The Kentucky Derby, one of the top three year-old events on the world racing calendar goes to the wire this weekend and online bookmakers have opened with a wide betting market. The withdrawal of the early favourite hasn’t helped punters, but then, with a wide open market, you will receive good odds.

Eskendereya was the early tip from most punters, but his withdrawal has left Lookin At Lucky as the pre-race favourite with odds around the 9/2 mark. Second pick in the market is Sidney’s Candy at 6/1 with Endorsement (9/1) the only other runner under double figures. Overseas races such as the Kentucky Derby are popular betting options, however, you do need to be careful.

There are currently 27 horses in the market with another 27 listed but not quoted. Not all 27 will start and some online bookmakers have an ‘all in’ policy. This means that if your horse is a non-runner, you do your money cold. Some of the smarter online bookmakers use the non-runner refund as an advertising drawcard. You may have to accept slightly lower odds from these bookmakers, but it can prove to be worth it if you are betting on horses you are not totally familiar with.

The Kentucky Derby is the first of the Triple Crown series in America and this race draws more interest than most other races from the states. Our tip – Endorsement is good value and further down in the betting, Devil May Care at 15/1 also looks to be good value. At these prices, you could afford to back them both on the eachway market and still make a profit with the one winner.