The 142nd renewal of the Kentucky Derby will run on May 7th and even if you’re not the biggest fan of horse racing, you’ll be interested in what happens because most people reading this website are gamblers. Any opportunity to win money is going to draw intrigue. Few are as fun, or as thrilling, as the Kentucky Derby.

Next week I’m going to give a thorough breakdown of the best ways to bet the Kentucky Derby but for now I’m going to give you a crash course. This is everything you need to know about betting on horses and the main threats in the Kentucky Derby field.

Betting on Horses 101

The absolute best part about betting on horses, if you didn’t know already, is that you don’t necessarily have to bet on the straight up winner. That tends to pay the most, but you can also safely hedge your bets by betting on horses to finish in the top-2 or the top-3.