If it hits I want half. If not, my prediction was for entertainment purposes only! :wink::grin:

Ok I have always wanted to bet some money on the Triple Crown races and this year is gonna be the year.

Just a quick run down from the experts what are somethings I should look for and where is a good place to lay bets?

Wow! That is a loaded question. I just watched a Kentucky Derby Special on ESPN and you can literally make a case for every horse in this race. Randy Moss (the horse racing expert not the WR for New England) said it best -- "This is the most difficult race in the sport to handicap".

I would recommend going to www.kentuckyderby.com. There you can watch all of the horses in their respective prep races. There really is not a perfect answer to your question (if there was I'd be a millionaire). Watch the race videos and trust your instincts. If you like the way a horse battled back in the stretch or pulled away at the wire, then pick that horse. If you like the way the horse looks or the name, those are just as good of a reason to bet him (or her -- I do like the Filly Eight Bells).

In the end, have fun and don't bet more than you can loose. Remember, most people loose -- but the rush from a win is unbelievable.

As for where to bet...I don't know where you live so that is tough for me to say. If you live in Omaha, NE I can tell you. Usually the local horse track or dog track will accept bets for the Derby, even if they aren't currently running there. OTB (Off Track Betting) parlors are also available in many states. If all else fails, you can open an account at youbet.com and bet horse racing from your home computer.

Welcome to the wonderful experience of horse racing :wave::grin:

calling for possibly heavy rain up to around midday, but the derby isn't ran until late afternoon. big brown is the local favorite but heard yesterday that the favorite has only won 38% of the time

Thanks for fielding that one.

To be honest when I first started watching horse racing with my friend and her dad, I picked by name. It was fun and I loved it.
Then as I got older he taught us things to look for and brought us out to see his horses train and race. Then it became addictive.

I still love watching but have been out of it for so long I have to really study to get much of anything, hence my picks after a long while on the post before.

Ok after I posted it I said to myself that was impossible to answer.

So how about these...

How much impact does rain have an a horse race?

and

When betting (so I dont feel dumb) what are the best ways to bet? Just pick a winner, or what is the thing were there are 3 horses?

The rain can have a huge effect on the race. Some horses like sloppy tracks better, some won't run at all in the mud. Depends on the horse, and the type of surface. You can look on the race form to see how well a horse has ran in muddy conditions.

You have the straight bets (W) win, (P) place, (S) show. And the exotics.

Exacta. 1st and 2nd
Trifecta. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd
Superfecta. 1st 2nd, 3rd, and 4th

You can also box horses in any of the above exotic bets. ex. You pick three horses 1, 2, and 3 and box them in an exacta, this means they can come in any order as long as they are 1st and 2nd. You can do a $2 exacta, but if you box horses it costs the $2 for each winning combination. EX. Boxing two horses will cost you $4. Because your actual bet would be 1,2 and 2,1.

This works with any of the exotics. The more horses, the more expensive the ticket, but the better chance you have to win.

If you want to sound like you know what the hell you are talking about, got to the otb or whereever you intend to bet and walk to the window and follow this script.

"Give me $2 across the board on the __ horse.

I want to box the __ and the __ in a $2 exacta.

Let me go with the $1 trifecta box with the ___ , ___ and the ___.

And give me a $5 win ticket on the ___ and the ___ just in case we have another Giacomo this year."

Ok now so you know what you just did, explaination is below.

$2 across the board means you pick one horse, and if it finishes 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, your ticket pays. This bet costs $6.

$2 exacta means you are selecting two horses to finish 1st and 2nd. The term box means they you are picking them and they can come in either order.
ex. 1 and 2, or 2 and 1. This bet costs $4.

$1 trifecta box means the same as above except you are using three horses to finish 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. they can finish in any order since you "boxed" them. This bet costs $6.

$5 win ticket is just what it says, you are betting $5 bucks on a horse and it has to win for you to win. You are using longshots in this script so pick something with odds of 20-1 or higher. Giacomo was 50-1 and came outta nowhere to win the derby a few years back. This will cost you $10 to pick two different horses.

Now pull out your $26 bucks, hand it to the guy at the window, get you tickets and enjoy the most exciting two minutes in sports.

I bet at

http://www.youbet.com/

Free for first timers, and they pay full track odds. Some online places limit your winnings, big break for them if you hit a long shot.

Ok 1st time betting on horses so this is what I went with....


Ch0..THANKS A BUNCH I had your post printed up while I was filling out the tickets.

$1 TrB Bob Black, Monba, Big Brown

$2 ExB Pyro, Big Brown

$2 Across ( I didnt see anywhere that it said Across, but where it said Win/Place/Show I hope that was the same thing) Bob Black

$2 Across Eight Belles

$3 Across Pyro

$5 Win Big Brown

$5 Win Bob Black

$5 Win Monba

$4 Win Eight Belles

$50 Total.

I almost got wood doing it, it was pretty damn cool!!!

SO GLAD HUSK started this thread cause I would have never done this had it not come up!!!!

Yes w/p/s is the same as across the board.

Good luck with your tickets.

Here is what I have so far, i'm sure I will add to it.

$2 Win tickets on

Tale of Ekati
Eight Belles
Big Truck
Monba
Denis of Cork
Recapturetheglory

$2 W/P/S

Tale of Ekati
Colonel John

Exacta

Big Brown/Monba
Court Vision/Big Brown

Trifecta

Pyro/Tale of Ekati/Monba
Smooth Air/Tale of Ekati/Pyro

Superfecta

Pyro/Tale of Ekati/Eight Belles/Monba

Super High 5

Pyro/Tale of Ekati/Big Brown/Colonel John/Eight Belles


I'm all over the place. It is impossible to handicap the this field. 20 of the best horses all breking the gate at the same time, anything can happen.

I really like Pyro and Tale of Ekati. I tried to use them a few different ways, hopefully something hits.