From the Churchill Downs Media Team / Kevin Kerstein:

TWINSPIRES BOOSTS KENTUCKY DERBY BETTING CHALLENGE PRIZE POOL TO $300,000; ADDS NEW $25,000 KENTUCKY OAKS BETTING CHALLENGE

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Monday, Feb. 9, 2026) – TwinSpires.com will offer horseplayers expanded opportunities on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks with a guaranteed $300,000 prize pool for the Kentucky Derby Betting Challenge (KDBC) on Saturday, May 2, along with the debut of the $25,000 Kentucky Oaks Betting Challenge (KOBC) on Friday, May 1.

The KDBC, one of the premier live-money handicapping tournaments in horse racing, returns with the same $5,000 buy-in structure, while increasing its overall prize pool to $300,000. The newly added KOBC will have a seeded cash prize pool of $25,000 and will award one KDBC seat for every 10 entries.

Beginning Saturday, “Championship Series” races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Road to the Kentucky Oaks will anchor weekly TwinSpires tournaments, which offer qualifying opportunities for the KDBC.

KDBC Tournament Highlights:

  • $5,000 Total Buy-In
    • $3,500 Live Bankroll
    • $1,500 Prize Pool
  • Wager Types: Win, Place, Show, Daily Double, Exacta, Trifecta
  • Maximum of Two (2) Entries per Person
  • Contest includes cash prizes, seats to the 2026 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge, 2027 National Horseplayers Championship and 2027 KDBC

KDBC Qualifying Schedule:

Date Track Buy-In
Saturday, Feb. 14 Fair Grounds $800
Saturday, Feb. 21 Fair Grounds $1,000
Saturday, Feb. 28 Oaklawn $800
Saturday, March 7 Tampa Bay Downs/Oaklawn $800
Saturday, March 14 Colonial Downs/Oaklawn $800
Saturday, March 21 Turfway/Fair Grounds $1,000
Saturday, March 28 Oaklawn $1,000
Saturday, April 4 Keeneland $1,000
Sunday, April 12 Keeneland $1,000
Saturday, April 18 Keeneland $1,000
Saturday, April 25 Churchill Downs $1,000
Thursday, April 30 Churchill Downs $1,000
Friday, May 1 (KOBC) Churchill Downs $1,000

          Feeder contests will be available for each of these tournaments. For the full tournament schedule, registration and rules, visit www.twinspires.com/tournaments.

 

ABOUT TWINSPIRES

Owned by Churchill Downs Inc., the parent company of the historic racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky, TwinSpires is the leading Advance Deposit Wagering (ADW) service in horse racing betting in the United States. The official online betting partner of the Kentucky Derby, TwinSpires offers global racing nearly 24 hours a day, seven days a week, through desktop, mobile, and native app-based platforms. https://www.twinspires.com/tournaments/