How to Bet on the Kentucky Derby Legally

Option 1: an online ADW account

ADWs are the reason the Derby now draws hundreds of millions of dollars from people who never visit Louisville. The Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978, amended in 2000, allows a licensed operator to accept bets electronically across state lines when the host track, the host racing commission and the off-track state consent. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 did not change that. In practice, the deciding factor is your state: if it licenses or permits ADWs, you can open an account; if it does not, no compliant platform will take your bet.

Licensed platforms you will come across

We have no commercial arrangement with any of these platforms and the order of the table is not a ranking. Promotions change every year, so we leave them out; read any offer’s terms on the operator’s own site.

Step by step: from sign-up to Derby ticket

1. Check eligibility. Open the platform’s list of permitted states and make sure yours is on it. If you live in Kentucky, the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation licenses every company that offers account wagering to residents.
2. Register with real details. Name, date of birth, address and Social Security digits are checked against public records. False details can get winnings withheld.
3. Allow location checks. Apps confirm you are physically in an eligible state each time you bet, so a holiday in a non-ADW state can block your wagers.
4. Fund the account. On TwinSpires, ACH bank transfers and EZ Bank are free, while card, PayPal, Venmo and Apple Pay deposits cost $5 each; wires under $1,000 cost $10. Other platforms publish their own fee tables.
5. Find the race. On Derby Day choose Churchill Downs, then the Derby’s race number (it was race 12 in 2025).
6. Build the ticket. Pick the bet type, amount and program numbers, then review the total cost shown before you confirm.
7. Watch the scratches. If your horse is withdrawn, a straight bet is refunded; exotic tickets follow each pool’s rules, which our bet types guide explains.

Option 2: betting at Churchill Downs

On Derby Day you can bet with tellers at mutuel windows or at self-service terminals around the grounds. Windows get long queues before the big race, so many regulars place their Derby bets early in the afternoon. Self-service machines accept cash and vouchers and print tickets you can cash at any machine or window.

At a window, speak in a fixed order: race number, amount, bet type, then program numbers. “Race 12, $10 exacta box, 3, 7 and 11” tells a teller everything needed, and the ticket for that box costs $60 because a three-horse exacta box covers six combinations. Count your change and read the ticket before stepping away. Keep winning tickets safe: they are bearer instruments and can be cashed by whoever holds them.

Churchill’s 2025 Derby menu set $2 minimums for win, place and show, $2 exactas ($1 for boxes and wheels), 50-cent trifectas and Pick 3 to Pick 5 bets, and $1 superfectas on Oaks and Derby days. For the venue itself, from seating areas to the twin spires, see our Churchill Downs guide.

Option 3: off-track betting and simulcast venues

Racetracks across the country, plus licensed off-track betting parlors in some states, take bets on the Derby through simulcasting. Your money is commingled with the Churchill Downs pools, so you get the same odds as someone standing at the rail in Louisville. This route matters most for people in states without legal online wagering, as long as their state has live racing or licensed simulcast sites. Check your state racing commission’s site for a list of licensed locations.

What takeout costs you, in dollars

Takeout is easy to overlook because it never appears on your ticket. When the Associated Press reported Churchill Downs’ 2014 increase, the rates went to 17.5% on win, place and show and 22% on most exotics, the maximum Kentucky law then allowed. The 2025 two-day Pick 6 was advertised with a 15% takeout. Rates on individual pools can change, so check the program or the ADW’s track information page.

Here is how the deduction flows through to a payout. Suppose a win pool holds $2,000,000 and $160,000 of it is on the horse that wins.

Without any takeout the same ticket would have paid $25.00. Scale it up: a $50 win bet is 25 two-dollar units, so it returns $515.00 after takeout and breakage against $625.00 in a pool with no deductions. That $110 gap is the real cost of playing in a pari-mutuel pool rather than a fee you see up front. The 22% rate on exotics bites harder, which is part of the reason trifectas and superfectas need longshots in the frame to pay well. Breakage rules vary by state, but rounding down to the dime per dollar is the common method.

Future wagers: betting before the field is set

Churchill Downs runs Kentucky Derby Future Wager pools in the months before the race. Each pool lists a set of individual horses plus an “all others” option, and the odds you get are fixed when that pool closes. The appeal is price: a horse at 40-1 in February may be 5-1 on the day if it wins a major prep. The risk is that the horse gets hurt, misses the points cut or simply does not run, and future bets are not refunded. Treat them as a small, separate part of your budget.

Is it legal in my state? How to check

Laws change, and lists published by media sites go out of date quickly. Three checks give you a reliable answer:

• Your state racing commission’s website, which lists licensed ADWs, tracks and off-track sites where they exist.
• The ADW’s own list of eligible states, usually in its help centre or terms.
• Recent news for your state, because enforcement can change quickly; the Texas lawsuit that ended TwinSpires’ Texas service in February 2026 came less than three weeks after launch.

Hawaii and Utah prohibit gambling of every kind, so there is no lawful Derby bet there online or off. If you see an offshore site advertising Derby odds to residents of those states, treat that as a warning, not a loophole.

Offshore and crypto racebooks

Sites based outside the US often advertise Derby odds, sometimes with crypto deposits. They are not licensed by any US racing regulator, many pay at their own house odds rather than from the official pools, and a dispute over a voided bet has no US body to hear it. Our page on bitcoin horse racing platforms explains the legal position without naming or recommending any of them.

Picking horses: a five-minute routine

The old version of this page promised winners. Nobody can promise that in a 20-horse race where the 2026 winner went off at 23-1. A short routine helps you make reasoned choices instead:

1. Look at each horse’s last two or three races and the speed figures in its past performances.
2. Note which prep races it came from; the 100-point preps usually carry the strongest form.
3. Check the post-position draw and how the horse likes to run, on the lead or from behind.
4. Compare your view with the morning line and, later, the live odds.
5. Decide the bet type last, once you know how confident you are.

Our horse racing basics guide explains past performances in detail, and the Road to the Kentucky Derby page lists the prep races that decide the field.

Tax and record-keeping

Winnings from pari-mutuel bets count as taxable income in the US. ADWs and tracks issue IRS Form W-2G when a payout crosses the IRS reporting thresholds, which for horse racing depend on both the amount won and the odds, and some large wins are subject to federal withholding. State income tax can apply too. Keep a record of each bet, its cost and its result; ADWs provide account statements that make this easy. For your own position, speak to a tax professional.

Bet within limits

ADWs licensed in the US must offer responsible gambling tools such as deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion. Use them before Derby week, not after. The National Council on Problem Gambling’s helpline, 1-800-MY-RESET, is free and confidential. More resources are on our responsible gambling page, and the 2027 race overview is on the home page.

Derby betting questions