Kentucky Derby 2018 Betting Guide: Experts Believe This Could Be The Year For A High-Paying Long Shot To Win
Anyone looking for a betting guide to the 2018 Kentucky Derby will find plenty of differing opinions on where to place their bets — and a wide-open field where a high-paying long shot could very well come out on top.
As ESPN noted, many experts are looking at the first leg of the Triple Crown as the most intriguing running in many years. There are at least half a dozen horses being picked as frontrunners, and a number of underdogs that could be poised to make a hefty payday for bettors.
The favorites going into Friday morning were Justify and Magnum Moon, but ESPN noted that both are running into the stories “curse of Apollo,” which spells certain doom for horses that have not made at least one start as a 2-year-old. The last horse to win the Kentucky Derby without a race as a 2-year-old was Apollo — in 1883. Justify has taken time off to grow into his body, ESPN noted, while Magnum Moon has been out with ankle issues. For both horses, the 2018 Kentucky Derby will be the first race of their second year of life.
Unlike previous years, there is no consensus favorite going into Saturday’s race. That has left a wide-open field, with six horses coming in at odds of 12-to-1 or better as of Friday morning.
While many of the longest shots in the Run for the Roses — the handful posting odds at 30-to-1 or higher — are not considered too much of a threat to win, many of the 2018 Kentucky Derby betting guides are pointing to a somewhat closer dark horse. As the Washington Post noted, the 8-to-1 Bolt d’Oro has four wins in the last six starts and a pedigree that looks great for the 1-and-a-quarter mile race in the Kentucky Derby.
To anyone who puts a bit more research into their Kentucky Derby bets, The Sporting News has posted full workouts for all of the longshots.
Justify is the favorite, but @DanWolken has another horse in mind to win the Kentucky Derby. https://t.co/LkPcmERtlH
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) May 4, 2018
Anyone looking for some more depth to their 2018 Kentucky Derby betting guide can check out Bleacher Report, which has an updated list of odds and breakdowns of all the longshots. The race’s official site also has live odds for all the horses.
