Two new bets added to Kentucky Derby Day exotics menu

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The traditional bounty of wagering options Friday and Saturday on Churchill racing includes a couple of new Derby Day bets.

The new Saturday wagers are a 50-cent pick five comprising main-track stakes, starting with the Knicks Go (race 6), and a $3-minimum all-3-year-old pick three (Pat Day Mile, American Turf, Derby).

Two-day wagers include the $1 Oaks-Derby double, first offered in 1996, and the 50-cent minimum Oaks-Old Forester-Derby pick three, first offered in 2009. Also, a $2-minimum pick six starting with the La Troienne (race 6) will consist of two Grade 1 races Friday and four Grade 1 races Saturday. That bet is separate from the 20-cent Derby City jackpot pick six being offered every day. There’s also the steady diet of multi-race wagers, including four 50-cent pick fives on both cards.

All that is in addition to numerous vertical wagers such as exactas, trifectas, superfectas, and the $1 super high five on the Oaks and Derby.

As usual, the minimum increment for superfectas on Friday and Saturday is $1, as opposed to the dime supers available on all other days. The reasoning is a dime increment would unduly clog lines at wagering windows here at Churchill and other brick-and-mortar outlets.