A Memorial Day weekend tradition will be renewed Sunday with the 107th Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
A newer tradition is Indiana sports betting; this is the fourth 500 to take place since the Hoosier State launched its online and retail sportsbooks.
Of course, racing fans in more than 30 states can bet on the most prestigious event in the IndyCar series (or any other series). We have some tips on what to look for, recent trends and who we like to cash a winning ticket at The Brickyard.
Customers at legal sports betting sites would do well to pay close attention to qualifying at Indy, if recent trends hold.
The last time any driver started worse than 11th in the 33-car field and won the race was Juan Pablo Montoya, who started 15th in 2015. In each of the past six 500s, the winner has started in the first three rows.
On the pole this year is Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing. He won the 2021 IndyCar series championship and was second at Indy that year, but he’s the only one of Ganassi’s four drivers who has never won the 500. In his fourth try, he’ll start from the inside of Row 1 after a blistering qualifying speed of 234.417 mph over his final four-lap run.
Palou is the betting favorite at most sites; his best price is +600 at both DraftKings Sportsbook and FanDuel as of Wednesday morning.
As for the other Ganassi drivers, two-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato (best price +1200 with DraftKings) is racing the five ovals in the series in the No. 11 car for 2023 and will start Sunday’s race eighth. Scott Dixon (+850 to win at BetMGM and BetRivers), whose pit speeding penalty late in last year’s race cost him a possible victory, starts sixth, and defending race champion Marcus Ericsson (+1300 at BetMGM and FanDuel) lines up 10th.
Apart from Ganassi, the other team that dominated qualifying was Arrow McLaren. The team placed all four of its drivers in the first three rows, with Felix Rosenqvist qualifying third, Pato O’Ward fifth and two former Indy winners in Row 3 — Alexander Rossi seventh and Tony Kanaan ninth. Kanaan is in a one-off ride and has announced he will retire after this race.
Rinus VeeKay of Ed Carpenter Racing has never qualified worse than fourth in four attempts at the 500 and again starts in a great spot, second on the grid. He led 32 laps in the 2021 race on his way to an eighth-place finish and is an intriguing play at +1300 odds with BetRivers Sportsbook.
The wild card might be Santino Ferrucci, who starts fourth for A.J. Foyt Racing. Ferrucci has charged toward the front in previous 500s, but can Foyt’s team go the distance as an Indy contender nowadays?
Roger Penske built a racing empire with his teams in various disciplines. He then bought an existing empire when he purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway a few years ago.
But his IndyCar team, which has won a record 18 Indy 500s, has not looked that imperial on the Brickyard’s 2.5-mile oval course in recent years. If you’re seeking value from this group, the top-three market at BetMGM Sportsbook, including BetMGM Massachusetts, might be the way to go rather than a win bet.
Last year, Josef Newgarden finished 13th, the best of the three-car Penske team. In the past three years, Simon Pagenaud’s third-place finish in 2021 is the best run for a Penske entry.
This year, defending IndyCar series champion Will Power starts 12th in search of his second Indy 500 win, Scott McLaughlin lines up 14th and Newgarden will roll off the grid 17th.
Power is +500 for a top-3 finish with BetMGM, and that could be a solid play because Penske almost always gets the strategy and pit stops just right in years when their cars don’t qualify well.
With so few contenders coming from the back of the pack these days, it might not seem like betting on any of these drivers is a good idea. But Caesars Sportsbook offers top-3 and top-5 markets; some value might be found there.
Four-time 500 winner Helio Castroneves qualified 20th for Meyer Shank Racing, but last year he qualified 27th and finished seventh. He has +650 odds for a top-5 run. At those odds, it might be worth a small wager on “Spider-Man” for a strong result.
Starting right next to Castroneves in 21st is Colton Herta. He’s +250 for a top-5 finish with Caesars and the young American will lead the charge for Andretti Autosport, which has proven through the years that it is very capable of contending and winning on race day.
This race presents a perfect example of why we encourage you as a sports bettor to have accounts at a few different U.S. mobile sports betting apps so you can shop around for the best prices.
O’Ward is the favorite at Caesars with +500 odds. At four other major sports betting operators, he is listed second behind Palou. O’Ward, a Texas-based driver by way of his birthplace in Mexico, is +600 to win at BetRivers, +650 at BetMGM, +750 at DraftKings and +800 at FanDuel as of Wednesday morning.
If you favor Palou — and there is plenty of reason to — he runs from +550 to +600 so there is little variance in his price.
But for the best bet to win the Indianapolis 500, we like O’Ward at +800 odds with FanDuel Sportsbook.
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