Now Might Be the Time to Bet on a Kentucky Derby Longshot
Why America’s most chaotic horse race can be the one place it’s worth backing a genuine outsider.
Illustration: Martin Gee for Bloomberg
From a gambler’s perspective, the Kentucky Derby is an odd event. Random things happen. Brilliantly talented horses flop. Slow horses win. Eye-popping payouts light up the tote board.
It happens time and again. In 2022, a colt with a commoner’s pedigree and mediocre race record zigged and zagged through a crowd of leg-weary rivals to win at odds of 80-1. Two years later, superstar Fierceness rolled into Louisville with great fanfare, only to get swallowed up by the pack around the final turn and stagger across the line. He finished 15th out of 20.