different Than American Moneyline, Spread

Written By Matt Burke | Published at May 2, 2024

Kentucky Derby horse racing odds moneyline spread line chart explained American fraction decimal

Sports betting is becoming more mainstream by the day in the US, and this year’s Kentucky Derby will be one of the most wagered-on horse races in history. Novice sports bettors in the states used to the standard American moneyline and spread when betting on football and basketball may initially be perplexed by horse racing odds. Horse racing odds, though, are pretty straightforward in that they show the amount of profit on a bet in relation to the amount invested. For instance, if you made a $2 win bet on a horse at 2-1 odds and that horse won - you would profit $4 and also get the original $2 back for a payout of $6.

Still confused? Here we will provide a chart to show the payouts for standard horse racing odds and also potential payouts as they pertain to Kentucky Derby betting odds for this year's race.

No Sweat Bet On Kentucky Derby

Betting on the Kentucky Derby is as easy as it gets thanks to FanDuel Racing, and this year FanDuel Racing is giving new users a No Sweat First Bet. All you have to do is click on the FanDuel Racing button below.

Play TheLines' $10,000 Derby Jackpot Challenge below.

Horse racing odds explained: Payout chart

Horse racing odds are best explained by using a $2 win bet. Here are standard horse racing odds and how they would pay out.

Odds	Payout
1-5	$2.40
2-5	$2.80
1-2	$3.00
3-5	$3.20
4-5	$3.60
1-1	$4.00
6-5	$4.40
7-5	$4.80
3-2	$5.00
8-5	$5.20
9-5	$5.60
2-1	$6.00
5-2	$7.00
3-1	$8.00
7-2	$9.00
4-1	$10.00
9-2	$11.00
5-1	$12.00
6-1	$14.00
7-1	$16.00
8-1	$18.00
9-1	$20.00
10-1	$22.00
15-1	$32.00
20-1	$42.00
30-1	$62.00
50-1	$102.00

Kentucky Derby wagering strategy

You’ll definitely want to keep in mind post position when betting on any horse race, particularly the Kentucky Derby with its large field of 20 horses. With so many participants in the race, there is a ton of contact between horses – particularly the horses that are on the inside.

According to KentuckyDerby.com, six of the last 10 Kentucky Derby winners started the race from post 13 or wider. That said, post 5 has produced the most Run for the Roses winners at 10.

Post 15 has been a hot one recently as Orb (2013), American Pharoah (2015) and Authentic (2020) have all been victorious coming out of that spot.