The 2022 Kentucky Derby will take place on Saturday, May 7 at 6:57 PM Eastern Time at Churchill Downs. Hardcore horse racing fans are fired up for the most exciting two minutes in all of sports. Heck, even casual horse racing bettors like to plunk a few shekels down on the iconic "Run for the Roses".
If you need a little help figuring out which horses to bet on, you've come to the right place! We scoured over the odds and come up with our three favorite wagers for this historic event! Here are our best bets for the Kentucky Derby, as well as some of the best bonus offers available from some of the best racebooks in the industry.
Be sure to read our full review of the best apps to bet the 2022 Kentucky Derby. All odds listed on this page have been updated for race day courtesy of TVG and DRF Bets!
Be sure to track every Kentucky Derby bonus offer to find free money for the big race! Our team will continue to update the offers throughout race day!
Best Bet to Win the 2022 Kentucky Derby: Taiba
Best Available Odds: +1200 at TVG
After analyzing each and every horse in this jam-packed 20-horse field, we are going with Taiba as our best bet to win the 2022 Kentucky Derby! While Zandon and Epicenter are getting the majority of the attention, Taiba may be the most gifted horse in this entire field. In his debut back on March 5th, Taiba smoked the entire field on his way to a 7.5-length win.
Up until two months ago, Taiba was trained by the legendary Bob Baffert, who has won six Kentucky Derbys in his career. Baffert is currently serving a two-year racing suspension in Kentucky because of Medina Spirit's medication violation in last year's Derby. Not to worry though, as Taiba is in excellent hands with his new trainer Tim Yakteen, who was taught by Baffert and Charlie Wittingham.
Lots of bettors are shying away from Taiba because of his glaring lack of experience. That's understandable since he'll only be making his third career start this weekend. However, Taiba clocked a speed reading of over 100 during his victory in the Santa Anita Derby back in early April.
While we understand the cliche that there's no substitute for experience, raw talent is what wins horse races. Taiba pairs nicely with a veteran jockey like Mike Smith, who won the Kentucky Derby in 2005 and 2018. We'll happily take the generous 12 to 1 price on Taiba to win the 2022 Kentucky Derby.
Best Quinella Bet: Taiba and Epicenter
Current Odds at DRF: Taiba (10-1) / Epicenter (5-1)
For newer horse racing bettors, a quinella is where you try to predict the first and second-place finishers. However, one nice advantage of the Quinella is that you don't have to correctly specify the order of how your horses will finish. As long as both of your horses finish in the Top 2 you get to cash your ticket!
For our quinella bet, we are pairing the aforementioned Taiba with Epicenter. We love the fact that Epicenter starts at the No. 3 post position, which could save him some ground and give him a nice advantage. Some may be worried about Epicenter getting boxed in out of the gate, but that is highly unlikely because of his sheer speed.
We also love that Epicenter is in wonderful current form. This colt has won four out of his six career races, including four out of his last five. Perhaps no horse is hotter than Epicenter.
Best Trifecta Bet: Taiba / Epicenter / Smile Happy
Current Odds at DRF: Taiba (10-1) / Epicenter (5-1) / Smile Happy (15-1)
We don't bet a whole lot of trifectas because it's so hard to accurately predict the Top 3 in the correct order. But since it's The Kentucky Derby, we'll break our own rule and play a small trifecta.
We'll stick to our convictions about the Top 2 and keep Taiba and Epicenter in the first-place and second-place slots, respectively. With the third-place spot, we are going with Smile Happy. This colt will start in the coveted No. 5 post.
Just how important is the No. 5 stall? The slot has seen more Kentucky Derby winners than any other post in the race's illustrious history. Smile Happy also has the goods to perform well at Churchill Downs, as he's won two out of his four career starts.
Interestingly enough, in Smile Happy's (2) second-place finishes he was beaten out by two of the favorites for this race, Epicenter (+400) and Zandon (+400). We see Smile Happy putting up a respectable showing on Saturday evening. Enjoy the race and best of luck with your wagers everybody!
