The 153rd Kentucky Derby is on Saturday, May 1, 2027, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, with post time set for about 6:57 p.m. ET. To bet it, pick a horse to win, place or show, or combine horses in an exacta, trifecta or superfecta; Golden Tempo won the 2026 Derby at 23-1 and paid $48.24 on a $2 win ticket.

The race

• Next Derby: the 153rd, Saturday, May 1, 2027, post time about 6:57 p.m. ET, with the Kentucky Oaks the day before, on April 30
• Track: Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky
• Distance: 1 1/4 miles, for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds
• Field: up to 20 horses, the top 20 on the Road to the Kentucky Derby points table plus the horses who win their international series
• Purse in 2026: $5 million, $3.1 million to the winner and $1 million to second

Points come from a series of designated races run from September to mid-April, and the top five finishers in each one earn them. That is why the field is not known until the week of the race, and why it can still change late: in 2026, five horses were scratched during Derby week and the race went off with 18.

Win, place and show

These are the three straight bets, and each one is a bet on one horse.

• Win: your horse must finish first
• Place: your horse must finish first or second
• Show: your horse must finish first, second or third

The payouts shrink as the bet gets easier, and the 2026 Derby shows by how much. Golden Tempo won at 23-1 and paid $48.24 to win, $19.14 to place and $11.90 to show on a $2 ticket. Renegade, the morning-line favorite, was beaten a neck and paid $7.14 to place and $5.46 to show. Ocelli, who only got into the field on the Thursday when another horse was ruled out, went off at 70-1 and paid $36.34 to show.

Derby betting is pari-mutuel. Every dollar bet goes into a pool for that bet type, the track takes its share, and the rest is split among the winning tickets, so the odds on the board move until the gates open and the final payout is set by the pool. A win price shown as 8-5 means $8 of profit for every $5 bet: a $2 ticket at 8-5 returns $5.20. Place and show prices are not the win odds cut down by a formula; they come from their own pools, which is why Ocelli could pay more to show than the favorite paid to place.

Exacta, trifecta and superfecta

The exotic bets ask you to name the order of the finish.

• Exacta: the first two finishers, in order
• Trifecta: the first three, in order
• Superfecta: the first four, in order

A box covers every order of the horses you pick, and costs one ticket per order: an exacta box on three horses is six exactas, a trifecta box on four horses is 24 trifectas. A key puts one horse in one position and fills the others with several horses. Exotics pay far more than straight bets because they are far harder to hit, and in a 20-horse field the number of combinations climbs fast.

Futures and props

Derby futures are prices on a horse to win the race, posted months before it. The price can be long because nobody yet knows who makes the field. A futures bet on a horse that is injured, scratched or short of points is usually lost, not refunded, and in 2026 five were scratched in the final week alone. A futures price is worth taking only when you rate the horse’s chance higher than the price does, and that chance has to include getting to the gate.

Props (the winning trainer, the post position of the winner, the winning time) are posted by some books and not others. Treat them as a side bet. In 2026 the trainer prop had a first: Cherie DeVaux became the first woman to train a Derby winner, and jockey Jose Ortiz won it on his 11th try.

Tips for betting the Derby

Favorites lose the Derby often enough to matter. Renegade was the morning-line favorite in 2026 and finished second, beaten by a 23-1 shot; a win bet on him lost, while place and show bets on him paid. If you like a favorite but not enough to need him first, place and show are the safer tickets.

Running style decides a lot of Derbies. Front-runners try to lead all the way; closers sit back and make one run. Golden Tempo was last in the field of 18 for much of the 2026 race and was still 13th at the top of the stretch before he went around the field on the outside. A race with several front-runners can set up for a closer, and past races, replays and running lines show which is which.

Check the field on race week. Scratches, a changed post position or a wet track can change a horse’s chances after you have bet a future, which is one more reason most bettors wait for the final field. The winning time in 2026 was 2:02.27 for the 1 1/4 miles.

Where to go from here

Golden Tempo skipped the Preakness and then won the Belmont Stakes on June 6, 2026, at 6-1. Our Preakness Stakes betting guide, Belmont Stakes guide and Breeders’ Cup guide cover the rest of the season, and the horse racing betting guide covers the basics. The Kentucky Derby odds page follows the field as it forms.

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