Derby: The electronic horse racing game
Last update: Dec 11, 2006
Introduction
Derby is an electronic horse racing game. One to 10 players sit around a racetrack as they watch 5 horses compete in race after race. With a bet as little as 25 cents and about 90 seconds between races this can definitely be a decent time killer -- if you can find one. They've been disappearing from casinos and in May 2005 the Las Vegas Advisor reported that the only remaining machines in Vegas are at the MGM Grand, Excalibur, and Luxor.

Picture courtesy of L.A. Slot Machine Company
Rules
The only betting option is the quinella, which is betting on the first and second place horses in either order. With 5 horses there are 10 possible combinations of the first 2, without regard to order.
At the close of one race the odds for the next race will be posted, which are on a "for one" basis. In other words the player doesn't get his original bet back. For example, the board may display the odds as follows, taken from a typical race at the Flamingo in Laughlin.
| Typical Pay Table in Derby |
| Quinella |
Pays |
| 1,2 | 5 |
| 1,3 | 39 |
| 1,4 | 200 |
| 1,5 | 19 |
| 2,3 | 4 |
| 2,4 | 20 |
| 2,5 | 2 |
| 3,4 | 160 |
| 3,5 | 15 |
| 4,5 | 79 |
The player may bet from 1 to 20 quarters on each
quinella. The smallest payoff is 2 for 1 and the largest is
200 for 1, although not all races offer either of these. I
have seen winnings both paid immediately and added to the
player's credits.
House Edge
The following table shows the average house edge based on
actual observations at various casinos. Unless otherwise
noted each casino is in Las Vegas.
|
House Edge in
Derby
|
|
Casino
|
House Edge
|
|
Hilton
|
10.13%
|
|
Orleans
|
11.9%
|
|
MGM Grand
|
12.19%
|
|
New York New York
|
12.37%
|
|
Caesars Palace
|
14.9%
|
|
Imperial Palace
|
14.95%
|
|
Riviera
|
14.97%
|
|
Ballys
|
15.02%
|
|
Excalibur
|
15.09%
|
|
Luxor
|
15.32%
|
|
Frontier
|
20.14%
|
Note that the returns in the table above tend to fall in
clusters. For example, Caesars Palace, Imperial Palace,
Ballys, Excalibur, Flamingo Laughlin, and the Luxor are all
in a tight range. I believe all these machines are set to
the same long term return and race to race variation
accounts for the small variation.
The house edge is calculated assuming each bet carries
the same house edge. For more information on this method of
calculation please see my futures
in sports section.
Locations
Casinos which offer Derby include:
- MGM Grand, Las Vegas (Near the sportbook)
- Excalibur, Las Vegas (Near the sportbook)
- Caesars Palace, Las Vegas (In the sportbook)
- Imperial Palace, Las Vegas (Near the sportbook, take
the escalator to the second floor)
- Bally's, Las Vegas (Take the escalator down to the
shopping area, once at the bottom the game is to the
left)
- Luxor, Las Vegas (Outside the sportbook, uses camels
instead of horses)
- Frontier, Las Vegas (Near the sportbook)
- Hilton, Las Vegas (In the sportbook, toward the back
by the sandwich shop)
- New York, New York (Near the sportbook)
See important note about Bodog payouts & deposits.
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