In Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, a horse called Instilled Regard currently has 99-1 odds, giving risky gamblers a chance to make a hefty sum of money if he pulls ahead at all.
Instilled Regard was at 99-1 odds as of noon on Saturday, but there is a good chance he will go off at 100-1 odds or higher when the race begins on Saturday evening. According to a report by USA Today, that would make him the first horse in 17 years to do so in the high-profile race.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Currently, Instilled Regard has drawn only $45,000 in bets, though the total win pool is more than $6.4 million. At last year’s derby, a total of $58,128,714 went into the win-place-show pool, while another $67 million was gambled on exactas, trifectas and superfectas.
Horse racing works on a system of parimutual betting. This means that all of the money gambled by everyone is pooled, and a fixed percentage is returned to gamblers who win. That is how the odds on each horse are calculated.
Typically, the betting is relatively evenly distributed across all 20 horses in the field. It has become rare for a horse to go off at more than 100-to-1 odds in the Kentucky Derby, though it did happen in 2001. At the time, a horse called Startac went off at 102-to-1, while a horse called Arctic Boy went off at 101-to-1.
In 1958, a horse called A Dragon Killer went off at the longest odds ever in Kentucky Derby history, at 294-to-1. He finished in seventh.
The 2018 Run for the Roses is scheduled to begin at 6:34 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 5, but the actual race will likely start at 6:46 p.m. ET. Fans will be able to watch live on NBC or stream on the NBC Sports website or app.
There will also be pre-coverage of the Derby by NBC starting at around 2:30 p.m. ET, and coverage should run until around 7 p.m. ET.
The Kentucky Derby is held every year on the first Saturday of May. Throughout the day, other races will be held, including the Kentucky Oaks race, which features 3-year-old female horses.
The Kentucky Derby is popularly referred to as “The Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports,” and this year is no exception. The grand prize is expected to total $2 million, according to Sporting News.
