by David Schwab - 5/2/2012

This Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville marks the running of the 138th Kentucky Derby, which is the Crown Jewel of the Triple Crown racing season for the top three-year-old thoroughbred horses in the United States.

While the betting public tends to focus most of their handicapping efforts on picking the winner for this race, there are a number of prop bets available as well to add to the excitement of Derby Day. The following is a look at a few of the more interesting ones out there.

The Winning Time

The Kentucky Derby is often referred to as ‘the most exciting two minutes in sports, and for good reason. The winning time for this 1 ¼-mile race is usually right around the two minute mark. Secretariat, who won the Triple Crown in 1973, still holds the record for the fastest time at 1:59.40, but every other finish since then, except for Monarchos’ 1:59.97 winning run in 2001, has been over the two-minute mark.

The prop bet for this year’s race is ‘over’ 2:02.50 -120 and ‘under’ 2:02.50 -120. Since 2000, the winning horse has finished ‘under’ this time in seven of12 Kentucky Derbies.

Winning Horse wins the Preakness Stakes

The Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race track in Baltimore is the second leg of the Triple Crown and it is always held two weeks after the Derby on the third Saturday in May. The race is the same 1 ¼ length and also run on a dirt track.

The prop bet that the winner of the Kentucky Derby goes on to win the Preakness is +200 for ‘yes’ and -300 for ‘no’. Since 1989, when Sunday Silence won both these races, there have been a total of seven thoroughbreds that have accomplished this feat. The last horse to win both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness was Big Brown in 2008.

Winning Horse wins the Belmont Stakes

The final and most grueling leg of the Triple Crown is the 1 ½-mile Belmont Stakes, which is run on dirt in early June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. This year’s race is set for Saturday, June 9.

The prop bet that the Kentucky Derby winner goes on to win the Belmont is +300 for yes and -500 for no. Winning both of these races is a much more daunting task given the additional length of the Belmont. Since Affirmed last won the Triple Crown in 1978 only Swale in 1984 and Thunder Gulch in 1995 have been able to win both of these races.

The prop bet that a horse will win two of the three Triple Crown races is -120 for both yes and no. Since Affirmed made his Triple Crown run there have been five horses that failed to win the Kentucky Derby but went on to win both the Preakness and the Belmont.

Triple Crown Winner

The prop bet that the winner of the Kentucky Derby goes on to win both the Preakness and the Belmont to bring home horse racing’s biggest prize is +750 for yes and -1000 for no. As previously mentioned, Affirmed was the last horse to accomplish this feat and in the history of these three races there have only been 11 horses that have won the Triple Crown.

Triple Crown Races - Three Different Winners

The prop bet that a different horse will win each of the Triple Crown races this year is -155 for yes and +115 for no. In six of the last 15 years, there have been three different winners for each of the three races. Big Brown was the last horse to win more than one Triple Crown race.

A Wire-to-Wire Derby Win

The prop bet that one of the 20 horses in this year’s Kentucky Derby field will break from the gate in first place and hold on to win the race is +400 for yes and -700 for no. Given the 1 ¼-mile length of this race, it is highly unlikely that any trainer or jockey would employ this strategy, especially since in the previous 137 Derbies only 22 horses have been able to go wire-to-wire to finish first.
 

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