The 2026 Kentucky Derby is set to take place this Saturday, May 2nd at Churchill Downs Racetrack in Kentucky. The Derby is the second most bet on sporting event every year, next to only the Super Bowl. I expect there will be many new Illinois bettors looking to wager on this years Derby.
On this page I will recommend our top rated offshore betting site for Illinois residents, look at the legalities of betting on the Derby from Illinois, look at the early week Derby odds and provide a simple 3 step guide you can follow to get your Kentucky Derby bets placed online in minutes.
Best Betting Site for Illinois Residents
BetOnline.ag is our top rated betting site for Illinois residents wanting to bet on the Kentucky Derby. BetOnline is popular and trusted sportsbook that has served the United States betting market for over a decade. They accept players from everywhere in the USA, including Illinois.
BetOnline is offering new players a $25 risk-free bet that can be used on the Derby, 9% horse racing rebates and a 50% first deposit bonus of up to $250 in free bets. See our full review here.
Kentucky Derby Betting in Illinois
In addition to betting on the Kentucky Derby through an online betting site like BetOnline.ag, you can also bet at any of the racetracks or Off-Track Betting locations across the state. Hawthorne Race Course often hosts a big Kentucky Derby party on race day and you can head there to place bets and enjoy the race with others.
**Illinois also has state regulated sports betting, which arrived in Illinois on March 9th, 2020. There are currently nine regulated online sportsbooks in Illinois.
Illinois residents also have the option to bet through offshore betting sites that are licensed and regulated outside of the USA, while accept US players. BetOnline.ag falls into this category as a sportsbook located in Panama that has served the US betting market since 2004.
2026 Kentucky Derby Odds
Here are the odds and post positions for the Derby from BetOnline.ag:
These odds were taken two days before the Kentucky Derby (odds accurate as of April 30th). The odds could still change leading up to the race on Saturday. You can find the up to date odds on the BetOnline website by opening the ‘Horse Racing’ drop down menu and selecting ‘Horses Daily’ -> ‘Kentucky Derby’.
BetOnline also has Kentucky Derby matchups and Kentucky Derby props betting markets available.
**You can also find the morning line odds and place your bets through the Racebook at BetOnline.ag.
Bet On The Kentucky Derby from Illinois – 3 Step Guide
Follow this three step guide to get your bets placed on the 2026 Kentucky Derby.
#1. Join BetOnline.ag
Click the above link, select ‘Join Now’ on the home page and fill out the short form to open your account.
BetOnline is our top rated betting site for Illinois residents. They have served the USA market since 2004 and are committed to continue to provide a trusted betting service to all Americans.
#2. Deposit
Log into your new account and click on the green ‘Deposit’ button. Select one of the deposit options (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and various other cryptocurrencies) and follow the instructions to fund your account.
Use promo code FREE250 when making your deposit to opt-in to the 50% matching bonus up to $250 in free bets available to first time depositors. There are no rollover requirements associated with the free bets.
#3. Place Your Kentucky Derby Bets
It’s time to place your bets on the Derby! You can bet on the race through the ‘Sports’ (fixed odds) or ‘Racebook’ (parimutuel betting) sections of the site.
Sportsbook (Fixed Odds)
Leading up to the race you can wager in the Sportsbook. Click on ‘Sports’ from the top menu bar of the BetOnline website, open the ‘Horse Racing’ drop down menu and select ‘Kentucky Derby’, ‘Kentucky Derby Matchups’ or ‘Kentucky Derby Props’ from the ‘Horses Daily’ menu.
Select the horse(s) you want to bet on, enter your risk amount on the Bet Slip and click “Place Bet” to lock in the wager.
Racebook (Parimutuel Betting)
You will have a much bigger selection of betting options in the Racebook such as win/place/show, exotics, etc.
Click on ‘Racebook’ from the top menu bar, open the ‘Thoroughbred’ drop down menu and select ‘Churchill Downs’. Select ‘May 02’ and race #12 (post time 6:57pm ET) to bring up the Kentucky Derby. Then select which type of bet you want to make (straight, trifecta, etc).
Enter your wagers and select ‘Add To Bet Slip’. When you are happy with all of the wagers make sure you remember to click ‘Submit All Bets’ on the bet slip to lock in the wagers.
Here’s a screenshot from this years Kentucky Derby showing the clicks to place a Win bet on Renegade in the Racebook:
The bets you make through the Racebook will use the parimutuel betting system, while the bets you make in the Sportsbook will use fixed odds. Check out our horse race betting page to learn more about the different wagers you can make on the race.
Ready to bet? Click here to visit BetOnline.ag.
Tagged With : Kentucky Derby • Kentucky Derby betting