Structure

Structure of the Kentucky Derby Betting Challenge

PLAYER’S BANKROLL

The 2026 Kentucky Derby Betting Challenge presented by TwinSpires.com (the “Tournament” or “KDBC”) is a “real money” handicapping contest. Players will be required to invest $5,000, of which $3,500 will be the player’s bankroll for wagering during the Tournament. At the conclusion of the Tournament, any dollar amount remaining in the bankroll remains the property of the player. 100% of the prize pool component of entry fees paid out as prizes

A player may purchase and play up to two (2) entries in the KDBC.

FORMAT

Tournament races will include ALL live races conducted at Churchill Downs Racetrack on Saturday, May 2, 2026 through the Kentucky Derby (the “Derby”) – Race 12 – on Saturday, May 2, 2026. The Tournament will end on Saturday, May 2, 2026 with the Kentucky Derby, Race 12. Players must wager all $3,500 of their bankroll across at least seven (7) races at Churchill Downs ending with the Kentucky Derby Race.

Again, Tournament races include all races conducted live at Churchill Downs Racetrack during the dates above, up to and including the Kentucky Derby. Any races occurring at Churchill Downs after the Kentucky Derby race are NOT eligible for this tournament. Players must wager at least $250 in a race to count towards minimum amount of wagered races. Players can wager as much as they want, including the winnings from their bankroll.

Wager types permitted are Win, Place, Show, Exacta, Trifecta and Daily Double only. A Daily Double wager will count as a bet on one (1) contest race in the first leg of the Double. A player may not wager a Daily Double with the first leg as the Kentucky Derby since that is the last race eligible for this tournament.

Players must comply with the minimum wagering requirements. However, players may bet more than the minimum requirements, and may wager winnings from their original bankroll. The following races and wagers are NOT available for KDBC play: The Oaks-Derby Double, the Daily Double starting with the Kentucky Derby or any race following the Kentucky Derby.

ESTIMATED PRIZES

The winner will get their choice of either a 2027 Kentucky Derby Betting Challenge Seat valued at approximately $5,000 or a 2026 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge Seat valued at approximately $10,000 or a 2027 National Horseplayers Championship seat with hotel accommodations valued at approximately $5,000. The second-place finisher will then get their choice and so on down to the sixth-place finisher.

CASH PRIZES

Cash prizes will be awarded to the top 10 participants in the tournament based upon the amount of funds in their Tournament Bankroll at the conclusion of the tournament. Prizes will be awarded as the following percentages of the prize pool after the deduction of the costs of the seats:

  • 1st Place – 40% $100,000 minimum
  • 2nd place – 20%
  • 3rd Place – 10%
  • 4th Place – 7.5%
  • 5th Place – 5.5%
  • 6th Place – 5%
  • 7th Place – 4%
  • 8th Place – 3.5%
  • 9th Place – 2.5%
  • 10th Place – 2%

Additional Prizes:

  • Seats for partner tournaments and championships
    • (3) KDBC Seats
    • (2) NHC Seats
    • (1) BCBC Seat
Complete Rules

SCRATCHES

Wagers placed on scratched horses shall receive no payout in the competition (although wager amounts will be refunded to the Tournament Bankroll as normal).

If a horse is scratched after a wager is placed, it is the player’s responsibility to change their selection prior to the start of the race in order to meet contest parameters. Players will not be punished for late scratches if it is deemed by CDTIC, in its sole discretion, that the player did not have sufficient time to make a replacement wager to meet minimum wagering requirements.

For tournaments with minimum wager amount requirements or minimum wager placement
requirements, participants may submit additional qualifying wagers on subsequent races. For tournaments in which only the first qualifying wager placed on a given race counts toward the tournament, if a participant notices that their horse has been scratched in a race prior to the beginning of the race, they may submit a qualifying wager on another horse in that race before wagering closes for
that race. The player must use the Tournament interface on the Participating Site in which the player registered for the tournament to place all tournament wagers, including replacement wagers for scratched horses.

If a circumstance arises which causes an entrant to fail to comply with wagering requirements and in which it is deemed by CDTIC, in its sole discretion, that players were not afforded sufficient time to adjust their betting (i.e. if such a circumstance arises on the last race of a race card) will be adjudicated on a case-by-case basis by CDTIC, although the following examples are provided for illustration:

  • If a certain race is cancelled [or declared no contest], which in turn causes a participant to be unable to satisfy minimum wager requirements in this tournament (i.e. if the participant falls short of the minimum if a cancellation arises on short notice prior to the final eligible tournament race), that participant will not be disqualified for failure to satisfy minimum wager requirements.
  • If a horse is deemed a “non-starter” on the final race eligible for a tournament, and post time is determined by CDTIC to have prevented the submission of an alternate wager or bet cancellation, the participant will not be disqualified for failure to meet minimum wagering requirements, and any live tickets bet will be in play.
  • For tournaments in which Win/Place wagers are required, if one or more late scratch(es) result in no PLACE wagering for an eligible tournament race, that race will no longer be available for tournament wagering. In the event that a participant is unable to satisfy minimum wager requirements in this tournament solely due to a race being ineligible for tournament wagering (i.e. if the participant falls short of the minimum if such an event arises on the final eligible tournament race), that participant will not be disqualified for failure to satisfy minimum wager requirements.

TIES

Tiebreaker Procedure in the Event the Prize is a Tournament Entry or Other Non-Cash Prize

In the event of a tie amongst eligible contestants at the conclusion of the final live tournament race (a tie being where participants have an equal Tournament Bankroll amount), the following tiebreakers will be enforced in order to award non-cash prizes (such as in feeder/qualifier tournaments in which a subsequent entry is a prize, or in tournaments with a trip, tickets, etc. as a prize).

  • Live bankroll tournaments:
  1. Most money used on eligible contest wagers.
  2. Number of winning wagers of any kind from eligible contest wagers.
  3. Highest individual payout amount from one eligible contest wager.
  4. Player that registered for the tournament first, chronologically.

CDTIC will start with the first tiebreaker; if there is still a tie, CDTIC will utilize the second tie-breaker, and so on, until any ties are resolved and all prizes are awarded.

Please note that the live leaderboard may not reflect the application of any tiebreakers, which will only be applied following a post-tournament audit process.

Tiebreaker Procedure in the Event the Prize at Issue is a Cash Prize

If a tie occurs in one or more places in the standings that will earn a cash prize, then the cash prizes for that tied placing and any subsequent tied placings will be combined and split evenly among the tied participant. For example, if two participants finish tied for fifth place in the final standings, then the cash
prize for fifth place and the cash prize for sixth place will be combined and then divided evenly among the participant tied for fifth place. In the event that a cash prize is available to only one finishing position and more than one participant are tied in that position, all participants tied in that position will evenly split the cash prize pertaining to that position.

JUDGING AND DISPUTES

The management of CDTIC reserves the right to, in its sole discretion, interpret all questions pertaining to this tournament, without claim for damages or recourse of any kind. All decisions made by management will be final, and all questions and definitions not explicitly addressed in these rules shall be interpreted by CDTIC. CDTIC has the right to amend or modify these rules at any time, at its sole discretion, without notice to participants.

Any participant or other individual determined to have engaged in or attempted to engage in any act that CDTIC believes in its sole discretion compromises or could compromise the competitive integrity of this tournament, including collusion, will be subject to sanctions imposed by CDTIC management. The nature and extent of the sanctions imposed shall be in the sole and absolute discretion of CDTIC management and may include, but shall not be limited to, the following:

  • Forfeiture of prize money or other prizes (i.e. future tournament entries)
  • Disqualification from the tournament
  • Loss of privilege to participate in future contests offered by CDTIC and/or Churchill Downs Incorporated or any of its subsidiaries

CDTIC will review and audit all unofficial results of the Tournament for a period of ten (10) days following the end of the Tournament on May 2, 2026, through and including May 12, 2026, or such other date as CDTIC may, in its discretion, deem appropriate (the “KDBC Review Period”). Any player may file a written complaint concerning any unofficial result(s) of the Tournament to Player Services at [email protected] during the first five (5) days of the KDBC Review Period, through and including May 7, 2026 (“Player Examination Period”). Any complaint received after the expiration of the Player Examination Period shall be disregarded. Upon the conclusion of the KDBC Review Period, the official results of the Tournament will be announced and the prizes will be awarded

Collusion

Collusion among players shall be grounds for immediate disqualification and forfeiture of all entry fees and tournament prizes. The tournament director and Churchill Downs Inc. shall have final authority as to the occurrence of collusion among players.

All players MUST disclose the existence of financial interests with any other player participating in the KDBC. Players participating in this contest agree to all rules outlined herein and also agree to disclose all financial interests in other player’s entries.

Tournament Standings

Tournament standings will be based off each participant’s Tournament Bankroll on their official tournament entry. Standings will rank all Tournament Bankrolls based off dollar value from largest to smallest, with first place being the largest Tournament Bankroll and last place being the smallest Tournament Bankroll.

Current standings will be posted after every race, or as soon as the information is available. Leaderboards and complete standings will be available on the Tournament interface.

Following the completion of the tournament, CDTIC’s systems will determine whether entrants have satisfied any relevant contest-specific rules, such as minimum wager amounts, minimum races wagered, cumulative wager requirements, or others. If a participant does not meet any relevant requirements, they will be disqualified from the contest, and their displayed leaderboard position will move to the bottom (regardless of their position immediately following the tournament conclusion) and will display a “DQ” designation in place of a numeric position

PLAYING IN CONTESTS AND TOURNAMENTS VIA A PARTICIPATING SITE

On the day of the contest or tournament, after registering for the contest or tournament, the player must access the Tournament interface on the Participating Site in which the player registered for the tournament and place any and all contest/tournament wagers solely via the that interface.

Requested wagers that are unsuccessful, ineffective or non-permissible for any reason (including any and all track errors, tote malfunction, communications failures, etc.) will be canceled and the full wagered amount will be refunded to your account.

Wager cancellation limits imposed on a participant’s primary account on the Participating Site in which the player registered for the tournament (pursuant to such site’s Terms and Conditions) will be cumulative between tournament and non-tournament wafers. Wagers cancelled in the participant’s primary account and wagers cancelled in the tournament account will count against the same cumulative cancellation limits for both number of cancellations as well as the dollar amount of cancelled tickets.