2022 Kentucky Derby: Best Exotic Prop Bets Odds, Picks
The 2022 Kentucky Derby is almost here. And while there’s plenty of fun to be had in betting straightforward bets like win, place, or show, the real fun is in placing exotic bets.
Exotic bets in horse racing are much like parlays in sports betting. You’re betting on a string of correct outcomes in the hope of a massive payout. There are many ways to play exotic bets, but for the sake of simplicity, I’ll stick with the big three:
- Exacta: Predicting the correct order of finish for first and second place
- Trifecta: Predicting the correct order of finish for first, second, and third place
- Superfecta: Predicting the correct order of finish for first, second, third, and fourth place
It goes without saying that predicting the exact order of finish is pretty hard and requires some good fortune. But that leads me to one more tool worth mentioning: boxing.
Boxing exotic bets offer a bit more insurance at a higher cost. Here’s an example to better explain what I mean by insurance.
Say you’re placing a trifecta bet on horses A, B, and C, in that order. With a traditional trifecta, you would need Horse A to finish first, Horse B to finish second, and Horse C to finish third to win. However, if you box that bet, the horses can finish in any order, just so long as they’re the top three. So if Horse C wins, Horse A places, and Horse B shows, you win. The same goes if the order is B-C-A.
That insurance costs you a bit more at the betting window, however. For instance, a $1 trifecta box would cost $6 because there are six winning outcomes.
Now that we’ve conducted our lesson, here are the horses I’ll be targeting for my exotic bets this weekend:
Your Complete Betting Guide to the Kentucky Derby >>
Zandon (3/1)
The favorite to win as of Thursday morning, Zandon is an ideal anchor for all of my exotics. He possesses excellent closing speed, so he’s never out of the race. And he’ll be jockeyed by Flavien Prat, an accomplished rider who won the Kentucky Derby with Country House, a massive longshot, in 2019.
Taiba (12/1)
Taiba is my boom or bust horse for this race. He’s got blazing speed, a great pedigree, and was formerly trained by renowned trainer Bob Baffert. But he’s only got two starts under his belt and may be more dependent on a good start as he might be more comfortable starting up ahead than charging late. He’ll have accomplished jockey Mike Smith riding him, which gives me more confidence.
Epicenter (7/2)
The early favorite saw his odds get bumped down after drawing the third post position. He’ll start the race near the rail, which is a tough spot to overcome. However, Epicenter has the pedigree to overcome a challenging post. He’s won four of his last five outings, including a victory at the Louisiana Derby his last time out. Joel Rosario will be riding him, and Rosario has a 2013 derby victory under his belt.
Cyberknife (20/1)
Cyberknife is a horse who might enter the derby under the radar and thus be undervalued a bit further down the board. He enters with six races under his belt and three wins, including a victory at the Arkansas Derby in April. Cyberknife impressively surpassed the leading horse down the stretch in that race while fending off the charging favorite, Secret Oath. His jockey, Florent Geroux, won the derby last year. While a victory might not be in the cards, hitting the board is certainly possible.
Barber Road (30/1)
Not saying Barber Road will win it all, but he could factor into the equation. Barber Road finished second in the Arkansas Derby behind Cyberknife and has impressive closing speed that could have him in the mix. He’ll be with a first-time Kentucky Derby jockey in Reylu Gutierrez, who rode him to that second-place finish in Arkansas.
Best Exacta Bet
Zandon-Taiba, boxed. This $1 exacta would cost $2 boxed.
Best Trifecta Bet
Zandon-Taiba-Cyberknife-Epicenter, boxed. This 50-cent trifecta would cost $12 boxed.
Best Superfecta Bet
All five horses mentioned boxed. This 10-cent Superfecta would cost $12 boxed.
And check out our previews for the top horses of the 2022 Kentucky Derby:
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