Kentucky Derby Overturn Hurt Sportsbooks and Masses, Country House Bettors Win Longshot Lottery
The scene at Churchill Downs when Maximum Security was disqualified
— B/R Betting (@br_betting) May 4, 2019
Unreal. pic.twitter.com/bNnm2u4DlR
The scene above is the reaction of the masses at Churchill Downs when it was announced that Maximum Security was disqualified and Country House was the winner. Unsurprisingly, many more people bet on the horse that closed at second favorite at 9/2 odds compared to Country House, which was the second biggest longshot in the race at about 64/1.
This was a rare circumstance in which both the sportsbooks and the masses got crushed. ESPN gambling reporter David Purdum details:
Per @TwinSpires, $6,212,046 was bet on Maximum Security to win and $520,907 on Country House. Maximum Security also had $1,495,408 to place and $1,272,082 to show, so the DQ cost those bettors about $9-million just win, place, show.
— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) May 4, 2019
The stories about the unlikely winners will be trickling out for the rest of the weekend.