$288.7 Million Kentucky Derby Betting Handle Breaks Records
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The 149th Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 6th broke betting handle records with some of the most money wagered in the long history of the event. Not only that, but TwinSpires Racing, which has an official partnership with the Derby, has its own new record when it comes to total wagering handle for the event.
This year’s Derby had an interesting leadup, from a favorite being scratched the morning of the Derby to another double-digit odds winner. In addition, the event featured the the first year of a new horse racing network as well as a new mobile betting option.
2023 Kentucky Derby Breaks Handle Records
Churchill Downs recently released a press release detailing the 149th Run For The Roses. In terms of betting handle, the company announced total betting from its sources hit $288.7 Million. This edged out the previous year’s totals, which saw $273.8 million in total bets.
The majority of this handle was bet on the official Kentucky Derby Race 12 of the program, which yielded a handle of $188.7 million, higher than 2022’s $179 million. All in all, the Churchill Downs sources produced $412 million in Derby Week betting handle. This is a $20.2 million increase from the previous year’s $391.8 million total.
TwinSpires Racing continued its betting partnership with the Kentucky Derby, resulting in more broken records. After seeing a $67.3 million handle last year, the racing platform collected $73.6 million in bets on the Kentucky Derby program at Churchill Downs. For Race 12 itself, the TwinSpires handle was up from $44 million in 2022 to $47 million in 2023.
What. A. Thrill.#KyDerby pic.twitter.com/2igIWcg9Np
— Kentucky Derby (@KentuckyDerby) May 7, 2023
Mage Wins Garland Of Roses With 15/1 Odds
Trained by Gustavo Delgado with Javier Castellano as his jockey, Mage came out of the eighth post position with a win the Kentucky Derby facing 15/1 odds. Known for his slow starts, Mage came from behind and beat out Two Phil’s and favorite Angel of Empire in the final stretch. Mage’s final time in the race was 2:01.57.
On the morning of the event, favorited horse Forte was scratched over concerns for a bruise heading into the race. This was just the latest scratch in the Derby, with Practical Move (who won the Santa Anita Derby), Continuar, and Skinner all taken out of the race.
A-MAGE-ing#KyDerby pic.twitter.com/3gB2LLQUcB
— Kentucky Derby (@KentuckyDerby) May 7, 2023
FanDuel TV & DK Horse Available For First Kentucky Derby
Fans of betting on horse racing and following the sport have been treated two new wagering and media options heading into this year’s Kentucky Derby. This was the first year since horse racing network TVG rebranded as FanDuel TV. Now, the channel offers a mix of standard horse racing and sports betting talk, plus broadcasts of different races.
FanDuel TV host and reporter Scott Hazelton did an exclusive interview with LINEUPS.com during Derby Week, with his input included in the site’s Kentucky Derby betting guide and additional wagering preview. FanDuel stood out as the only mobile betting app to allow for sports betting and Kentucky Derby wagers in one place this year.
Plus, this marked the first Derby with DK Horse, the horse racing betting platform from DraftKings. The online betting app launched in late March 2023, and is now available in 16 states throughout the U.S.
