Kentucky Derby Prop Bets: Secretariat Record Time Safe According To Odds

Oddsmakers don’t think it will happen in 2012 either, setting a 20-1 longshot line on any horse in the field going faster Saturday.

“There’s not enough speed in this field to threaten that mark, hence the over-under line being set about three seconds above Secretariat’s record,” said Mike Pickett of OddsShark.com.

Indeed, the over-under at Bovada’s raceboook was set at 2:02:25 Thursday. And that’s just one of dozens of Kentucky Derby props, as oddsmakers treat the Run for the Roses much like the Super Bowl – a huge event where a single bet on a single outcome just isn’t enough.

Mary J Blige Anthem, Margin of Victory Props

Kelly Clarkson went over at the Super Bowl and oddsmakers set Mary J Blige’s time for finishing the Star Spangled Banner at 1 minute 55 seconds.

Once the action actually gets started, there are tons of horse matchup props (betting on one horse to finish ahead of another, not necessarily to win the race) and margin of victory odds.

How many lengths will the winner of the 138th Kentucky Derby win by? The oddsmakers set a couple of props, one focused on ‘more than or equal to 1 length’ which is a -225 favorite positions.

If you predict a photo finish or a tight one with less than 1 length separating the winners, it’s a +185 underdog bet.

If you think the winner will leg out a bigger victory, three or more 3 lengths is set at +160, while less than 3 lengths is -200.

Will the winner go wire to wire? It almost never happens and oddsmakers have the ‘No’ at -800 (meaning a $80 wager returns $10 in profit).

You can even bet trainer vs trainer with Todd Pletcher and Bob Baffert on the Kentucky Derby betting menu (which trainer’s horse will finish higher).

ADVERTISEMENT: Get the best Kentucky Derby picks from veteran handicapper Michael Dempsey, who nailed the past two Derby winners, including 21-1 longshot Super Saver in 2010.