Placing prop bets can be a really fun way to make watching The Kentucky Derby even more enjoyable. And prop bets can have you cheering for the wildest things to happen. Prop bets go well beyond just the actual race outcome, as these types of bets can range from how old the winning trainer is to even how many words are in the winning horse’s name. And with that in mind, here are some of the best prop bets you can make at the 2021 Kentucky Derby.
Number Of Words In The Name of The Derby Winner
Kentucky Derby owners love to come up with witty and exciting names for their horses, and all of those wild names bunched together can make the call of the race pretty exciting (not to mention a bit bizarre sometimes). One prop bet you can wager on is the number of words in the name of the Derby winner. The names of the horses are generally not too long and there are only three different routes you can ride with for this bet. The current odds are One Word (12-1), Two Words (15-2), and Three Words (20/37). Some good information to keep in the back of your mind while deciding your wager is that the Kentucky Derby has a maximum of 20 horses in the field competing. Once the field is fully set, determine how many horses fit in each category. Some notable contenders in the 2021 Kentucky Derby are Essential Quality (2-1), Rock Your World (5-1), Hot Rod Charlie (8-1), Highly Motivated (10-1), Mandaloun (15-1), and Medina Spirit (15-1). If you are looking for great value, betting on the winner having two words in their name might be the way to go.
Will The Kentucky Derby Winner Lead Wire to Wire?
A wire-to-wire finish is when a horse leads the race from start to finish. This feat has only happened 23 times in the Kentucky Derby’s long history. Most recently in 2020, Authentic was able to break an 18-year stretch of no wire-to-wire finishes. Before Authentic’s win last year, the last horse to accomplish that was War Emblem in 2002. The odds for a horse not winning wire-to-wire this year are set at 1-7 against, and if you do bet for a horse going wire-to-wire, you’ll get 4-1 odds. While the betting line that the Kentucky Derby winner will not lead wire to wire isn’t eye-grabbing in terms of value, it might be an easy lock. Considering how infrequently there has been a wire-to-wire finish, it could be safe to assume that it will not happen in back-to-back years.
Age of the Derby-Winning Trainer
Another prop bet you can make surrounds the age of the Kentucky Derby-winning trainer. The Over/Under is set at 51.5 years old. The race regularly showcases the sport’s finest trainers, and some of them have multiple horses in this year’s Kentucky Derby. Bob Baffert, who trains Medina Spirit, is 68 years old and arguably the best trainer in horse racing history. With one more victory, Baffert would set the record with seven career Kentucky Derby wins. Todd Pletcher is 53 years old and has the most Kentucky Derby starts in history with 55. Bourbonic, Known Agenda, Sainthood, and Dynamic One are all trained by Pletcher and will compete for the crown this year. Another experienced trainer is 52-year-old Doug O’Neill, who trains Hot Rod Charlie, and has won the Kentucky Derby in 2012 and 2016. On the younger (or “under”) side of things, up-and-coming star Brad Cox will be looking for his first Kentucky Derby win. He just turned 41 this March and trains the current favorite to win, Essential Quality, and notable contender Mandaloun. Looking at the majority of trainers’ ages this year, the over looks like a really enticing bet, but all that could be easily undone by Cox.
Age of the Derby-Winning Jockey
Similar to the winning trainer prop bet, you can wager on the age of the Kentucky Derby-winning jockey. The Over/Under for the 2021 Kentucky Derby is set at 40.5 years old. While not all of the jockeys have been finalized for this year’s race yet, their ages can range from 18-60. Joel Rosario, who is 36 years old, has been in the saddle for both Rock Your World and Hot Rod Charlie, so expect him to be aboard one of those contenders. Luis Saez, the jockey for Essential Quality, is just 28 years old. Saez is looking for revenge after famously being disqualified and stripped of a Derby win in 2019 with Maximum Security. Last year’s winning jockey with Authentic is John Velazquez, who is 49 years old, and he’s expected to ride Medina Spirit this year. Another impressive jockey in this year’s field is 37-year-old Kendrick Carmouche on board Bourbonic or Sainthood. And since there are a lot of options, especially with the assigned jockeys still in flux, make sure to look at the final list of jockeys riding each horse before post time.
There are plenty of other prop bets that you can place on The 2021 Kentucky Derby. Prop bets provide a different and more exciting way of watching the Derby on the couch in your home or at a Kentucky Derby watch party.
Photo Credit: Google Creative Common Licenses, Kentucky Derby Twitter
