Posted on 5/2/2008 6:39:16 PM

Kentucky Derby - Exacta and Trifecta Wagers for the 134th Kentucky Derby

By D.S Williamson

A lot of people have asked me why I choose to wager online through the BetUS sportsbook. My answer is always the same - - I can place a wager on any race at any track in the United States. This is not true for some other simulcast wagering internet sites. For instance, the Kentucky Horsemen Benevolent and Protective Association and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association have blocked the signal from Churchill Downs to two of the major internet wagering sites in the United States.

That makes the BetUS online racebook the number one place for you to make your bets. Hands down. You won’t ever have to worry about whether or not you can bet on any race at any track in the United States. That’s nice to know since most online racebook bettors depend on making wagers at various tracks on different days during the week. Not all horse racing gamblers spend their entire year thinking about the Kentucky Derby.

It’s nice that the Kentucky Derby is available for so many people to enjoy and place online wagers on, but it’s not the bread and butter of most online racebook gambling aficionados. It’s the race that everybody wants to hit, but nobody has a real clue about.

Ah, you say, but people do win money on the Kentucky Derby. Yes, they do, but they have to think more about wagering strategy then picking the winner. That requires knowledge of the other races on the card as well as knowledge beyond that of a single horse. You’re a Colonel John fan. Okay, that’s all well and good, but just being a fan of Colonel John doesn’t mean that you should dump a thousand bucks onto his nose.

Wagering strategy is the key in the Kentucky Derby. I’ve placed my personal exacta and trifecta wagering strategies below. This is just my personal opinion on the race. It doesn’t mean that it will happen. What it means is that this is what I see as the most likely scenario, based on the odds, to occur in the Kentucky Derby.

Exacta Wagering Strategy

Okay, the key for both my exacta and trifecta wagering strategy in this race is to leave Big Brown out of it. I understand that he could be a freak, but one look at the morning line tells me that the race is wide-open. Out of the 20 hole means that Brown does nothing. So, the biggest key in my strategy is to leave out the chalk.

First, I’m going to play a five horse exacta box:

[ Pyro, Court Vision, Z Fortune, Eight Belles, Visionaire]

I’ve left out quite a few horses in this exacta - - Colonel John, Big Brown, Monba, etc.

But this exacta box, for a $2 wager, will cost you only $40 bucks. That’s not bad since no matter how this box ends up, you are bound to get much more then $40.

But, that’s not the only exacta I will be playing on the Derby.

I’m also going to use Pyro on top of a few other horses:

Pyro + [ Colonel John, Monba, Adriano, Dennis of Cork]

I’m then going to flip it:

[Colonel John, Monba, Adriano, Dennis of Cork] + Pyro

Both wagers will cost you $8 bucks for a $2 dollar online bet. Again, I am leaving out Big Brown.

Now, check out my total exacta wager cost based on a $2 dollar bet.

5 horse box = $40

Two exacta key bets = $16 ($8 each)

Not bad, right? The chances of hitting any of my exactas aren’t nearly as tough as it looks. The best thing about it, of course, is that if it does hit then I’m guaranteed of making four or five times more then what I put into it.

Trifecta Wagering Strategy

I spent a lot of time trying to develop a wagering strategy for the trifecta in this year’s Kentucky Derby that made sense. I think I came close, but, unlike the exacta, I just don’t feel that a five horse trifecta box is the way to go.

I do feel that keying Pyro in all three slots is the way to go. I believe that this is the best strategy:

Trifecta 1 - Pyro + [ Court Vision, Z Fortune, Eight Belles, Visionaire, Colonel John, Adriano, Monba, Dennis of Cork] + [ Court Vision, Z Fortune, Eight Belles, Visionaire, Colonel John, Adriano, Monba, Dennis of Cork]

Trifecta 2 - [ Court Vision, Z Fortune, Eight Belles, Visionaire, Colonel John, Adriano, Monba, Dennis of Cork] + Pyro + [ Court Vision, Z Fortune, Eight Belles, Visionaire, Colonel John, Adriano, Monba, Dennis of Cork]

Trifecta 3 - - [ Court Vision, Z Fortune, Eight Belles, Visionaire, Colonel John, Adriano, Monba, Dennis of Cork] + [ Court Vision, Z Fortune, Eight Belles, Visionaire, Colonel John, Adriano, Monba, Dennis of Cork] + Pyro

If my math is correct, each wager above should cost you $112 for a two dollar wager. So the entire trifecta cost will be $336.

If you can afford it, it makes sense. Of course, the biggest risk is leaving out Big Brown but the Kentucky Derby has been known to put favorites into the grave.

This is how I will be betting the exacta and trifecta through my BetUS online racebook wagering account for the Kentucky Derby.

Keep checking the Locker Room all through the Triple Crown season, as we will cover the trainers, horses and jockeys in each race. You can get your early Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs bets in now in the BetUS sportsbook in the Future / props section, under Horse Futures: 2008 Kentucky Derby.