Kentucky Derby Betting Records: Epic Winnings

Every year since 1875, the Kentucky Derby in the US is held on the first weekend of May. The horses compete at a distance of 2,000 meters. Traditionally, the first to reach the finish line will be covered with a blanket of roses. The Grade 1 race for at least three-year-old horses will always be held on the first Saturday in May in Louisville, Kentucky, as the closing event of the two-week Kentucky Derby Festival. The Kentucky Derby is the oldest annual sporting event in the United States. People know that there is a high probability that they will beat the bookmakers, so take advantage of this. Those who got on our list of Kentucky Derby betting record winners did it. 

Kentucky Derby 101

The 2,000-meter race is on the Churchill Downs track with stallions weighing 57.2kg and mares 54.9kg. The race is also called the “The Greatest Two Minutes In Sports” and “The Fastest Two Minutes In Sports” in the US. Because the winning horse is covered with a blanket decorated with roses, some also call the race “The Run for the Roses”. The Kentucky Derby is the first part of the American Triple Crown. Followed by the Preakness Stakes and then the Belmont Stakes. 

For a horse to win the Triple Crown, it must win all three races. It happened most recently in 2018, but only 12 times before. The fact that the coronation is rather rare is partly because the track distance of the three races is quite large. The Kentucky Derby is 2 km, Preakness is 1.9 km, and Belmont is 2.4 km. The other thing is that the three races follow each other extremely closely. Belmont takes place five weeks after the Kentucky Derby and just three weeks after the Preakness Stakes.

 For this reason, only 13 horses have succeeded so far. Sir Barton (1919), Gallant Fox (1930), Omaha (1935), War Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946), Citation (1948 ), Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977), Affirmed (1978), American Pharoah (2015), and Justify (2018). The Kentucky Derby is the most famous race, so naturally, many Kentucky Derby betting records were born there. Keep in mind that the Belmont Stakes will take place on June 11th so you have time to place winning bets at online sportsbook sites in the US!

2018 Kentucky Derby Betting Records

A large part of a horse race is gambling. One might say it is the essence of it. In the US, bettors spent over $ 194 million at the Kentucky Derby in 2015. That says a lot! In 2018, Justify’s success brought $ 1.24 million to the horse’s owner, and 10 % of that, $ 124,000, went to the jockey, Mike Smith. Although Justify’s success didn’t bring much profit to those who placed bets at the last minute, some bettors still made a nice amount. For example, a Texas lady played in the popular Pick 5 betting form in the United States. She had to predict the winners of five different races on race day. 

The woman made 1,2 million dollars from $ 18 and probably made the best decision of her life that day. Another gambler bought a winning ticket when Justify was still unknown to many. Justify had not raced until the age of two. Since no one had won a derby like this since Apollo, they did not consider him among the most likely options. Plus, at that point, it was not even sure that the horse would participate in the race at all. So, the lucky gambler turned $ 500 into $ 150,000 at one of the online sportsbook sites in the US.

Rich Strike’s Epic Victory

Rich Strike only entered the world’s most famous horse race because another horse stepped back, yet he became the winner. When an unlikely racehorse starting with an 80-1 odds wins the Kentucky Derby, we can say that not many bettors could have celebrated their victory. However, those who trusted in his success could celebrate big time! After Rich Strike shocked the world with his epic run, he set some Kentucky Derby betting records. For example, a bettor won $ 74,000 with a $ 5 trifecta bet. In addition to the final winner, you can bet on several markets, check them out at 22Bet Sportsbook!

Rich Strike is the racehorse that had the second-highest odds and won the Kentucky Derby. People only considered Donerail a less likely winner when he defeated Ten Point in 1913. It’s an awesome story about Rich Strike’s victory, especially if we add that even earlier that week, it wasn’t certain that Rich Strike could compete at the Kentucky Derby at all. He arrived at the race site as a backup and only entered the race after Etheral Road was injured. After they announced that Rich Strike would compete instead of Etheral Road, no one expected too much from him. 

It’s no wonder since he has had just one victory in his career so far and did not impress the spectators in his last five races. However, not everyone was happy with his incredible success, as most bettors lost their money due to it. For example, one of the most famous Kentucky Derby betting record-holders is Jim McIngvale, who bet and lost $ 2.6 million. Shortly before the start of the Kentucky Derby, he bet $ 1.5 million on Epicenter to win, but he ended up behind and finished second behind Rich Strike. According to 22Bet, Jim lost a total of $ 2.6 million on his bets despite winning nearly $ 12 million overall.

Kentucky Derby Betting Record – Disqualifying the Winner

After 20 minutes of deliberation, the winner of the Kentucky Derby, Maximum Security, was stripped of its crown as it blocked a horse in the final turn of the race in 2019. Eventually, Country House, who finished second with 65-1 odds, won the Derby. Country House only received a total stake of $ 918,000. A lucky bettor, for example, ended up pocketing $ 165,500 with a $ 2,500 bet. Click here for the largest-ever bet at the Kentucky Derby!

A 72-year-old woman could also rejoice in the unexpected success of Country House. Elizabeth Gallagher has never been a big gambler. She wasn’t even a sports fan. However, the 72-year-old retiree somehow still found herself at the Kentucky Derby. Once she was there, she was determined to make a bet just like everyone else. Her daughter put $ 10 on Maximum Security, and she also bet $ 10 for the 65-1 Country House. 

And why him? Because she liked his name. As Maximum Security passed the finish line, Gallagher congratulated her daughter. Minutes later, when Maximum Security was disqualified, and Country House was named the winner, Elizabeth was the one whom lots of people congratulated. The woman eventually won $ 650 with her $ 10 bet. If you want to give it a try, check out our article about how to bet on the Kentucky Derby!

Take Advantage of the Derby Betting Markets

Another bettor who placed a bet was even more pleased with the turn of events, as he won $ 78,000 with his $ 8 wager. The player bought superfecta tickets for $ 4, and each paid $ 39,065 after taxes. The essence of the superfecta is to predict the first four horses in order. There were also movie-like stories among bettors at the Churchill Downs track. A frustrated player, Rick Both, hurried to leave the race track after winning nothing. The man working as a sales manager was already driving away when one of his friends called, saying that he should turn around.

It turned out that minutes after Broth left the racetrack, the board decided to disqualify Maximum Security and declared the second-placed Country House the winner. For Broth, that meant he didn’t have to go home with an empty pocket. Not only did he win $ 47,000 with Country House, but he could pocket $ 100,000 as of the winner of the Kentucky Derby Betting Championship! That, in itself, is a Kentucky Derby betting record story and the greatest turn of events ever! You can read about more lucky gamblers at online sportsbook sites in the US!

How Much do the Horses Earn?

If every racehorse in the world could keep its cash prize, there would be a good number of millionaires among them. However, the thing is that horses only get the glory, while their owners can become very wealthy people. It is not necessarily true that the best racehorses make the most money, though. Frankel earned £ 2,998,302 during his career, but it’s not even a quarter of the amount that the number one Arrogate put in his owner’s pocket. Arrogate won two of the world’s best paying races, Pegasus World Cup and Dubai World Cup.

 One of the biggest cash prizes was the 2017 Pegasus World Cup, meaning £ 5,691,056.91. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the absolute record holder is Arrogate. He was chosen in 2016 and 2017 as the best horse in the world. His jockey, Mike Smith, owes his nickname to him, Big Money Mike. In addition to the world’s two top-prize tournaments, Arrogate also won the Breeders’ Cup Classic, where the grand prize was $ 2.24 million. Overall, investing and placing bets in the racehorse business is quite profitable! Check out your options at 22Bet!

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