Kentucky Derby

This game is also known as Pasteboard Derby.

a) One standard pack of 52 cards;
b) Betting chips or cash.

Three or more.

Players try to bet on the winning horse.

Dealer is by high cut.

The four Aces are removed from the pack. The rest of the pack is shuffled and cut in the normal way.

After the shuffle and cut, the dealer forms the course by dealing seven cards face down in a line.

The four Aces are the horses — they can be given the names of favourites. They are lined up just below the first course card, in the order Hearts, Diamonds, Spades, Clubs.

To make judging easier, the two red Aces are put to one side of the course, and the two black Aces to the other.

The player to the dealer's left lines up the Aces, and moves them during the race.

Before the game, each player, including the dealer, puts an equal agreed amount into the pool.

Each player decides which horse he will back. A player may bet on only one horse. More than one player may bet on the same horse. A horse still runs, even if no one bets on it.

It is best to write down the selections, if there are several players. This is done by the player to the dealer's right. He also has charge of the pool, and pays out the winnings at the end of the race.

The players then state their bets, placing their stakes in front of them. The banker makes a note of how much each player bets on each horse, and what the odds are.

The dealer deals the top card from the pack face up onto the table, just behind the Ace of Hearts.

The player to the dealer's left moves the Ace of Hearts the appropriate number of spaces along the course, if any (see Table 1).

The dealer then deals a card behind the Ace of Diamonds, and so on.

The distance a horse moves depends on the card dealt. The dealer deals one card to each Ace in turn, in the order Hearts, Diamonds, Spades, Clubs, and then starts again.

Further cards dealt to each Ace are placed face up on top of the cards first dealt, forming four discard piles.

A horse finishes when it passes the last course card. The winner, however, is decided only when all horses have had an equal numberof turns. The winner is then the Ace that has gone furthest over the finishing line.

If the second place horse is to be decided too, and only the winning horse has crossed the finishing line, then the winner's discard pile is turned face down, and play continues with the remaining Aces.

Sometimes two Aces have gone an equal distance over the finishing line on the same turn. Each is then dealt a further card from the pack. This continues until, with an equal number of cards dealt, one horse has gone further past the post than the other.

With fewer than six players, races are run for first place only.

The pool is won by the player or players betting on the winning horse.

If there are two or more successful bettors, the pool is split equally between them. If the pool does not divide equally, any odd chips stay in the pool for the next race.

With six or more players, races may be run for first and second places. Bettors on the second place horse receive back their ante from the pool.

The remainder of the pool is won (and divided, if necessary) by the player(s) who belt on the winning horse.

The deal passes to the player to the dealer's left. He collects all the cards (except the Aces), and reshuffles them.

The player to the new dealer's left controls the horses, and the player to his right the bets.

From 'The Official World Encyclopedia of Sports and Games'
© Diagram Visual Information Ltd 1979