The most famous race in the world, the Indianapolis 500 is less than two weeks away.
Ran for the first time in 1911, the “Indy 500’’ and “The Brickyard’’ where it is run have become synonymous as “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.’’
There was probably not a lot of money wagered on the race back in 1911, maybe a few supporters threw a few dollars down on their favorite racer, who knows? That’s not the case in 2022.
You can bet in a number of ways on the race, pick the winner, pick the top three finishers, head-to-head matchups, etc. And it’s all legal. Continue reading for a step-by-step guide on how and where to bet on the race and hopefully you will come out a winner and enjoy a glass of milk with the winning racer.
Nearly every legal online sportsbook in the US will offer wagers on the race. Here are some of the ones we recommend: Bet365, Draft Kings, Caesar’s Sports Book, Bet MGM, Fan Duel, Fox Bet, Points Bet, Tipico Sports Book, Sugarhouse.
Each site will have sightly different odds, so shop around for the best odds for the racer of your choice. Here are the up to date odds from Bet MGM.
The odds are based on a bet of $1. So if you were to wager $10 on Scott Dixon at 7-1, you would win $70.
Here are some notes on the drivers:
As stated above there is more than one way to bet the Indy 500. Here are the most popular:
It’s the simplest and most popular bet. Every site will offer the chance to pick the winner at his given odds. Again a wager on a racer at 10-1 will pay $10 for every $1 wagered.
Because of the unpredictability of the race, you never know what may happen over the course of 500 miles, the odds are usually pretty good. In our chart above the favorite is 7-1, that’s not bad at all if you compare it with horse racing, for instance.
If you are familiar with betting on horse racing you will recognize this bet. Betting a top 3 finish is similar to betting a horse to win, place and show.
Pick a racer, place your wager and should he finishes first, second, or third, you are a winner. Obviously, the odds are less and the payout is smaller if he finishes second and even less again if he finishes third. But you still cash a ticket.
Here you will be presented with two drivers. Let’s say for an example Alex Rossi vs. Alex Palou in a battle of Alexes. In this example Palou would likely be the favorite at say -125 and Rossi would be the underdog at say +115.
That means if you think Palou will finish better than Rossi you would need to wager $125 to win $100. If you think Rossi can beat Palou, you would win $115 for a $100 wager. There will likely be several of these head-to-head matchups for you to choose.
You’re running out of time for a future bet. Some sites may still offer them if you hurry. Basically it’s the same as picking the winner, but the odds may better because of the timing. A lot can happen in the span of one or two weeks, but once you make your bet it’s registered.
“Prop’’ bets as they are known usually focus on a certain angle and not necessarily an individual racer. You may be able to wager on such variables as which country produces the winner, or which past champion finishes the best in the race.
Some sites may also offer choices as to who finishes last in the race or how fast the winner’s time is. There will be several of these bets available and while they appear tempting some times you’re better off sticking to the more traditional forms of wagering.
Betting the Indy 500 isn’t any different than betting on a soccer game or an American football game. Go to the site of your choice, open an account if you don’t already have one, search for Indianapolis 500 and decide if you want to bet to win, bet for a top 3 finish, or whatever else you may want to bet.
Everyone has their own theories on how to pick a winner. There isn’t any set method. If there was, everyone would win, right? Here are a few things to think about before you bet.
Here is a list of the Indy 500 winner from 2010 to last year with his speed for the race in parenthesis.
Most Wins: Hello Castroneves will attempt to become the first five-time winner of the Indy 500. Currently Castroneves is one of four, four-time winners. In that elite club is A.J. Foyt, who won the race in 1961, 1964, 1966 and 1967; Al Unser, who won the race in 1970, 1971, 1978 and 1987; and Rick Mears, who won the race in 1979, 1984, 1988, and 1991. Castroneves’ wins came in 2001, 2002, 2009 and 2021.
Here are the top 10 finishers from last year’s race with their speed in parenthesis:
The Covid 19 pandemic played havoc with the Indy 500 the past few years. Last year the crowd returned to Indy, but “only’’ 135,000 were in attendance as opposed to the normal 250,000-300,000. Those numbers affect how much is in the purse for the drivers to split.
Last year’s winner Hello Castroneves earned just over $1.82 million for his win. Second-place finisher Alex Palou earned $649,305, while third-place finisher Simon Pagenaud won $403,305.
Rounding out the top five, Patrick O’Ward took home $343,305 for his fourth-place finish and Ed Carpenter received $286,305 for his fifth-place finish.
Stefan Wilson, who finished 33rd and last received $100,305.
My top choice for the race is Alex Palou and at 10-1 odds is a good value pick as well. Palou won his first-ever race in 2021 and had a strong second-place finish at Indy. The 25-year-old native of Spain is just in his third year of racing, but has been getting better and better in each race. In last year’s race Castroneves passed him on the final two laps to win for the fourth time. A now more experienced Palou may be able to hold on for the win.
My second choice is Will Power. The 41-year-old Australian knows what it takes to drink the milk as he did so as recently as 2018. He’s having a good 2022 season on the circuit and after two poor finishes the past two years at Indy is poised to have a nice come back this year. At nice odds of 12-1, I’ll put him in the top 3 and use him in certain match-ups against other racers.
Finally, you can’t leave out Hello Castroneves, especially at odds of 18-1. He’ll be racing for a piece of history as he attempts to become the first five-time winner at The Brickyard. He went back to back in 2001 and 2002 and 20 years later has a chance to do so again. He’s one of the greatest racers of all time and at 18-1 is worth using at least in the top 3 and maybe elsewhere as well.
Sleeper Pick: I may be going against one of my tips and leaning with my heart, instead of my head, here. But it would certainly be a great story if Jimmie Johnson, one of the greatest NASCAR drivers of all-time won the Indy 500 in his first try. He has looked good on the track in preparation.
The odds are based on a bet of $1. So if you were to wager $10 on Scott Dixon at 7-1, you would win $70.
Here are the up to date odds from Bet MGM.
