Churchill Downs opens Derby week with new wagers, big pools սպասిఢ

Churchill Downs will open Derby Week with a larger menu and a bigger bankroll to chase, headlined by a $54,964 Jackpot 8 carryover from Turfway Park and three new wagers designed to give horseplayers more ways to attack the first weekend of the Spring Meet.

The new offerings are built for different kinds of bettors. The $1 Jackpot 8 requires the first eight finishers in exact order and carries a 22% takeout. Odd vs. Even asks whether the winning horse’s program number will be odd or even and is offered only in races with at least three horses on each side of the divide, while Matchups are head-to-head wagers between two horses or groups of horses. Odd vs. Even and Matchups each carry a 17.5% takeout. Churchill Downs also will debut a 50-cent All Turf Pick 4 on Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks days.

That matters because Derby week is one of the strongest wagering windows on the North American calendar, and Churchill is making a direct play for handle by pairing fresh bets with the kind of pools that can change the way players construct tickets. Last year’s Derby win-place-show pool reached $122.4 million, while the exacta pool totaled $30.1 million, the trifecta pool $35.5 million and the superfecta pool $15.5 million.

The track’s 2026 Spring Meet will run 44 racing days from April 25 to June 28, and Derby Week will stretch from April 25 to May 2. Opening Day will serve as the official kickoff to the week, with gates opening at 11:30 a.m. and the first race set for 12:45 p.m. The day also will include the post-position draws for the 152nd Kentucky Oaks and 152nd Kentucky Derby.

Derby Day itself is scheduled for 14 races, including seven stakes, and Churchill is packing the card with six Pick 5s, five Pick 4s, a mandatory payout in the 20-cent Derby City 6 Jackpot and the new All Turf Pick 4. Oaks Day will feature five Pick 5s and four Pick 4s, along with several two-day wagers linking Oaks and Derby races.

The spring stakes calendar is just as aggressive. Churchill Downs said the meet will feature 50 stakes worth a record $27.8 million, including 22 stakes worth a record $19.1 million during Derby Week alone. The 2026 Kentucky Oaks will be run May 1 in primetime on NBC and Peacock, and the Kentucky Derby will follow on May 2 with a $5 million purse.

Bill Carstanjen said the track was looking forward to a “thrilling, fun-filled week,” and Churchill’s schedule backs that up. Sunday racing will return during Derby Week for the first time in 16 years, another signal that the racetrack is treating the opening stretch as a full-scale betting festival, not just a lead-in to the first Saturday in May.