Horse Racing Betting Online
One of the joys of ringing in the New Year is that Triple Crown horse racing season begins with the road to the Kentucky Derby. Sharp gamblers love the Kentucky Derby prep races because they can often find good lines with less casual sector influence. Indeed, opportunities abound on the road to Derby Day.
Known as “The Sport of Kings,” horse racing has never been easier to wager on, thanks to online and mobile betting. Just as exciting, incentives have never been greater or more rewarding for our horseplayers at Bookmaker. Among the benefits of playing with us are up to eight percent in daily rebates, full track odds, the most major and minor tracks offered in the industry, up to post-time wagering, and daily head-to-head horse matchups.
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Dubai World Cup
2025 Dubai World Cup
Date: Saturday, April 5, 2025
Location: Meydan Racecourse, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Dubai World Cup TV Coverage: TVG
The first major horse race of the year is the prestigious Dubai World Cup. As we have seen in other sports, the Dubai World Cup has taken on increased importance because of massive prize pools that attract the top thoroughbreds in the world to the United Arab Emirates to take part in this event. The 2025 Dubai World Cup is the marquee race of Dubai World Cup Night, which has eight thoroughbred races and one Purebred Arabian race. The Dubai World Cup has a prize purse of 12 million dollars.
The Triple Crown of horse racing features three of the biggest United States races on the annual calendar. It all begins on the first Saturday in May with the Kentucky Derby. It continues two weeks later with the Preakness Stakes and wraps up with the Belmont three weeks later. Any horse that can win all three races earns the rare Triple Crown. There was a long Triple Crown drought, as from 1979 to 2014, there was no winner, but American Pharoah ended the famine in 2015, and Justify won the Triple Crown in 2018. The Belmont Stakes is where the Triple Crown is clinched or lost.
151st Kentucky Derby
Date: Saturday, May 3, 2025
Location: Churchill Downs, Louisville, KY
Race Distance: 1 1/4 miles ( 10 furlongs ), dirt track
Purse: $5 million
While the favorites will get a lot of attention in Kentucky Derby odds, it should be noted that the Kentucky Derby betting favorite has been a consistent historic loser. In fact, only 49 chalks have taken the blanket of roses.
150th Preakness Stakes
Date: Saturday, May 17, 2025
Location: Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, MD
Race Distance: 1 3/16 Miles
Purse: $2 million
The Preakness Stakes is the second race in horse racing’s Triple Crown, following the Kentucky Derby, which is held on the first Saturday in May and three weeks before the Belmont Stakes in early June. The Preakness Stakes almost always has added excitement because the Kentucky Derby winner will be trying to keep his Triple Crown hopes alive.
157th Belmont Stakes
Date: Saturday, June 7, 2025
Location: Saratoga Race Course, Saratoga Springs, NY (Belmont Park Construction)
Race Distance: 1 1/4 miles ( 12 furlongs ), dirt track
Purse: $2 million
Known as “The Test of the Champion,” the Belmont Stakes is the longest of the Triple Crown races. Many horses have won the first two legs of the Triple Crown, but it’s uncommon to see a horse that can complete the final marathon leg and all of its pressure. Secretariat’s 31-length win at the 1973 Belmont remains one of the most awe-inspiring performances in sports history.
The 2025 Belmont Stakes will have an interesting twist. Due to renovations at Belmont Park, the race will be run at the famed and historic Saratoga Race Course. Also, the race is expected to be shortened to a mile and a quarter because of the Saratoga track configuration.
The Belmont Stakes is expected to return to Belmont Park in 2026.
Breeders' Cup
2025 Breeders' Cup
Date: October 31-November 1, 2025
Location: Del Mar Racetrack, Del Mar, California
Horse racing rarely draws mainstream attention outside the Triple Crown, but the Breeders’ Cup is one exception. For two days, the greatest horses, trainers, and jockeys in the world convene for a level of quality that is unsurpassed in the sport. The Breeders’ Cup Classic is a pivotal race with the greatest living horses of any age running for glory. For two days, Horse Racing offers a loaded fantasy racing-type level of quality for exciting reality.
Top Contenders for the 2025 Triple Crown
Jonathan's Way
Jonathan’s Way became the first horse to earn points on the 2024-25 Road to the Kentucky Derby when wiring the one-mile Iroquois (G3) at Churchill Downs.
Bred in Ohio by Susan L. Anderson Racing, Jonathan’s Way has shown versatility in terms of running style. He was never headed in the Iroquois but won his debut sprinting six furlongs with a big rally after a troubled start.
But does Jonathan’s Way have the pedigree to race 1 1/4 miles on the first Saturday in May? The Kentucky Derby (G1) distance tests both speed and stamina and while we know Jonathan’s Way has speed, his pedigree suggests stamina is a question mark.
Chancer McPatrick
Chancer McPatrick ranks among the most accomplished two-year-olds of 2024 after winning the Hopeful (G1) and Champagne (G1).
Prevailing in the Champagne earned Chancer McPatrick 10 qualification points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. With two Grade 1 wins under his belt, the bay colt is an early favorite for the 2025 Kentucky Derby (G1). But will his deep-closing style prove successful over 1 1/4 miles on the first Saturday in May? His pedigree suggests it’s not a given.
Citizen Bull
Citizen Bull joined the Road to the Kentucky Derby with frontrunning successes in the 1 1/16-mile American Pharoah (G1) and 1 1/16-mile Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1).
A glance at Citizen Bull’s pedigree might suggest 1 1/16 miles is the upper limit of his distance capabilities, leaving the 1 1/4-mile Kentucky Derby (G1) out of reach. After all, both his sire and dam sire were sprinter/milers who failed to prove their worth over 1 1/4 miles.
East Avenue
A gate-to-wire victory by 5 1/4 lengths in the Breeders’ Futurity (G1) launched East Avenue onto the Road to the Kentucky Derby.
The Godolphin homebred is known for his frontrunning style, but don’t conflate his abundant speed with stamina limitations. His pedigree suggests stretching out over 1 1/4 miles for the 2025 Kentucky Derby (G1) won’t be an obstacle.
Sovereignty
There was a time not too many years ago when a horse like Sovereignty might have been overlooked as a Kentucky Derby (G1) contender because of his pedigree.
Even with a decisive stretch-running score in the 1 1/16-mile Street Sense (G3) under his belt, bettors might have doubted Sovereignty’s ability to stretch out over 1 1/4 miles in the Kentucky Derby. The reason? His sire, Into Mischief.
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