How To Bet The Indy 500

[h=1]How to bet the Indy 500[/h][h=3]Auto racing isn't like horse racing, so there are different matchups to watch

By Dave Tuley | ESPN Insider
ESPN INSIDER [/h]

LAS VEGAS -- When we think of the biggest sporting events in this country, the list just rolls off the tongue: the Super Bowl, Kentucky Derby, Stanley Cup, March Madness, Final Four. And the Indianapolis 500 ranks right up there in the discussion.

Although NASCAR has surpassed IndyCar in most metrics (attendance, TV ratings, even betting handle), the Indianapolis 500 still lives up to its "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" moniker because with a live attendance of some 400,000, including the infield, it's the best-attended sporting event in America.

And as with any big sporting event, there is also big betting interest. There are the regular odds to win as well as head-to-head matchups and some props available at the more aggressive betting shops (it's also a natural for in-running wagering during the event).

The LVH SuperBook posted its Indy 500 odds earlier this month, and there's been plenty of adjustments in the odds since.

<!-- begin inline 1 -->[h=4]Indy 500 Odds[/h]The odds as of Wednesday, courtesy LVH.


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As of Wednesday, Helio Castroneves (three-time Indy winner) and Marco Andretti (grandson of 1969 winner Mario) were the 6-1 co-favorites at the LVH. Pole winner Ed Carpenter and James Hinchcliffe are next at 7-1, with Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti and Will Power at 8-1. A week ago, Castroneves and Andretti were 7-1 along with Dixon and Carpenter, but LVH bookmaker Ed Salmons told me the changes haven't been as much due to money coming in as his own adjustments based on what he saw at the practice sessions and qualifying.
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"Castroneves and Andretti qualified in the top 10," Salmons pointed out. "If you look through the qualifying it's obvious which car has had an advantage with speed so far: I believe 14 of the top 15 cars have been Chevy's. Honda has been at a big disadvantage with the horsepower compared to Chevy, and that's reflective on the odds on each driver for the most part."

The problem with trying to bet the winner of a race like this is just like the trouble with horse racing: Even if you have the most likely winner, you're still a sizable underdog to win a single bet. Orb won the Kentucky Derby, but he was only 5-1 in a 19-horse field. Here, you have to find the winner from a 33-driver field. Good luck with that.

Now, I'm not going to sit here and pretend I'm sharp on betting these races, but one thing I've had success with over the years is taking the opinions of sharp bookmakers (of which Salmons certainly is one) and finding better odds elsewhere. For instance, obviously Salmons is high on Castroneves and has him at 6-1, but I saw him at 8-1 at other books. Other bookmakers that don't follow the sport as much as Salmons have Ed Carpenter at closer to 9-1 and Tony Kanaan closer to 15-1. Those are the bets I'm considering.

To put your action more on par with picking a football or basketball game, you can just go with head-to-head matchups, where your pick just has to beat one other driver. One that looks appealing is Franchitti around even-money versus Dixon. And with Carpenter and Hinchcliffe not being household names, I'm going to be shopping around for matchups with those against name drivers. So those would be my "Tuley's Takes" for this one:

• Franchitti EV versus Dixon
• Carpenter and Hinchcliffe in matchups at even-money or better (which again will be more likely to be versus "name" drivers).

One big name that isn't in this year (and wasn't last year, either) is Danica Patrick, as she's driving full-time on the NASCAR circuit. "Danica really had very little effect on the handle of the Indy 500," Salmons said. "She had her followers but nothing that was all that big."
So clearly, she brought some new people to the IndyCar circuit, but they were more fans of hers who didn't stick around when she left.

Ladies (there are four in the field) and gentlemen, start your engines.

Now, I'm not going to sit here and pretend I'm sharp on betting these races, but one thing I've had success with over the years is taking the opinions of sharp bookmakers (of which Salmons certainly is one) and finding better odds elsewhere. For instance, obviously Salmons is high on Castroneves and has him at 6-1, but I saw him at 8-1 at other books. Other bookmakers that don't follow the sport as much as Salmons have Ed Carpenter at closer to 9-1 and Tony Kanaan closer to 15-1. Those are the bets I'm considering


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