Win Odds

Kentucky Derby Odds – Win

The whole point of having a race is to determine a winner. That’s what people care about the most, so that’s what people bet on the most when they bet on horse racing.

You’re probably familiar with the phrase win, place and show. This refers to the top three places in horse racing; you can make what is known as a straight bet by picking a horse to finish anywhere on the podium. We’ll talk more about place and show a little later. For now, let’s concentrate on winning.

When you’re ready to pick a winning horse, the process is simple. Your online race ticket will have checkboxes for win, place and show; check the win box next to your horse’s name, then click on “Add To My Ticket”. It’s that simple. If your horse goes on to win, you’ll be paid out at the odds listed.

You’ll notice that the odds are given in two different columns. The first column says ML; that means Morning Line, which are the odds set by professional handicappers who have been hired to project the race. Those numbers are for information purposes only; the column called ODDS is the one that counts for payouts. Those odds start coming in after the Morning Line is posted and the betting market opens for the race in question. The Morning Line stays constant, while the actual odds will adjust depending on the way the market behaves.

So, let’s say you bet $2 on Palace Malice to win the 2013 Belmont Stakes. Despite entering the race with final odds of about 14-1, Palace Malice did indeed win the race, so your earnings would have been a healthy $29.60 (in addition to your original $2 bet). Winner, winner, hay for dinner.