Each year, the Kentucky Derby attracts the best horses, jockeys, and trainers – as well as some of the most spectacular hats! By tradition, women wear lavish, colorful hats to the event, spectators drink mint juleps, and “My Old Kentucky Home” is sung just before the race starts. The race marks the first leg in the US Triple Crown for thoroughbreds, and is the finale of a two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival in Louisville.

The Kentucky Derby is a stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses, staged yearly in Louisville, Kentucky on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race currently covers one and one-quarter miles (2.012 km) at Churchill Downs; colts and geldings carry 126 pounds (57 kg), fillies 121 pounds (55 kg). The race, known as "The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports" for its approximate time length, is the first leg of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in the United States. It typically draws around 155,000 fans.

Traditionally, the Kentucky Oaks stakes – often considered the “Derby for Fillies” – is raced the day before the Kentucky Derby.

On the day of Kentucky Derby 2009, you can place your bets at pari-mutuel betting outlets at the track. Alternatively, miss the crowds and get your bets in early online.

Big Brown and his jockey, Kent Desormeaux, who flew past the finish line 4 3/4 lengths ahead of the field in the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby!

Churchill Downs

Churchill Downs race track is a 147-acre race track in Louisville, Kentucky. This track is known worldwide for its yearly hosting of what is probably the most famous horseracing event in the world – the Kentucky Derby.

Churchill Downs has two courses:

Race Track Information

Main Track (dirt): One and one-eighth miles, oval.
Turf Course: Seven-eighths Mile, oval.
Churchill Downs Race Meets: Spring Meet - April to July 6
Fall Meet Month of November

Belmont Stakes Betting Odds - Bet Belmont Park Track

Belmont Stake Horse Odds

Preakness Stakes 134 - Pimlico Track Betting Odds

Maryland is the home of Pimlico Racecourse where the second leg of the world-famous thoroughbred Triple Crown races, the Preakness Stakes, are being held every third weekend of May.

If he wins the Belmont Stakes in three weeks and claims racing's first Triple Crown in 30 years, Big Brown must be mentioned with racing royalty such as Secretariat and Affirmed.

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Below you will find updated information regarding the 2008 Preakness Stakes. On this page we will be posting updated Triple Crown articles, horse racing picks, Horse race odds and information all pertaining to the 2008 Preakness Stakes Horse Race. Bookmark this page and check back often for updates.

Belmont Stakes Horse Betting Tips

• Bet only on horses you feel have a good chance of winning.

• If you don't like a horse, don't bet on it.

• Give preference to winners. Choose a horse that has won before.

• Avoid betting on a horse that has just moved up in class.

• Look for value odds as much as likely winners. If you keep looking for them, you will learn to spot them fairly quickly.

• Look for a horse that has a fair chance of winning and is not overly backed. This is usually a good value bet in the long run. On odds of say, 10:1, you need to win once in ten attempts to break even. Anything more is net profit. Horses backed heavily by touting services and computer handicappers may win more often, but are usually poor value bets.

• When the track is slow or heavy, give preference to fast starters. Slow, muddy and heavy track conditions usually favor the horse that takes an early lead.

• A straight bet is simple, manageable and not too difficult to win. Play it but always weigh up the odds. Avoid favorites and long shots (outsiders) too. Be selective - don't bet on anything or everything.

• When betting straight, consider betting to win and show, or each-way, if the odds are relatively high.

Belmont Park Betting Basics

The following are some general guidelines followed by many pros which will give you a 'leg up' on many other bettors:

• 1. Be wary of the 'smart money,' bets placed at the last minute by supposedly, those in the know. There isn't much smart money at the tracks.

• 2. Go with your gut feelings. if there's a horse you fancy, by all means bet on that horse. There's no worse feeling than not doing what you felt you should have done, and it working out - without you. And if it doesn't work out, no big deal.

• 3. Pay special attention to fast starters on slow courses. It is more difficult to maneuver on an a muddy, slow or heavy course, and these conditions will favor the horse that takes the early lead.

• 4. Avoid horses moving up in class. They may have looked good against lesser horses, but the move to better competition may reveal different colors.

• 5. Avoid horses that have not raced in the past four weeks. They may be recuperating from illness and the owners are using the race as a tune-up. The winning percentages of long-idled horses are way below average.

• 6. Bet only winners. If you see a horse that has been around but never won a race, why figure that today's race will be any different? Instead, choose a horse that has some background of winning.

• 7. Bet only horses you feel have a good chance of winning. If you had eliminated all the horses you've bet in the past but have not really believed in, you would be sitting with a much higher winning percentage. If you don't like a horse, don't bet on it.