Kentucky Derby Betting Pool Spreadsheet (2025)
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We live in Kentucky, so of course we love the Kentucky Derby! As usual, we're celebrating the first Saturday in May with a small party for friends to watch the race with us, and we love to host our own betting pool during the race.
To make it easier to manage the Derby bets, we've come up with a downloadable betting pool spreadsheet that calculates odds and determines the payout for the winner.
Kentucky Derby betting pool spreadsheet
Our betting pool spreadsheet is very simple to use. Just keep the spreadsheet open on your computer during the party, and every time somebody places a bet, add the dollar amount of that bet to the current total (in the "Wagers" column) for that horse. When the race is over, find the winner on the spreadsheet and it will give you the odds to pay out for each person who bet on the winning horse.
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2025 Kentucky Derby Betting Pool Spreadsheet – $3.99
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Our spreadsheet will be pre-filled in with the 2025 Kentucky Derby field, including horses, trainers, and jockeys. However, keep in mind that you might have to make some changes right before the party based on last-minute scratches or jockey changes.
How to use the betting pool spreadsheet
Once you have downloaded 2025 Kentucky Derby Betting Pool Spreadsheet and double-checked it against the latest news, you are ready to open your virtual betting window.
- Open the spreadsheet in Excel. If you see buttons to "Enable Editing" and "Enable Content", click them to make the spreadsheet editable and to activate the macros.
- Whenever someone places a bet, just add that dollar amount to the current total (in the "Wagers" column) for that horse. For example, if the current total is $15 and someone bets $4, you change the total from $15 to $19.
- BONUS: Since $2 is the most common low-stakes bet, we have a built-in "add $2" function in the spreadsheet. If you click on the jockey silk in the first column, it will automatically add $2 to the Wagers total.
- Make sure you write all bets placed on individual betting tickets (see below!) to serve as a receipt for the person placing the bet.
- Don't forget to collect actual cash whenever someone places a bet!
- The amount of money placed on any one horse will automatically calculate the odds for that horse if it were to win. The more money that's placed on a horse, the lower the odds will end up being. This calculation of odds means that the total pot collected will exactly fit the payouts due.
- All bets will be placed on the horse to "Win". There is no "Place" or "Show" pool.
- When the race is over, find the row for the horse that won. The calculated odds presented there will tell you how much to pay out to anyone who bet on that horse and brings their betting ticket to you. For example, if the final odds are 2:1, and someone bets $4, you will give them $8.
NOTE: The pool odds won't compute properly until after you have entered a few bets but don't worry, they will work after that.
Kentucky Derby printable betting tickets
To make it easy to keep track of the winning bets, download our printable derby betting tickets. Print and cut them out, then hand one to each person who places a bet, to serve as a receipt and record of their wager. Be sure to write the person's name and amount of the bet on the ticket so there's no confusion later.
Kentucky Derby party ideas
Here are some of our ideas for decorations and food for your Kentucky Derby party:
- Kentucky Derby party ideas and printable decorations
- Rose-Covered Derby Cake
- Kentucky Derby party food recipes
- Kentucky Bourbon Balls recipe
- Kentucky Derby cupcakes
Printable Kentucky Derby party decorations
Decorating for the Derby is so much easier with our huge collection of Kentucky Derby party printables set, with tons of printable templates to help you throw your party.
8 comments so far:
Ladies, you are awesome. I love this betting pool spreadsheet. It makes my data loving heart soar! Thank you!
Genevieve, we're so glad we could make your day! Enjoy the race.
Thanks so much for updating for 2022. This makes my Derby party so much easier.
Dar, of course! Happy to help with your party.
I love this but I need some help using it. How do I pay out the winners using the odds? Say 6 people put money on the winning horse and its odds were 7:1. What would each person win?
Liz, to pay out the winners, just take the total amount bet and divide it equally among everyone who chose the winning horse. At that point, the odds don't really matter, nor do the number of bets placed. For example, if the entire pool is $60 and there are 6 winners, then each winner gets $10.
Will you have a 2024 Kentucky Derby betting pool sprradsheet?
Kendal, yes we will update this for 2024, but not until the field is set, which is usually a week or so before the Derby. Check back!