Kentucky Derby Betting? Don't Forget Kentucky Oaks Too

The 138th running of the Kentucky Derby will be on Saturday, May 5, 2012 with a Post Time of 6:24 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time. There will be a full field of twenty horses for this race, which is considered the most prestigious thoroughbred horse race in North America, South America and, well, the Western Hemisphere. And there will also be millions of fans all over the world that will do Kentucky Derby betting and will yell to the tops of their lungs while the greatest two minutes of sports is happening.

The Kentucky Derby is also known as The Run for the Roses because of the bouquet of dark red roses that is traditionally draped over the victorious horse in the Winner’s Circle at Churchill Downs in Lexington, Kentucky. But Kentucky Derby is not the only race you need to bet on.

The Kentucky Derby is, along with it’s female counterpart the Kentucky Oaks, is the oldest continuously held race in all of thoroughbred racing. Not only that, but it’s also the oldest continuously held event in all of sports, period. Much longer than the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the NHL Finals, and longer even than the World Series (which wouldn’t count anyway because it was canceled in 1994 due to the players’ strike) in baseball.

There have been many great moments in the history of the Kentucky Derby. The horse with the worst betting odds to win the Kentucky Derby was way back in 1913, when a horse by the name of Donerail finished first under the wire. The odds on Donerail were a staggering 91 to 1 before the race!

The race has an unofficial nickname as “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports” or “The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports” because the race takes approximately two minutes to complete it’s mile and a quarter distance. However, that’s most of the time a misnomer because only four horses in the 137 year history of the race have ever run the race in two minutes or less.

A grand total of nine geldings have won the Kentucky Derby, but only two geldings have won it since 1929. Funny Cide won the race in 2003, and also won the Preakness Stakes. However, he was denied his chance to become the only gelding ever to win the Triple Crown when he lost the Belmont Stakes. Mine That Bird came out of nowhere in 2009, at over 50 to 1, to become another gelding to win the Triple Crown.

Three fillies have won. The first was Regret way back in 1915, but there wasn’t another filly to win the Derby until Genuine Risk in 1980. Winning Colors, a fine west coast horse, became the third and last filly to win the Kentucky Derby in 1988.

Don’t count kentucky oats out as one of the races that you would bet on. Kentucky derby betting is cool but it would be cooler if you got a lot of income and bets alternative to bet on.

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